Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles, and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute

“Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” is about a faithful leader being courageous in sharing as TRUTH (and not merely as “wisdom” or “tradition”) the faith that informs their leadership and inspires the bigger WHY of the organization, even if the leader has discerned that it is wiser stewardship for the organization to “whisper”–operate at the covert end of the Covert/Overt Continuums—in its pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing.

If you have been following our posts, you know that the first key ingredient needed for successfully aligning an organization with Biblical beliefs, principles, and priorities is a flexible approach to overtness. The pursuit of faithful integrity does NOT require overt use of “faith” language, symbols and practices by the organization. The same is not true when a faithful leader is asked what informs their leadership and inspires the organization’s bigger WHY.

“Whispering” may be wise stewardship of the organization, but “dilution” should not be the approach when a leader answers for their faith. At some point, softening Biblical truth into “tradition” or “wisdom” becomes a quiet way of denying the God who called himself the first and the last and the one who called himself “the way, and the truth, and the life.”

Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  Some are critical steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process; others are ideas to consider through prayerful discernment as faithful leaders steward the organization toward its WHY.

We believe “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” falls into the “necessary” category. A prayerful decision to lead covertly should never be an excuse for a faithful leader to “dilute” their faith or the heart of the organization if asked.

Whispering

Mary Anne Radmacher is credited with the quote “Courage doesn’t always roar.”  She even used it in the title of her book Courage Doesn’t Always Roar: And Sometimes It Does.

We know that sometimes God chooses to “roar”, but other times He “whispers”:

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:11-13)

As we emphasized in post #141 (Covert or Overt?), leading an organization faithfully through business a better way in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities, requires a continual prayerful balancing of the call to be courageous and the need to be wise. Both the idolization of overtness and the fear of being overt may lead to poor stewardship. 

Here are two verses to anchor those guideposts:

Courageous: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

Wise: Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  (Matthew 10:16)

But it may be Ecclesiastes 11:9 that best reflects the necessary balance of courageous and wise:

Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.

A faithful leader is called to steward the organization they have been given to lead by God.  Being overt may be absolutely the wrong execution–poor stewardship–for a particular organization, given factors such as the industry, geographic location, customer base, employee base, and regulatory environment.  For example, being overt may alienate key stakeholders or create an “us-them” culture.

We believe it is better thought of as courage tempered by wisdom rather than wisdom tempered by courage.  After all, Ecclesiastes 11:9 mentioned “heart” first and then “eyes”.

A faithful leader displays courage by committing to the counter-cultural act of leading with faithful integrity through business a better way in a world that pushes business as usual.  Wisdom tempers the courageous act of leading with faithful integrity by helping the faithful leader discern whether that courage should roar or whisper–whether it should be implemented toward the overt or covert end of the Covert/Overt Continuums.

Diluting

If “whispering” is about how overt the organization should be in aligning with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities, “diluting” is about how honest a faithful leader will be when asked about that alignment.

In a prior post (Integrity Idea 075: Whisper, Just Don’t Hide), we warned that a prayerful decision to “whisper” by being covert in the business should not be an excuse for a faithful leader to “hide” their faith or the heart of the business if asked.

It is also not an excuse for a faithful leader to “dilute” God, Scripture, or the Gospel by describing their beliefs as something like “wisdom of the Biblical/Christian tradition” rather than “truth of a Biblical/Christian faith”.  It is a shift that replaces the person of God with a philosophy–a shift that replaces the transcendent with the temporal.  A “tradition” is man-made and requires no faith.  Families have traditions, cultures have traditions, and religions have traditions.  People create traditions–God established truth. In 1 Corinthians 2:5, Paul emphasized the importance of faith resting not “in the wisdom of men” but “in the power of God.”

When a faithful leader courageously expresses their faith as “the truth of the Biblical/Christian faith”, they are proclaiming an objective reality–that Biblical beliefs, principles, and priorities reflect something true about God, humanity, and the world. Truth, in this sense, is not contingent on human opinion or historical development; it’s grounded in God’s self-disclosure through Scripture. In other words, they are naming God as real, objective, and Lord over every part of their leadership.

When a faithful leader dilutes the expression of their faith to something like “the wisdom of the Biblical/Christian tradition”, they are describing something more subjective and cultural–that the Bible is one valuable source of moral insight among many other religious and philosophical traditions.  It is something to draw from rather than submit to, grounded in experience and human reflection rather than divine revelation. In other words, Biblical principles become one wisdom stream among many, rather than the voice of the living God.

