FAITH IN YOUR BUSINESS

Lawyer Shawn McLaughlin knows the decision to identify as Christian might cost his York law firm some business. But he and the other partners are fine with that.

In fact, the newly branded Trinity Law would rather turn down clients than pursue what the partners consider questionable legal maneuvers.

"That's one of the things we're not about," McLaughlin said from the firm's East Market Street offices. "We're not out to get the other side just because we can. Maybe we lose some business, and that's OK."

Originally known as Menges & McLaughlin, the York-based firm has more than 30 years' experience, seven lawyers and offices in Gettysburg, Lancaster and Upper Allen Township. The firm has long had an affinity for clients who share their Christian beliefs, McLaughlin said.

D i s c u s s i o n s about rebranding as a Christian law firm began last year with York-based consultant John Lewis, owner of Doceo Creative.

"Through that process, he asked us what we're about," McLaughlin recalled. "He suggested to us that we might want to go to a name that would be a natural progression for the people we were already working with."

While Lewis said he knew it would "narrow the market" for the law firm, he sensed the connection with Christian clients would make the name change worth it.

"There's probably a lot of people who won't find it appealing that they're a Christian law firm," Lewis said, adding that dealing with sensitive issues such as divorce and estate planning often require a little faith.

"My strong feeling, and the partners of this firm share the opinion, is that Christian families would rather deal with Christian attorneys on these matters," he added.

National influence

Bringing faith beliefs into the business is seemingly becoming easier for owners. The national success of franchises such as Hobby Lobby and Chickfil- A as Christian-based businesses has made small-town businesses bolder when it comes to matters of faith.

Both national chains hold a devoted customer base despite ownerships taking controversial stands on contraception and gay rights. Lancaster County-based Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. recently joined Hobby Lobby against the Obama administration in a U.S. Supreme Court case testing the government's right to require certain contraception coverage under health insurance.

Mark Griffin, chief consultant for In His Name HR LLC, a Manheim Township-based consulting firm, said business owners should not be afraid to identify who they are spiritually. Griffin formerly worked in human resources for companies such as Quaker Oats and Merck before starting In His Name HR to offer consulting services to businesses on matters of faith.

In the three years since, he has advised clients from Brooklyn to Wisconsin, and he has written a book: "How to Build Kingdom-Minded Organizations."

"Many times, really conservative clients are hesitant to share the fact that they're a Christ follower," Griffin said. "They're concerned about offending people. We've become so polarized by political correctness that we can't say who we are."

Griffin said he hopes to be "the Dave Ramsey of Christian resources." Ramsey provides a stepby- step, Christian-based program to financial freedom. Griffin said he performs an initial assessment of what businesses are doing, then provides a two-year plan for development of a faith identity.

There is no question local, small businesses are more willing to identify their faith in light of the national success of businesses such as Hobby Lobby, Griffin said. Showing your faith can mean instant credibility with jaded customers, he noted.

"From a business perspective, and this isn't why we do it, but Barna (research group) will tell you that the majority of people gravitate to Christianowned businesses for the perceived value that they have," he said. "There's an absolute value proposition to being able to say, 'We're a Christian-owned business.'"

The 2011 survey by Barna asked if people would be "more likely or less likely to buy a particular brand if they knew it was from a company that embraces and promotes the Christian faith, or wouldn't it make a difference."

One-third of all U.S. adults (37 percent) said they would be more likely to purchase from this type of business. Only 3 percent said such a faith connection would make them less likely to support this type of organization and its products, resulting in a favorable-to-unfavorable ratio of 12 to 1.

Founded in 1984, Barna Group says it performs market research "focused on the intersection of faith and culture."

From the beginning

Cornerstone Family Health Associates in Warwick Township was started in 1987 by Dr. Alice Riden and Dr. Charles Mershon. Their mission remains the same as the day the doors opened: "To provide a Christ-centered ministry to our patients' physical, emotional, and spiritual needs within the context of a comprehensive family medicine practice."

"Cornerstone is a reference to a biblical verse, which talks about Christ being a cornerstone in our lives," Mershon explained.

The seven doctors on staffat Cornerstone perform a range of family medical services. But there are clear differences from a secular medical practice. The staffhas a morning prayer, Mershon said, and offers to pray with patients as well.

Medical procedures that are not consistent with the founders' Christian beliefs are not performed.

"We don't refer for abortions. Our feeling is the baby is a patient as well," Mershon said. "If you feel that's a patient as well, you don't send your patients to get killed."

