new church life: march/april 2017
framers were inspired by words of Scripture,” he said, and to understand the
DNA of America “you need to know something about the Bible.”
Indeed, George Washington forthrightly stated that “it is impossible
to govern without the Bible.” He also felt that morality was essential to the
viability of democratic government – and that morality cannot exist without
religion.
Daniel Dreisbach, a professor and constitutional scholar at American
University, contends that “the Bible provided the basic building blocks of
American civic life.” He sees a Bible museum in Independence Hall as no
threat to the abiding American principle of separation of church and state
because it is all about education, not proselytizing.
Hopefully part of that education will be reminding us all that, “Happy
are the people whose God is the Lord,” (Psalm 144:15) and, “Except the Lord
builds the house they labor in vain who build it.” (Psalm 127:1)
(BMH)
southwest to true north
“Big business” is a pejorative term these days. It’s all about greed and the ethic
of the bottom line. But many a business executive – and the companies they
head – are led by Christian values. One is Southwest Airlines which projects
its whole business model from the Golden Rule.
On a recent Southwest flight I saw an article in its inflight magazine by
chairman and CEO Gary Kelly: “Embracing Civility and the Golden Rule.” He
said one of the things that attracted him to Southwest three decades ago – and
compelled him to stay – was its guiding principle: “Treat others the way you
wish to be treated.”
This applies to employees and customers – and has always been good for
business. Through all of the ups and downs, bankruptcies and mergers in the
industry, Southwest has been a model of growth and stability.
“Southwest is world famous and often admired,” Kelly says, “for our
people-centric culture, and it all starts with how we treat each other.”
What a model, not only for a business, but any organization, family,
community – and church.
Kelly also voiced concern for the decline of civility, especially in social
media and forums. More civility in the way we communicate with each other,
he says, “could bring us all closer together, help us understand each other and
make us stronger.”
He has found that “interpersonal conflict often results from lack of
understanding. The more we listen to each other, the more likely we are to
engage in civil discourse and achieve understanding. In these meaningful
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