God declares in Isaiah 44:6, “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god,” and in Isaiah 45:5, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God, ” and Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6 ,”I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”  He did not say “I am a way, and one tradition, and one way of life.”

This shift from truth to tradition may seem harmless in an effort to sound more inclusive or less doctrinally rigid in an increasingly pluralistic and secular culture, but it subtly moves God from the center to the margins–obscuring God and his purpose for work and business behind “safer” language. We believe this shift—however subtle—at least risks becoming a form of softly denying God/Jesus: not rejecting him outright but removing him from the center and placing something vaguer, safer, and culturally acceptable in his place.  Consider these observations by Soren Kierkegaard and Dorothy Sayer:

There is nothing that so insidiously displaces the majestic as cordiality. (Kierkegaard)

It is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology. (Sayer)

Shifting Scripture and the person of God/Jesus from truth to wisdom and from the way to a way, also invites people to choose the wisdom and way that is comfortable and convenient and reject the uncomfortable and challenging–such as the dependance on God needed to cross the Safety/Surrender Gap.

Diluting one’s faith out of fear is not courageous, wise, or faithful. The Bible is quite clear about the need for faithful leaders to be willing to explain the faith that informs their leadership and inspires the organization’s bigger WHY. God calls us not merely to preserve Biblical wisdom, but to confess God openly as Lord and truth.

Here are just a few familiar passages:

I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. (Psalm 40:10)

Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:15)

Indeed, we devoted post #229 (Integrity Idea 053: Climb a Hill) to the importance of living out the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:14-16:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Scripture also provides warnings about the consequences of “diluting”:

Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:33)

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38)

While a faithful leader “diluting” the faith that informs their leadership of an organization and inspires the organization’s bigger WHY is clearly not “wise” from a Biblical perspective, we particularly like two quotes from Brene Brown that express why “diluting” what we really believe is the antithesis of courage:

Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.

Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor—the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”

Not “diluting” is the beginning of courage.  A faithful leader leading with faithful integrity in alignment with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities must have the courage to be that light on a hill–to share the “heart” behind their leadership and the “heart” of the organization–even if only when asked.

Not only does it glorify God, it sets an important example for other faithful leaders. In the words of Billy Graham:

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened

CONTINUUM: Practices

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” is on the Proclamation Continuum. Is about a faithful leader be willing and ready to share and explain courageously the faith that informs their leadership and inspires the bigger WHY of the organization they lead.

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Overt

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas will have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.

“Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” is unique because it is responsive in nature. Questions about the leader’s inspiration or the organization’s WHY could come from any stakeholder–employees, customers/clients, owners, suppliers/vendors or the community.  For that reason, we consider it Highly Overt (an overtly faith-based action involving community, website, sales/marketing materials).

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” can impact any stakeholder, because any stakeholder could ask about the faithful leader’s inspiration or the organization’s WHY.  Courageously proclaiming the leader’s faith always impacts the Kingdom.

IMPLEMENTATION

Like implementing “Whisper, Just Don’t Hide,” implementing “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” could be the easiest of our Integrity Ideas to implement, or one of the hardest.  Actually, “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” is likely to be much harder.

At its simplest, not “diluting” is about a faithful leader, when asked, sharing the faith that informs their pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way and that inspires a bigger WHY for the organization they lead.  But “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” can be more challenging than “Whisper, Just Don’t Hide” because it requires a faithful leader to reflect on “truth”, which requires reflection on their worldview.

Richard Rohr recently wrote that our operative worldview rests on our image of self, God, and the world. The question for a faithful leader is simple: are their images grounded in God’s revealed truth, or in a culturally respectable “wisdom tradition?” Does the faithful leader really believe that Scripture reveals God’s purpose for humanity, work and business, God’s plan for his creation and the world, and God’s design for how his Kingdom should operate?

Tradition may support the wisdom of thinking about people as though they were created in the image of God, but it can’t internalize Imago Dei. Tradition may endorse the wisdom of Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities but it can’t internalize them as commands from an almighty God that align us with our ultimate purpose and the way we and the world were created.

Even if a faithful leader has discerned that “whispering” at the covert end of the Covert/Overt Continuum is the best way to pursue faithful integrity in their organization, “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” could also involve a faithful leader more boldly seeking ways to share not only how and why they are pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing, but also fruit. It is not about implementing overt practices but being overt about the practices being implemented and the bigger WHY behind them, wherever they are on the Covert/Overt Continuums.

