Michael Lindsay a Belhaven University board member , a remarkable scholar holding positions of significance at Rice University, and an insightful sociologist who studies evangelical leadership in the Church and in the marketplace.

His recent article in the Washington Post, is a wonderful synopsis of the leadership opportunities and challenges of highly visible evangelicals in the marketplace

Evangelical and elite: Four approaches to power

Evangelicals have become significant players on the national stage, so much so that the actions and statements of their leaders ripple across the political and cultural landscape. What happens when evangelicals bring their faith convictions to bear on corporate America or the U.S. government? In particular, how does an evangelical Christian who also leads a major American institution–such as Walmart or the National Institutes of Health–invoke his or her faith when making big decisions?

Bradley C. Smith of Princeton University and I just published a study on this subject in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. It emerged out of a larger study (first published by Oxford University Press as Faith in the Halls of Power) for which I interviewed 360 evangelicals who were top American leaders. These elites included former President Jimmy Carter along with 50 cabinet secretaries and senior White House officials from the last five administrations. I also sat down with 100 CEOs, chairpersons and presidents of major companies including New York Life Insurance, Johnson & Johnson, Tyson Foods, and JC Penney. To round out the study, I met with over 150 leaders from the worlds of nonprofits, the arts, entertainment, and the news media.

I wanted to uncover how these people bring their personal religious convictions to bear on their roles as public leaders. In other words, how does religion seep into their relationships, their work, and the decisions they make?

We found four kinds of evangelicals in the corner offices of major U.S. institutions–the pragmatic, the heroic, the circumspect, and the brazen.

Pragmatic evangelicals are serious about their faith, but they don’t advertise it. In the words of Genworth’s Chief Investment Officer, Ron Joelson, “You don’t want to offend people who are not Christians. . . . [As someone] in a position of power and authority, I don’t want people to feel uncomfortable. . . . [That's] not a particularly good witness.” Joelson’s sentiment was repeated by dozens of other leaders we studied.

Ed Moy, director of the U.S. Mint, takes a different approach. Early in his career, he worked in the private sector and was confronted by his boss after submitting his first expense report:

He shuts the door to his office, and says, “Let me explain something around here. We in sales management never believe that the company is paying us enough, and so…we measure the minimum amount of miles from home to work and back again, and that’s personal miles. Everything else . . . gets dumped in the business column, and that way you get an extra 50 [to] 75 bucks a month. If I were to hand this in, accounting is going to ask some questions, and then there’s a massive audit on everyone, and we can’t have that kind of trouble. So I’m telling you that if you’re interested in a career here, you’re going to change this expense report.”

The next week, when Moy submitted the expense report unchanged, his supervisor threatened to fire him (but, in the end, didn’t). Moy refers to the event as a “seminal moment” in shaping his understanding of the relationship between faith and work.

Moy and other evangelicals embody what we call heroic evangelicalism. Even if it costs them their jobs, these evangelicals refuse to compromise their core beliefs. Now, because evangelicalism is a large, diverse group (comprising about one-third of the U.S. adult population), what one evangelical regards as compromise, another sees as prudence.

The circumspect evangelical are leaders who prefer to signal their faith obliquely, rather than make explicit mention. Michael Duke, the CEO of Walmart, keeps a Bible on his desk and reads from it occasionally, but he’s uncomfortable being too direct about his Christianity.

As the CEO of the country’s biggest business, he has received a number of critiques, many of them challenging how he, as a Christian, could lead a company that pays its workers comparatively low wages and drives smaller businesses into the ground. When asked, he provides answers that would likely please Walmart’s supporters and frustrate its critics. But he doesn’t quote the Bible. He embodies a cosmopolitan evangelicalism that prefers to bear witness to his faith through subtle signals as opposed to explicit reference.

Finally, brazen evangelicals work in environments where they can take remarkable freedom in being bold about their faith. Some private companies give rise to this kind of Christianity, but the easiest examples come from professional sports.

Consider David Robinson, the San Antonio Spurs center who won both the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. Robinson felt an obligation to make known his evangelical faith, and he frequently led the team in prayer before games. Not all of his teammates appreciated Robinson’s praying in Jesus’ name, but no one actively resisted, including a Muslim player on the team. Robinson, like other brazen evangelicals, indiscriminately draws upon his faith with no adverse impact on his career.