Like Trinity Law Firm, the stance might cost Cornerstone some patients, but Mershon is willing to live with that. The health care provider does not turn patients away, he added.

"Obviously, we take care of patients regardless of their faiths," he said. "We occasionally get some grief, but in Lancaster County, it's not a big deal. Most people respect our beliefs. ... For us, it's showing Christ's love in a practical way in terms of taking care of our patients."

Trinity has clients who see the Christian branding as adding a spiritual element to their legal services, McLaughlin said. For example, clients will sometimes ask for the Christian answer to a legal question, he said, and Trinity lawyers pray with clients at times.

"There are times when the client doesn't see it the same way," McLaughlin said. "What we'll do, and what we have done, is we'll ask them to talk to their pastor."

'Religion-free zone'

Michael Zigarelli, professor of leadership and strategy at Messiah College in Cumberland County, said expressing faith views in business is hardly a new trend. It is generating a lot more publicity these days as businesses are drawn into issues such as gay rights, he added.

"Many of these folks are just trying to express who they are in their business," he said.

What they are encountering is "pushback from people who want to turn business into a religion-free zone," said Zigarelli, who has taught at several faith-based colleges.

He said the Conestoga/Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius decision is "going to be absolutely pivotal." If the court rules against the businesses, it will have "a significant ripple effect" on how religious beliefs are expressed in the workplace, Zigarelli said.

In the current contentious environment, there remain potential downsides to the decision to embrace faith. Depending on the business type, identifying with a particular faith can bring out various biases on the part of potential customers.

Business owners need to be wary of appearing "holier than thou," Griffin said. He works with clients on crafting language to deflect those perceptions.

"Stating that you're a Christianowned business isn't a statement that you're perfect," he said.

Some customers may wonder if faith-adhering businesses are "too good" to perform the services needed. McLaughlin has experienced this at Trinity, where some potential customers have questioned, "Would we be too soft? Could we be sharks?" he said.

The lawyer said Trinity represents its clients "zealously," but with Christian principles. And that is the bottomline allure for most companies choosing the faith route.

"It's really not any different from how a secular company like Quaker Oats would take their values and incorporate them into the company," Griffin explained. "You can state where you're founded, or what you're based on, but from a legal perspective, or from a moral perspective, you don't want to force that on someone."

YOUR TAKE

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'There's a hesitation'

Southcentral Pennsylvania is heavily dominated by Christian faiths, according to data from the Association of Religion Data Archives. Several attempts were made to contact business owners and clergy from other faiths for this story, without success.

Michael Zigarelli, a professor of leadership and strategy at Messiah College, says many businesses have become leery of publicity for their beliefs.

"There's a hesitation" from business owners about being "too overt" in expressing their faith, he said. That reticence goes beyond the Affordable Care Act issues surrounding contraception, he added.

Zigarelli cited a New Mexico decision ordering a photography business to accept a same-sex couple as clients. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear that case this week.

"There's an increasing number of those cases out there," he said.

Mark Griffin, who founded the consulting company In His Name HR LLC, said some local clients he has worked with might be hesitant to speak out. It is often easier for business owners to be public about their faith if they do business in an area where their faith is the dominant religion, he added.

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Attorney Shawn McLaughlin is a partner with Trinity Law. Last year, the York-based practice rebranded with a new name and identifies itself as a Christian law firm.

"We've become so polarized by political correctness that we can't say who we are."

Mark Griffin, In His Name HR LLC

Why now?

Employment-based health insurance and contraceptives have both been around for a long time, so why are employee-versus-business rights on this being hashed out only now?

"The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission took the position in 2000 that any employer offering a health plan that covers prescription medications intended to prevent certain medical conditions must also cover oral contraceptives," says attorney Eric Athey, co-chairman of the labor and employment division of Harrisburg-based McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC.

But, he says, that requirement didn't spark the same response apparent now because it wasn't as widely publicized, and health care reform goes beyond that requirement by demanding coverage of what is known as the morning-after pill and similar contraceptives that some consider abortifacients.

The issue, however, isn't limited to contraception. Initial Supreme Court questioning about other medical treatments to which some business owners might object, such as vaccinations and blood transfusions, underlined what Athey calls a primary concern of the Obama administration - "that a broad exception to one requirement would allow private business owners to pick and choose which requirements they like and which they don't."

He notes that the law already contains an exemption for religious sects that object to Medicare and Social Security.

