In this Friday Five, I’ll get right to the stories that have caught my attention this week.
When a manager exhibits the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), do they have a discernable, positive impact on their direct reports? A Journal of Biblical Integration in Business study found that a manager who exhibited traits like patience, goodness, gentleness, and self-control positively impacted employees’ perception of person-supervisor fit.
The CMA has voted to ordain women. The SBC is moving in the opposite direction. My take: the ordination of women should not be a dividing line as to whether a church is “in” or “out” with a larger group of churches (denominations). The enemy is using this to divide us and frankly, make us look silly to much of the unchurched world. He’s laughing all the while getting another bag of popcorn.
A number of start-ups are trying to make the Hospital at Home model work, both financially and pragmatically. The logistics on this appear to be a nightmare. Just think about all the supplies, forms, and skills that are needed just to perform a routine office visit, let alone more serious care. How will all this work together when care deliver is diffused? Yes, telemedicine will help bridge some of my concerns, but still…there is a reason that doctors and nurses office together.
“We have one set of laws in this country and they apply equally to everyone.” Many, if not most, Americans would disagree with this statement. It seems to many that after one reaches a certain level of power in politics, one is immune from real prosecution or legal accountability. What do you think?
MIT Sloan as published a pretty good article on building a corporate philanthropy strategy that both genuinely helps those in need and helps the company’s bottom line. Philanthropy is one of the four purposes of business, but I’m not sure it should be avoided if the philanthropic strategy cannot also help your bottom line. At its’ core, real charity disadvantages the giver so that the receiver can be advantaged. Real charity is not a win/win activity. Real charty imitates Christ, who disadvantaged himself so that we could be advantaged by his life and love. Christian business owners give because they love God, not because their bottom line is advantaged.
Bill English, Publisher
Bible and Business
