God and the business executive

Searching For Meaning and dissatisfied with simply receiving a bigger paycheck, executives around the country are turning to religion classes, including opportunities to study the Bible or the Torah. One organization, the Fellowship of Companies for Christ International, suggests that there are more than 10,000 prayer and study groups in workplaces across the country.

Dan Smick is a Bostonian whose company focuses on ministries for business people. He observed, "People are looking for significance, satisfaction, and sanity, and I really feel that a God-centered approach is ... the key to that." Smick left his career in health care management in order to get a master's degress in divinity.

"As believers in the word of God and followers of Christ we use the Bible as our standard on how to run a business," said Michael Dougherty, founder and chief executive of Professional Support, Inc., a software developer. "There are many stresses to operating a business, but when it comes down to crunch time, we serve a higher power. And if you're trying to figure out how to resolve a problem, the Bible is a good place to turn for guidance."

Reported in
The Boston Globe
January 12, 1998

FINDING NEW MODELS FOR LIFE

" 'Even people who are doing well say there is something missing from their lives,' said [Stephen] Zunes [of the University of San Francisco]. 'There is a need for models that try to fulfill human needs. Religion, because of its strong ethical foundation, will likely play a role in trying to find a new model.' "

Mark I. Pinksy
"On a string and a prayer"
The Orlando Sentinel
December 14, 1997

Polling for the twentieth century's leaders

On its web site, TIME magazine is running a nonbinding poll that asks visitors to vote for significant figures of the twentieth century. The goal is to get people thinking about the subject and to collect readers' votes for "the Person of the Century." The final choice will be made by the Editors of TIME and will be presented in December 1999.

Categories include: leaders and revolutionaries, scientists and healers, entertainers and artists, builders and titans, heroes and adventurers.

The poll is a two-year project. TIME's web address is: www.time.com and you can participate in the poll by first clicking on "TIME 100/Leaders and Revolutionaries." That will bring you to a new page where you'll see the "TIME 100 Poll." Just click on that, and you can start placing your choices.

DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS

VICTOR HIGUEROS STARTED his ministry in the Farmers Branch-Carrollton area of Texas with seven people studying the Bible together. He now has a nondenominational church with seven hundred members who are devoted to each other as well as to the organization.

"For many people, religion is going to church on Sunday and feeling better about yourself for going, but going back to your lifestyle and forgetting about Jesus until next Sunday," he says. "A relationship with Jesus is a lifestyle. Everything centers around him."

Love is an essential element in the church's ministry. "Here, we all love the Lord with all our hearts and try to show the same love toward each other," explains Norberta Salazar, who attends the church.

Reported in The Dallas Morning News
February 14, 1998

School violence is not increasing

Although incidents of violence in public schools—such as the one in Arkansas that occurred earlier this year—give citizens the impression that violent crimes are on the increase, this is not actually the case.

When the National Center for Education Statistics released a survey on the subject this spring, it reported that only one in ten schools had experienced a serious violent crime like rape, robbery, or fights that involved a weapon. Another report, done by the Justice Policy Institute, indicated a 30 percent decrease in juvenile homicides between 1994 and 1996. During that same period, the overall number of arrests of young people declined 12 percent.

This is not to make light of the challenges faced by communities when such events do occur. But, as one member of the study group explained, incidents of this magnitude are "a rare event, ... there's no data showing an increase."

Reported in
The New York Times
March 25–26, 1998