Wall Street Journal

When you study the Millennial generation, you find a generation that’s remarkably independent.  They don’t like people looking over their shoulder – like the government.  In books like “Growing Up Digital” Don Tapscott describes how the Net Generation will use digital media to superimpose it’s culture on the rest of the world.  They are technologically savvy, and value customization, personalization, and freedom of choice above all.  So the question for incoming president Barack Obama is how he will balance the marvelous job he did reaching out to ... read more

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Planned Parenthood reported $1 billion in annual revenue in its most recent financial report.  As a result, they’ve started re-branding to reach a more upscale customer.  The organization reported a surplus of $115 million at year end, which makes one wonder why the federal government keeps pumping money into the organization.  Right now, the government gives the PP up to ... read more

I wrote earlier about what I believe to be a deliberate strategy by Barack Obama to use words to inspire and motivate his audiences rather than actually offer specific steps for actual change. That's not a "for or against Obama" comment. It's a comment on strategy. I say this, because it's not that different from a lot of pastors out there today. They don't really know the Bible that well, and have become motivational speakers more that actual teachers and pastors. In my book, "Branding Faith" I talk about the fact that ... read more

Today in the “Managing “ section of the Wall Street Journal is an interview with CEO Philip Schoonover on managing the turnaround of Circuit City. In the article he lists “5 Tips” on managing a turnaround, and when I read them, I realized immediately that they could apply to most of the non-profit or religious organizations going through various transitions today. For some, it’s the transition to a second generation leader, for others it’s moving from a publically known or famous leader to an unknown leader, and for others, it’s simply the desire to re-brand. Whatever transition you face, Schoonover’s ideas are worth the read. I’ve added my take specifically for non-profits and faith-based organizations after each one: ... read more

Some readers considered me alarmist when I spoke out so strongly against the Senator Charles Grassley investigation of 6 major media ministries. Certainly some of the ministries are pushing the limits in a number of ways, and I don’t personally agree with much of what some are doing. Should they be called on the carpet? Absolutely. But even if you strongly dislike these or other ministries, I’m not sure it’s the place of the government to decide the boundaries of what constitutes church or ministry. Besides, we already have the IRS to deal with, so do we really need more government intrusion into religious affairs? ... read more

Perhaps all the media ministries complaining about the "cultural elite" should hold on a second. According to researchers at Oxford University, what we've guessed is true - just because you have money, doesn't mean you have class or taste. As the Wall Street Journal reports: ... read more

After the last few months documenting massive mistakes by numerous church and ministry leaders, this article in today's Wall Street Journal stood out like a red light.  Although these don't deal with spiritual issues, perhaps if we used these criteria that Terry Leap outlines to spot a flawed CEO, and applied them in part to pastors and ministry leaders, we might be able to stop a train wreck in the making.  Let me know your thoughts on the subject: ... read more