These four postures of evangelical leadership–pragmatic, heroic, circumspect, and brazen–can be found all around us in American society. My hunch is that there are analogous approaches occurring among devout Jews in senior leadership positions, as well as among practicing Muslims and those of other faith traditions. Naturally, it will always be a challenge for committed people of faith in senior leadership positions to draw upon their faith sincerely and responsibly. But understanding how their beliefs are playing out on the national stage is the first step in helping them do so–and in holding them accountable for it.

For those of us who were here five years ago today in “the storm,” we’ll never forget Katrina.  It brings back to me memories of great joy in trusting God for EVERYTHING, and tremendous stress having to deal with all that was stable spinning out of control all at once time.

If you’d like to take a walk through “Katrina week” at Belhaven, below are my emails to the campus during the storm.

We didn’t have power after it hit, but I was able to dictate these messages through my cell phone to our web director who was living in New York, who posted on our web which was housed in Atlanta.

But all that week, we had no idea if students and families were reading the messages because direct communication was impossible in Jackson.

Without water, AC, power, internet, ice, gas, or very much food……we made it through.

We didn’t know if students would come back — they all did!

Sunday, August 28, 2005, 7:00 pm (CDT) All classes and activities for Belhaven College have been cancelled for Monday.  College officials will make the decision as soon as possible on Monday whether or not we can hold classes on Tuesday.  All administrative offices will also be closed.  Our physical plant team on campus has been and continues to prepare for the effects of the storm.  Be praying for them especially.  Resident students are receiving training today and tomorrow for what to do during the storm.  Our resident life staff will be in full force. We are reminding students that even as the storm passes many injuries from a storm like this come from people who go out after the storm too soon, rather than during the storm.  We have established a central number to call for further information: 601-968-5928.  There will also be updates on our web page (www.belhaven.edu) as additional information becomes available.  We encourage prayers for all of the inhabitants of the Gulf Coast as well as for our on campus team and our students.

Monday, August 29, 2005, 6:30 am (CDT) We will do our best to keep the web report updated as we get news from the campus.  Our web server is housed in Atlanta, so even if the College loses power, we still should be able to give you reports on this web page.

Monday, August, 29, 12:00 noon (CDT) I just returned from the campus and all is prepared for the storm as much as possible.  I visited each of the residence halls and students were in, dry, in good spirits, and safe.  Students will be going to the student center for lunch, but after that, we will be keeping them in the residence halls through the remainder of the storm.  Students will take sack lunches and water back to their halls at lunch and have that for dinner and snacks.  Our maintenance team has done a wonder job preparing the campus.

I understand from students that many of them went home, and took with them other students.  I trust you have been in contact with your student, and know exactly where they are staying during the storm.

The winds and rain picked up significantly this morning.  Right now they are predicting the storm to increase here in the next hour….from 30 mph winds to 75 mph winds by 6pm.  After that, the worst of the storm should pass by and the winds go back down to 30 mph through the night.  I’m glad it is coming during the day so we can better see what is going on.

We have cancelled classes for Tuesday.

We are expecting to lose power as the storm hits harder, and of course, since this storm is hitting nearly all of Mississippi, we anticipate that getting service reconnected will be a slow process.  Tornados are of course a primary concern for us.

We will keep you up to date as we have further information.

Monday, August 29, 4:00 p.m. (CDT) Power is still on in the Jackson area.  However, the Belhaven e-mail server has gone down, so students have lost access to their Belhaven e-mail accounts for the time being.  Large trees are down on campus, but no significant damage.  We have received assurance from Entergy in the event of a loss of power that Belhaven is a high priority to resume power after the storm.  Please continue to pray as the most intense part of the storm is about to come.

Monday, August 29, 6:45 p.m. (CDT) The worst of the storm seems to have passed.  Thankfully it weakened some before hitting Jackson.  Sustained winds were 50 mph with gusts reaching 65 mph.  Power was up on campus all day until 6:15 p.m.  At the same time, a tree fell and broke the main gas line, which can’t be fixed until tomorrow.  The city of Jackson’s water pumping plant has experienced problems and there is no water at this time either.  Cell phone service is spotty around the city and residential/long distance phone service is down.  While there are several utilities that are down at this time, there has been no damage to Belhaven buildings.  Overall we feel very fortunate; most importantly our students are safe and dry!

