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It's Saturday, July 29, 2023.

Today’s edition covers calls for spiritual leadership in the workplace, a UK bank’s refusal to apologize for alleged discrimination against a Christian nonprofit, and more.

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Of Christian Concern

THE BUSINESS WORLD CALLS FOR “SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP” IN THE WORKPLACE

Photos: Min An & Laura Tancredi

Taylor Borden, Editor at LinkedIn News, published a write-up last weekend about spiritual leadership in the workplace. He notes that of the four dimensions of health identified by McKinsey’s Health Institute (physical, social, mental, and spiritual), the spiritual is often neglected by managers. He recommends leaders practice spiritual leadership through “self-reflection and emphasizing personal and professional development amongst their teams.”

The write-up cites an INC article, which maintains that “Spiritual leadership or spiritual health has nothing to do with religion or supernatural belief.” Rather, according to a study published in March in Frontiers in Psychology, it’s about “organizational change through intrinsic motivation and learning.” That involves “intrinsically inspiring values, attitudes, and behaviors in oneself and others to obtain a spiritual sense of existence through a sense of calling and belonging.”

The “three key features” of this so-called spiritual leadership, the study says, are (1) high moral values; (2) encouraging, guiding, and connecting with others; and (3) motivating people “to achieve organizational vision and mission,” to find significance in their work.

Incidentally, just last week Pastor John Piper discussed what it means to be “spiritual” according to a biblical perspective on his Ask Pastor John podcast.

DESPITE £21,500 SETTLEMENT, UK-BASED BANK REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A CHRISTIAN CHARITY

Photo: Expect Best

Amidst a whirlwind of claims that banks in the UK have been discriminating against customers on the basis of their viewpoints, one bank continues to refuse to apologize for its controversial cancellation of a Christian ministry’s bank accounts.

The Northern Ireland-based Christian charity, called Core Issues Trust (CIT), was subject to an alleged coordinated harassment campaign by LGBT activists in June 2020. Around that time, the nonprofit—whose mission is to support those voluntarily seeking to leave LGBT lifestyles—lost their Mailchimp, PayPal, a number of social media accounts, and (most notably) bank accounts with the UK-based Barclays Bank.

CIT filed a lawsuit against the bank for discrimination, and last month, three years after the incident, news broke that Barclays offered a settlement for £21,500 plus legal costs, which CIT chief executive Mike Davidson accepted. Following this announcement, a number of other individuals (some high-profile) alleged similar viewpoint discrimination from their banks: politician Nigel Farage, Anglican vicar Rev. Richard Fothergill, and current chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

This week, the CEO of the bank NatWest resigned over the handling of Farage’s case, and the BBC apologized for their reporting on the story. Barclays, however, continues to refuse to either apologize or reinstate CIT’s accounts, despite a 70,000-signature CitizenGo petition to that end. Davidson says they will continue seeking options to hold the bank accountable.

Also Noteworthy

→ Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace, at a prayer breakfast on Wednesday, joked about having to put off sex with her fiancé to attend the event. Her pastor, Greg Surratt of Seacoast Church, who was present, reportedly “took this joke in stride.” Many Christians have responded critically.

→ A poll conducted for Newsweek found that 44% of millennials think "referring to someone by the wrong gender pronoun (he/him, she/her) should be a criminal offense.” Only 31% disagree.

→ YouVersion Bible App celebrates its 15th anniversary this month. According to the app’s website, the app has been downloaded over half a billion times worldwide since it’s launch in 2008.

→ Roman Catholic abbott Nikodemus Schnabel was ordered by a worker to remove his cross necklace while visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, as seen in a viral video.

→ Gallup found in a recent survey about Americans’ priorities that “religion has become less important to people.”

→ Maine governor Janet Mills signed into law a bill that allows abortion up until birth, making the state one of the least restrictive in the nation.

→ A study by InfinityConcepts concluded that “evangelicals do not find pictures of children of their own race or ethnicity any more or less compelling” in fundraising ads. Notably, “Black evangelicals tend to find all of the ads substantially more compelling than other evangelicals.” Both men and women show “more positive results”—men slightly, women substantially—when shown a picture of a boy than a girl.

→ Former Red Sox pitcher Matt Dermody, who was fired from the baseball team for tweeting that “homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God,” said in an interview with Tomi Lahren that he wouldn’t backpedal on his convictions even if it meant getting rehired.

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content by Christian creators.*

→ Is This Song Racist?: In a YouTube video posted Monday, Pastor Edwin Ramirez reacts to the recently controversial song “Try That In A Small Town” by country artist Jason Aldean. (Video)

→ The Two Victim Narrative: In a Twitter thread posted Friday, reporter Ben Zeisloft challenges the common pro-life position that women are always victims in abortion. The thread includes short video clips of interactions with women outside abortion clinics. (Twitter Thread)

→ A Primer On Repentance: A TruthScript article by Rosaria Butterfield discusses the meaning of repentance and the need for it among “the evangelical camp,” where “there is a lot of sin.” (Article)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

The Bible, Briefly

Beyond the Beginning of Wisdom

If ever a preacher asks from the pulpit, “What is the beginning of wisdom?,” many Christians know to answer, “The fear of the Lord!” That comes from Proverbs 9:10, which says plainly, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

But what if the preacher follows up with, “And then what?” If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, what comes next? What is the continuation of wisdom?

Pastor Aaron Wojnicki makes the case that the answer is found in Psalm 107, a passage that highlights four different groups of people and how God’s steadfast love delivered each of them from distress when they cried out to Him.

For the first group, who “wandered…hungry and thirsty,” God satisfied their greatest need—“the longing soul” (verses 4-9).

For the second and third groups, who lived in sinful rebellion against Him, resulting in great trouble for them, He “brought them out of darkness” and “healed them” (verses 10-22).

For the fourth group, who set sail and came into a terrifying storm that “melted away” their courage, God “made the storm be still” and “brought them to their desired haven” (verses 23-32).

Throughout the psalm, the refrain is repeated, “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (verses 8, 15, 21, and 31).

Verses 33-42 demonstrate how God is a God of reversals—bringing the prosperous down because of their evil, but prospering the needy. Then, the psalm’s final verse, 43, makes an unexpected assertion: “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”

Wojnicki observes, “I think this text is surprising because I don’t think we normally link wisdom with understanding and knowing the love of God.”

But Psalm 107, he says, teaches this truth: “To be wise, consider the Lord’s love. To be wise—to be skillful in living—consider, know, [and] really give yourself to knowing the ways of our God and how He expresses His steadfast love.”

Yes, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Wojnicki acknowledges. “But what must you do if you want to continue to grow in [wisdom]? I’m going to suggest: deep consideration and understanding of the Lord’s steadfast love.”

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