Post #229 (Integrity Idea 053: Climb a Hill) is devoted to exploring ways to live out the call in Matthew 5:16 to “let your light shine before others“.  “Climb a Hill” recognizes that faithful leaders are operating in an increasingly secular culture and sharing “best practices” and stories of transformation can serve to encourage and equip other faithful leaders in their efforts to lead with faithful integrity.

Whether simply responding honestly when asked or being more proactive, not “diluting” requires courage because resistance is certain when challenging “the given structures of the social order” in a fallen world.

A faithful leader preparing to “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” needs to turn to what we described as two of the five key ingredients for executing a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture in an organization:  Prayer and Trust in God.

Pray. A reminder to Pray is necessary because unfortunately many faithful leaders do not associate God with organizational decisions.  Oswald Chambers observed:

In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives.

If Chambers is not convincing enough, the Bible is full of guidance on the topic of leaders seeking (or failing to seek) God’s guidance.  Here are just a few:

But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. (Jeremiah 7:24)

For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. (Jeremiah 10:21)

Prayer in the context of “Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” is asking God for wisdom about how to respond to inquiries and whether and how to be more proactive in not “hiding”.

Trust.  In one of our most used quotes, James Hunter warns:  “To enact a vision of human flourishing based in the qualities of life that Jesus modeled will invariably challenge the given structures of the social order. In this light, there is no true leadership without putting at risk one’s time, wealth, reputation, and position.”

The Bible warns that those following God’s commands will have trouble (John 16:33), be persecuted (Romans 12:14), suffer affliction (Romans 12:12), be accused of wrongdoing (1 Peter 2:12) and suffer unjustly (1 Peter 2:19).  Resistance may come from employees, customers, vendors, owners, regulators and communities.

While it may be possible to minimize the risk of worldly resistance by staying quiet and keeping a low profile about efforts to Glorify God through business, that is not the call of Matthew 5:16.  Not “diluting” God’s truth requires trust in God. It is about crossing the Safety/Surrender Gap.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM): This post was inspired by listening to a podcast by a Christian organization I respect.  They described their mission in terms of “applying wisdom from the Christian tradition”.  I listened to the entire podcast but couldn’t get that phrase “Christian tradition” out of my head.  It was not the first time I’d heard it–I’ve heard the Christian faith described that way in a sermon.  It bothered me then.  I am not a follower of a tradition–I am a follower of Jesus–his way and his truth and his life.

I did some digging into the website of that organization.  It used to describe its mission as working for “the transformation and renewal of society through the transformation and renewal of leaders.” Now it describes as working for the “renewal of society by cultivating, curating and disseminating the best in Christian thinking for the common good, and by helping leaders to think, work, and live wisely and well.”  They shifted from wanted leaders transformed and renewed to leaders thinking, working, and living wisely and well.  It feels like their target changed from hearts to heads–from transformation to wisdom.  (It’s hard to tell from the website whether their arrow also changed from Christian truth to Christian tradition.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute

“Whisper, Just Don’t Dilute” is about a faithful leader being courageous in sharing as TRUTH (and not merely as “wisdom” or “tradition”) the faith that informs their leadership and inspires the bigger WHY of the organization, even if the leader has discerned that it is wiser stewardship for the organization to “whisper”–operate at the covert end of the Covert/Overt Continuums–in its pursuit of faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing.  Leading an organization faithfully through business a better way in the midst of a business as usual culture requires courage as well as a continual prayerful balancing of the call to be courageous and the need to be wise. Both the idolization of overtness and the fear of being overt may lead to poor stewardship.  Wisdom tempers the courageous act of leading with faithful integrity by helping a faithful leader discern whether that courage should “roar” overtly or “whisper” covertly.  In a prior post (“Whisper, Just Don’t Hide”), we warned that a prayerful decision to “whisper” by being covert in the business should not be an excuse for a faithful leader to “hide” their faith or the heart of the business if asked. It is also not an excuse for a faithful leader to dilute God, Scripture, or the Gospel by describing their beliefs as something like “wisdom of the Christian tradition” rather than “truth of the Christian faith”–a shift that replaces the person of God with a philosophy. That shift may seem harmless, an effort to sound more inclusive or less doctrinally rigid. Still, it subtly moves God from the center to the margins–obscuring God and his purpose for work and business behind “safer” language. Diluting one’s faith out of fear is not courageous, wise, or faithful.

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action):  Proclamation

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt):  Highly Overt

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom

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