This article was originally published here by AP News.

by David Crary

It has become standard practice for U.S. corporations to assure employees of support regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation. There’s now an intensifying push to ensure that companies are similarly supportive and inclusive when it comes to employees’ religious beliefs.

One barometer: More than 20% of the Fortune 100 have established faith-based employee resource groups, according to an AP examination and there’s a high-powered conference taking place this week in Washington aimed at expanding those ranks.

“Corporate America is at a tipping point toward giving religion similar attention to that given the other major diversity categories,” says Brian Grim, founder and president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation that’s co-hosting the conference along with the Catholic University of America’s Busch School of Business.

A few companies have long-established faith-in-the-workplace programs, such as Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, which deploys a team of more than 90 chaplains to comfort and counsel employees at its plants and offices. That program began in 2000.

However, Grim says most companies — over the past few decades — have given religion less attention in their diversity/inclusion programs than other categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disabilities.

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This article was originally published here by our friend and FDI and FDE podcast guest Peter Greer. Check out his blog here for more great content!

— by Peter Greer

It’s on all of our minds. It’s the first topic of conversation and the first headline on the news. The COVID-19 coronavirus is an escalating health concern across the globe and has been officially categorized as a pandemic.

We are inundated with information. Daily, I’ve been checking the statistics and have watched as the red dots on the map have grown and spread: first in Asia, then in Europe, and now in my home community.

We’ve grieved as the death toll continues to rise. We’ve seen the impact on the global economy and stock markets. We’ve heard about the travel bans, necessary precautions, preventative measures, symptoms, and supply shortages.

As fear and anxiety increase, our world becomes smaller. We naturally focus inward. How are we going to be impacted? How safe is my family? What will this mean for my travel plans? How much risk do I face? What will happen to my investments?

We seek to protect ourselves and our interests. Yet, Jesus invites us into a bigger world and a drastically different posture. A posture that constantly looks outward. Jesus called His followers to show deep love and concern for the most vulnerable. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.”

As we consider the impact of COVID-19, we’re invited to look not only “to [our] own interests but … to the interests of the others” and to pay particular attention to the vulnerable, the elderly, the sick, and those impacted by poverty.

HOW DOES COVID-19 IMPACT PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY?

Amid all of the news, we haven’t heard much about the way the coronavirus is particularly damaging to those living in poverty, and not just the health infrastructure and challenges of testing and treating. For many, it’s about so much more than a declining retirement portfolio; it’s about survival this week.

Consider an entrepreneur in Asia who has spent her entire life trying to get a small restaurant up and running when coronavirus hits her community. With fewer and fewer customers visiting her restaurant, income dwindles. And with little savings, her ability to withstand that shock plummets. As days turn into weeks, the impact deepens. The concern is not just about health; it’s about survival.

For many living on the margins, the economic concerns outweigh the health concerns. Questions like How can I get medical attention? may be overshadowed by questions like Will I eat? This is the story for many families—around the world, as well as in the U.S.—who are reliant on cash flow and income for their livelihood.

In Galatians 2, as Paul prepares to travel, Peter gives him an important instruction. “All they asked,” Paul says, “was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”

And two thousand years later, this is the call for us, too. To remember our brothers and sisters living on the margins, especially during a moment of global crisis. To think beyond our concerns and explore ways to live out uncommon generosity. To respond and invest in ways that build future resilience. To turn compassion into courageous action. To show love in the ways we pray, in the ways we give, and yes, even in the ways we cancel or postpone events (to do everything in our power to slow the spread of the disease).

Right now, the Church has an opportunity that it has not had in years. In a time when the world is growing more anxious by the day, we have the unique opportunity to share a different message—one of hope in Jesus Christ, of trust in a Kingdom economy, and of generosity in sharing with those in need. Years ago, Jesus invited His followers to share a tunic if they had two. Today, we might be invited to share an extra roll of toilet paper if we have more than we need. Let’s not miss this moment to creatively love our neighbors, the ones right next door and those much further away.

As the Church, may we embrace our mission to respond to the anxious, the hurting, and the vulnerable. To be known as a people who respond with courageous compassion and radical love.

“In a time like now, Christian neighboring looks less like fearful self-preservation and more like servanthood toward the elderly; those with HIV, autoimmune disease, or no healthcare; fatigued and under-resourced healthcare workers.

 Wash hands, for sure. Then, wash feet.”

– Scott Sauls

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19, PLEASE SEE OUR PAGE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR FAITH DRIVEN INVESTORS & ENTREPRENEURS IN THIS SEASON.

It’s no secret that everyone’s day-to-day lives have been turned upside down by the coronavirus. While this particular pandemic is new, there’s much to learn from Scripture and other believers. Many difficult decisions await in the days ahead. And we should remind ourselves that as believers, “Worry is not our friend and panic is not our way.”

As we all do our best to hold fast to the truths of Scripture, we wanted to spotlight a few of the best resources that touch on our current events. We created this page on our site as well as the Faith Driven Entrepreneur site. These have all been referred to us by people like you, so as you discover others, even those more specifically related to Faith Driven Investing, please share them.

The first of these resources is our latest podcast. In light of present times—the pandemic, along with its economic and social effects—we wanted to quickly produce a podcast to speak into what we’re all experiencing. That’s what brings us to Mark Sears, Founder and CEO of CloudFactory. Early on in his entrepreneurial journey, he faced a global crisis, and the way he led his business during that time is an example for Faith Driven Entrepreneurs everywhere.

So, if you’re feeling a bit lost, overwhelmed, confused, or scared during these trying times, let Mark’s words be a source of encouragement… Stay tuned for others we’ll be releasing in the next few weeks.