Monday, August 29, 8:45 p.m. (CDT) Winds have now died down to 15/20 mph, which seems quite calm.  Utilities will remain out throughout the night, except for water which seems to be restored.  The Belhaven e-mail system remains down and will until power is restored.  Other than downed trees, there doesn’t appear to be any damage to the campus.  All students are safe and encouraged to remain in the residence halls throughout the night and into the morning.  Unfortunately one fatality was reported in Jackson a few blocks from campus; a tree fell onto an elderly woman’s house and she was killed.  Our maintenance crew is reporting to campus at 6:00 a.m. to begin clean up efforts.

Tuesday, August 30, 10:00 a.m. (CDT) The campus came through the storm well.  Four major trees are down on the campus, but thankfully no structural damage.  Many roads to the campus are blocked due to downed trees, except for access from the North.  Power, gas, and water remain off and we are not sure at this time when they will be restored.  Classes will not resume until power is restored.  We hope the power might come back today, but there are no indicators yet.  They tell us that 95% of Entergy’s customers are without service at this time.  The students are in good spirits, but tired after a night without utilities.  We have encouraged the students to remain on campus still and many have been helping clean up limbs across the college property.   The food service personnel are continuing to feed the students despite not being able to use their kitchen appliances.  Our Gulf Coast students are particularly concerned about families members and anxious to hear from them soon.  We are hearing good reports from our faculty and staff members that they have little or no damage to their properties.  We are very grateful for the Lord’s protection.  Thank you for your prayers.

Tuesday, August 30, 2:00 p.m. (CDT) All classes will be cancelled for the remainder of this week and through Labor Day weekend.  Classes will resume Tuesday morning, September 6.  Administrative offices will open when power is restored.  Still no definite word when this will be.

Wednesday, August 31, 2:00 p.m. (CDT) The power remains off on campus, although sections of Jackson are regaining power.  We are hopeful the campus might have restored power within the next couple days.  The football game scheduled for this Saturday has been postponed; the new date for this game will be November 19.  Those players living close by have been encouraged to return home.  The number of students on campus has dropped to 200.  If rental busses can be secured, the soccer and volleyball teams will still play their out-of-town games this weekend.

For students attending colleges on the Gulf Coast, if your institution has had to cancel classes for the remainder of the semester and you would like to attend Belhaven, we will hold an open enrollment on Tuesday morning, September 6.  Our admission and financial aid offices will be open to help process your application and aid.  If you are qualified and enroll, you will only have missed the first few days of the semester.

Note to Belhaven employees:  Your direct deposit paychecks will be processed today and those who want to pick up their paychecks can do so at the Center for the Arts.

Thursday, September 1, 7:15 p.m. (CDT) Word has come from Entergy that power should be restored tomorrow morning.  We will be getting the campus back into operation and preparing for classes to resume next Tuesday, September 6.  Most students have gone home with only about 30 remaining.  We have received additional food and water to provide for these students.  Please pray for a safe return of our students next week.  We are thankful for how God has blessed up through this tragedy.

There will be a special service of prayer and thanksgiving on Tuesday, September 6, at our normal chapel time, 11:00 a.m. in the Center for the Arts.  All classes will be cancelled for the remainder of this week and through Labor Day weekend.  Classes will resume Tuesday morning, September 6.  Administrative offices will open when power is restored.  Still no definite word when this will be.

Friday, September 2, 2005  7:45 p.m.  (CDT) THE POWER IS ON!!!! The campus is fully operational and we are ready to start classes on Tuesday morning, September 6.  We encourage students to come back to Jackson on Monday if possible.  If you are held up due to fuel or logistical reasons we understand, just come back as soon as you can.  We will help catch students up.  Just a note, fuel trucks arrived in Jackson in mass transit today.  Gas stations here are back in business. We are encouraged that we only missed five days of classes and we will put plans into place to ensure we can have adequate class time without further imposition to families.  We are thankful for the patience of our students, their families, staff, and faculty during this trying time.

