Get into the Game
Theme of the Week: Going for Broke
Christopher Crane & Mike Hamel
Saturday, September 6, 2003
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Q. How should a Christian CEO affect his company's culture?
A. Using an executive position as a platform from which to preach like a pastor is unwise. The fragrance of our faith will be evident in how we live, conduct business, and love others.
That isn't to say we should be silent or withdrawn. I've rarely seen Christian executives be too passionate about their faith. Most are privatized to the point of having no impact. Almost everyone likes passion. If it's okay for me to be passionate about the Redskins or the Orioles, why in the world can't I be passionate about other things in life? I'd love to see faith get to the level of the weather or sports in our everyday conversations. I've never really taken any flak for being a Christian. It makes me wonder if I'm enough in the game.
But aren't there legal barriers to workplace witness?
Christian executives are so afraid of offending somebody that we've become neutered. But these fears are misplaced. We aren't under the same restrictions as a schoolteacher, who may be prohibited from putting the Ten Commandments on the wall or singing Christian songs at Christmas. Business leaders have far more latitude. The federal courts have consistently ruled that the threshold for a business to watch out for is harassment, not faith.
I know of very few Christians who have come even remotely close to crossing that line. Businesses are not schools. They can, and should, create work environments that are faith-friendly.
Paul Klaassen's Sunrise Senior Living serves more than 15,000 residents.
Adapted from Christopher Crane & Mike Hamel, Executive Influence (NavPress, 2002) by permission.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
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Lord, don't let me just put in time. I want to put energy and passion into my work.
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