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We’re combining the Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Faith Driven Investor audiences today to continue to address the current events we face. Todd Wagner joined us to speak into how we as believers can respond to the fear and worry surrounding COVID-19. 

Todd is the lead pastor at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. If that name sounds familiar to you it’s probably because you’ve heard Henry mention it in the intro to this podcast as the location for where we will be hosting our Faith Driven Entrepreneur and Investor Conferences this fall. In addition to being our host and a speaker at the event, Todd is also a great voice in the faith-driven conversation. 

His words of wisdom—or as his Twitter handle calls them, words from wags—are encouraging, challenging, and uplifting to all who hear them. And with our current events, we could all use encouragement. Like Todd shared, “worry is not our friend and panic is not our way…”

Useful Links:

Should Christians Be Anxious About Coronavirus?

Coronavirus is redefining the words Church and Worship

Real Truth. Real Quick

@wordsfromwags

Big thanks to Andre Mann for letting us share his thoughts and helpful tips on working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.

— by Andre Mann

As the Bay Area wakes up to life under lockdown, and companies across the country are encouraging people to work from home encouraging “social distancing,” my thoughts flash back to lessons I learned from running a business under lockdown a decade ago.  My family and I lived in Afghanistan where I helped run a media company with a Department of Defense contract, and a travel and logistics company. We lived in a shared compound of our home and the office, so we effectively “worked from home.” Kabul, being Kabul a decade ago, was a place where lockdowns were not uncommon, and where the threat of violence kept us evaluating every trip outside against the risk of an attack.  The situation was completely different from the coronavirus, yet there is so much that makes me flash back to those days. The threat was invisible, just like a virus, and every measure taken seemed like an overreaction. And yet it was all necessary. Here are some lessons we learned in running a business (and family), and staying healthy under lockdown.

1. Don’t let fear overpower you.  The only way to truly overcome fear is to turn to God, and commit our will to trust in Him.  God is sovereign. The only reason we can take our very next breath is because God sustains us—he is in control of everything.  And we can trust Him. He is a good God. He loves us. He will never abandon us. He does not want us to live in fear.

2. Seek to serve the more vulnerable.  How can I love my neighbors well?  Is there an elderly person who needs groceries ordered online and doesn’t know how to?  Keep your 6-foot distance, but help them out with that. How else can you help? Just reaching out and asking can be a significant gesture.

3. How can we give generously?  From figuring out how to support small businesses with online orders, to giving to non-profits who depend on donations, to supporting your church, don’t allow fear to paralyze your giving.  If you have funds in a donor-advised fund, now may be the time to deploy those funds to make up the funding gap so many non-profits are experiencing.

4. Practical tips for everyday living under lockdown:

   1. It’s important for everyone to have a routine.  When working from home, with young kids, spouses, and pets all in one space, before you know it, every day begins to feel like a Saturday.  That may sound like fun for the kids on Day 1. But by Day 7 everyone will be bored out of their wits and the working parent is about to blow their top at the chaos at home.  

   2. Get up early, like you did when you went away to work.  Get the kids up early like they were going to school, and have them keep a schedule of learning.  This will require some planning.

   3. Get dressed.  This will signal to yourself, and everyone else in your household that you are ready to work.  Don’t work in your pajamas.

   4. Define spaces and time schedules.  Especially with young children, it can be difficult to understand why mom or dad are not available to play.  However, you can help signal to them what is work time and what is play time by working from a specific spot, and keeping work to specific parts of the day.  And then protect your family time by not allowing work to bleed into the evening. Set limits for yourself. Keep your family time your family time, and work time your work time.

   5. Taking a Sabbath is important even when you are working from home.  Let the weekend be different than the work week.  On the weekend, break up the routine. Sleep in. Fix a meal together, take a nap.  

   6. Get some exercise.  Becoming sedentary will become the easiest thing to do when you are living in lockdown.  You will need to be creative if you don’t have a lot of gym equipment at home. Lots of gyms are taking their classes online to help people stay fit.  In some cases, you can still go for a run as long as you stay away from others. Don’t let this slide.

   7. Double down on time with the Lord.  You will need to nurture your soul, even more during uncertain times.  Be protective of your prayer life. Rather than having just one “quiet time”, why not also add a family devotional at a different point in the day?

   8. Social distancing does not equal relational distancing.  Pick up the phone and reach out to friends and relatives.  Stay connected. Use Skype or FaceTime so you can see each other.

   9. Remember that this will pass.  Trust in the Lord.  We don’t know what things will look like on the other end of this, but no matter what happens, the Lord will not abandon us.    

If you’d like more advice on dealing with isolation and/or a lockdown from a mother’s perspective, Andre’s wife wrote a helpful article on their personal blog here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19, PLEASE SEE OUR PAGE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR FAITH DRIVEN INVESTORS & ENTREPRENEURS IN THIS SEASON.

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Today’s guest is one we’ve been excited about for a long time. Bob Doll is a leader in the faith-driven investing movement from his work at Oppenheimer Funds, Merrill Lynch, BlackRock, and now, Nuveen. 

You may have seen him on one of his frequent appearances on CNBC, and we were honored to have Bob join us last summer for the Faith Driven Investing gathering in Utah. The work he’s been doing for the best few decades has been instrumental in shaping the conversation this website is stewarding.

We owe a lot to Bob Doll and we’re excited to share the hard-earned wisdom his experience has yielded. As always, thanks for listening.

Useful Links:

Bob Doll’s 10 Predictions for 2020

Bob Doll on Faith and Finances

Maintaining a Christ-Like Attitude with Bob Doll