Saturday, September 3, 2005 10:15 a.m.  (CDT)

Students: In order to facilitate your travel, classes will not begin until 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 6. Residence Halls are open now; we hope you can return by Tuesday.  We are praying for your safe return as soon as possible.

Faculty: Classes will not begin until 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 6.   There is a mandatory meeting for faculty and staff at 11:00 a.m. in Barber Auditorium on Tuesday.

Staff: Administrative offices will be open at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 6.  There is a mandatory meeting for faculty and staff at 11:00 a.m. in Barber Auditorium on Tuesday.

Please Note:

The Chapel of Prayer and Thanksgiving will be held on Thursday, September 8, rather than the earlier announced date of Tuesday.

The fall break, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, will be held as originally scheduled.

Saturday, September 3, 2005  4:00 p.m.  (CST) On Sunday morning, September 4, at 10:00 a.m., Belhaven College will host a special worship service for the college, community, and friends at the Center for the Arts.  The worship will be led by Mr. Doug Eltzroth and Rev. Rev. Dolphus Weary, President of Mission Mississippi will preach.  All welcome.

The start of the academic year is always marked by the  annual  release of Beloit College’s  “mindset list,” which aims to help professors understand what their new freshmen experienced (and didn’t) growing up.

While some items on the list are, of course, related to technology, many reflect the cultural and political world views of today’s 18-year-olds.

Some of the items on this year’s list include:

1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive.

2. E-mail is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.

3. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia… and learn Chinese along the way.”

4. Al Gore has always been animated.

5. Los Angelinos have always been trying to get along.

6. “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.

7. A quarter of America’s freshman class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority … unless it involves “real” aliens from another planet.

8. John McEnroe has never played professional tennis.

9. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.

10. Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.
11. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.

12. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.

13. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.

14. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.

15. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.

16. Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.

17. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.

18. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.

19. Reggie Jackson has always been enshrined in Cooperstown.

20. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.

21. The first computer they probably touched was an Apple II; it is now in a museum.

22. Czechoslovakia has never existed.

23. Secondhand smoke has always been an official carcinogen.

24. “Assisted Living” has always been replacing nursing homes, while hospice has always been an alternative to hospitals.

25. There have always been HIV positive athletes in the Olympics.

26. American companies have always done business in Vietnam.

27. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.

28. The dominance of television news by the three networks passed while they were still in their cribs.

29. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.

30. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.

31. Beethoven has always been a dog.

32. Presidential appointees have always been required to be more precise about paying their nannies’ withholding tax, or else.

33. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.

34. They first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.

35. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court.

36. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.

37. The Post Office has always been going broke.

38. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.

39. Honda has always been a major competitor on Memorial Day at Indianapolis.

I’m a regular contributor, writing about topics of leadership, to Faith and Leadership, the online discussion for issues of the Church, sponsored by Duke Divinity School.

Since I’m from Mississippi, their editor, Dr. Jason Byassee, asked me to write this month about the gulf oil spill.

Getting all I might want to say into their limited word count is difficult.  So here is the first part (they had to cut for space) and then it picks up with the article running on their blog:

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BP’s Other Toxic Spill

Here in Mississippi, the oil spill in our Gulf is personal.

It is our families who will be bankrupt because of tourism losses, our wetlands and beaches trashed for years to come, our fish and wildlife threatened, and our coastline home prices that will plunge.

Most tragically, it is our spirit that has been broken by BP.

After five years of tenaciously pulling our bootstraps to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina’s head-on collision with the Mississippi coast, we in the Gulf are now held hostage to an oil company who will not tell us what the future holds.

Katrina brought us to our knees.  The oil spill brings us to tears.

While their oil flow pollutes our environment and our economy, BP’s other toxic spill of misinformation has become just as damaging.  Their limited communication, filled with blaming, selfishness, and the slow drip of compounding uncertainty, magnifies the pain of the crisis.

If we had we known what was coming from the beginning (up to 40,000 barrels a day instead of only 1,000), we’d have reached for our bootstraps again and worked for solutions. All we’d ask now is to know as much as they know, even if they don’t have all the answers. Isn’t that what all of us want when we feel overwhelmed in a crisis?

In the Church, all leaders will eventually be called on to manage a crisis that is beyond our control.  And while pressing to finding solutions to the problem itself — economic challenges, moral failing, or dramatic change in direction — we must also communicate properly to those in our care, so we don’t also create a subsequent culture of anxiety that will become even more damaging than our root challenge.

A popular poster from the satirical Despair.com reads, “The secret to success is knowing who to blame for your failures.” And placing blame on those whom God has entrusted to us in ministry is just about that blatantly silly.  Leaders who carry the burden of bad news will be respected and trusted in the long run and are best equipped to offer comfort in time of crisis.

Three tools are critical for sharing bad news without placing blame.

Be Direct

Bad news needs to be shared quickly as soon as the initial facts can be gathered and the analysis of the situation is clear.

Occasionally leaders who enjoy the spotlight will rush the stage, running ahead of the assessment, but doing so creates mistrust if the information is not reliable. More typically leaders try to shield or downplay the bad news from others with the hope that a solution can be found before the circumstances become public.

Those under your care are part of the solution to any problem and you need them to know so they can help you.  Further, they are most likely to be resilient in the pain of a crisis when brought into the discussion early rather than being held at arm’s length.

Be Disclosing

The Apollo 13 spacecraft trouble became known to the world with the infamous words “Houston, we have a problem . . . ”.

Don’t sugarcoat, underplay, or discount the fullness of your challenge.  If the scope of the problem is uncertain, it is better to discuss the worst case among the possibilities and later to be pleasantly surprised than to offer rose coloring that is the first of many disappointments.

Good news can be leaked, allowing it to spread across your ministry team because it is likely to retain its integrity of factual base. But bad news must be announced, or the gossip and speculation will run far ahead of the facts.  Without the full story, those in your care will become fearful, assumptions will run rampant, and energy will be drained by uncertainty.

Be Discreet

It is important to understand the difference between correcting and blaming. The first is done in private. The second occurs in public.

Leaders must privately correct those who make mistakes and create personal growth plans to assure coworkers learn to fulfill their responsibilities. Part of that entails the leader forgiving for the mistake so they can get a fresh start and move forward rather than being weighed down by their errors. This is much different from pointing out the flaws of others publicly.

Shouldering blame won’t hurt leaders in the long term. But even if it does, the Bible clearly guides us on this point: “Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!” (1 Peter 3:17).

Leadership during a crisis demands that we present the facts as fully and accurately as we can. This is a time when others need to feel confident they know as much as the leader about the challenge. Leaders may have learned to live comfortably with a high level of ambiguity and uncertainty, but others have not and they need to have as much detailed information as possible.

Leaders who cannot transparently define the problem in a crisis cannot be trusted to find a viable solution.  Having all the answers is not vital. “I don’t know” is not a bad answer if you don’t know.  But others will only trust you in the eventual solution if you don’t disguise the struggle ahead.

Whether you’re the fourth largest company in the world or a ministry leader in a crisis, trust cannot be bought with public relations campaigns.  One of these days soon, BP will tell us they have the crisis fixed and new safeguards in place to assure we will never have another oil spill like this. Will you believe them?

Roger Parrott is President of Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi.  He is the author of The Longview: Lasting Strategies for Rising Leaders (David C. Cook).

For the next two weeks our campus is the “Olympic Village” for the best ballet dancers from around the world.  The flags of the nations of the competitors fly over our student center.

The International Ballet Competition is held in Jackson every four years and the competitors, coaches, and support team live on our campus while here for the most prestigious prize in ballet.

If you’re not familiar with the IBC, take a look HERE.  We are proud to be part of this important international event.

Founded in 1978 by Thalia Mara, the first USA International Ballet Competition took place in 1979 and joined the ranks of Varna, Bulgaria (1964); Moscow, Russia (1969); and Tokyo, Japan (1976).

These first competitions were given sanction by the International Dance Committee of UNESCO’s International Theater Institute.

Today, international ballet competitions flourish worldwide, and the USA IBC in Jackson remains one of the oldest and most respected competitions in the world.

In 1982, the United States Congress passed a Joint Resolution designating Jackson as the official home of the USA International Ballet Competition. Jackson held subsequent competitions in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006.