Of the impact of the pending decision, Athey says the issue weighs heavily on business owners who object to contraceptives on religious grounds but won't have much direct short-term impact on employers who don't share those objections. The long-term impact of the ruling, he says, will be on the scope of future legislation and the extent to which it must accommodate religious objections.

-Heather Stauffer

LEGAL EYE: BEWARE DISCRIMINATION

There's no law against expressing faith in business, attorneys say, unless that expression constitutes discrimination.

"When you're an employer, you have to comply with nondiscrimination laws, regardless of your religious beliefs," says Sara J. Rose of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. "As a society, we made that decision with Title 7" of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Under Title 7, Rose says, business owners can't refuse to hire people of different or no faith. They also can't require people to pray or engage in any other kind of religious practice at work. That doesn't expressly prohibit activities like organized prayer in the workplace; it just means that employees can't be required to participate.

However, Anthony Bowser of Harrisburg-based Thomas, Thomas and Hafer LLP notes that the lines on these issues aren't always clear. The organized prayer group, for instance, could become fodder for an employee of different beliefs to allege animosity or harassment on the basis of religion. And a business promoting itself as, say, pro-Christian, might be construed as dissuading applicants who would otherwise consider seeking employment there.

"It's not, per se, a violation to do that, but I think it's a dangerous area when you start promoting your business that way," Bowser said.

On the customer side, the issue of the moment is whether business owners may deny service to the LGBT community. Currently, Rose and Bowser say, federal law does not specifically protect LGBT customers, and Pennsylvania doesn't have a state law on the subject, although some municipalities have passed their own anti-discrimination ordinance. But given the issue's prominence, they expect proposals may gain traction in the coming years.

-Heather Stauffer

Mark Griffin is president and founder of In His Name HR LLC. The Lancaster County-based firm offers consulting services to businesses on matters of faith.

One-third of all U.S. adults (37 percent) said they would be more likely to purchase from (a company that embraces and promotes the Christian faith).

IN POLLS, SUPPORTERS HAVE AN EDGE

The Supreme Court heard arguments last month on whether businesses should be required to provide contraceptives against the religious convictions of the owner.

The case is new but the general question is not, and public opinion polling on it has been happening for years. Many of those polls have shown a majority saying businesses should not be granted religious exemptions. Here are two examples.

Early in March, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey asked 1,000 adults this question:

"Under the new health care law, health insurance plans are required to cover preventive health services, including prescription birth control. Religious organizations are exempt from the requirement that their health plans cover prescription birth control. Do you think other employers who object to birth control and other contraceptives on religious grounds should or should not be exempt from the requirement that their health plans cover prescription birth control?"

In March 2012, a Public Religion Research Institute survey asked 1,007 people this question.

"There is currently a debate over what kinds of health care plans employers, including religiously affiliated employers, should be required to provide. Do you think ____ should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception or birth control at no cost, or not?"

Dr. Charles Mershon co-founded Cornerstone Family Health Associates. A board at the Lancaster County</location> medical practice features news about past and present staffers' overseas mission work. Mershon's one to two mission trips a year focus on community health development. The doctor most frequently travels to India but also has worked in Nepal, Sudan and Indonesia.

"Most people respect our beliefs. ... For us, it's showing Christ's love in a practical way in terms of taking care of our patients."

Dr. Charles Mershon, Cornerstone Family Health Associates

Picking a position

There are many ways to make faith part of your company's image, from name and policies to statements on your website and where and how you advertise. But is doing so a wise business move?

That depends on the business, says Dave Taylor, president of Lancaster-based Taylor Brand Group LLC. It seems to have worked for ChristianMingle.com, which uses it as a positioning tactic in the crowded field of online dating.

"If you felt yourself to be a religious person, you might be a little more likely to be uneasy with online dating," Taylor says. "Right away they say, 'These are the people that share your values, this is not a hookup community.'"

In other markets, though, faith may not be a key consideration that most people use when determining who to patronize. Introducing faith into that equation is a gamble and, as with politics, Taylor says, neutral is generally the safest place for a business to be.

"From a business perspective, I will almost always recommend that you keep faith out of your public brand," says Craig Trout, president of Lancaster-based Alpha Dog Advertising LLC. He knows of businesses he thinks would be doing better without the public emphasis on faith, and he notes that the number of wars sparked by religion say a lot about how polarizing it can be.

"The larger the organization, the less likely they are to pull religion into any part of their brand communication," he said.

However, balancing that consideration is the need to know your target audience and the rewards of engaging with it deeply.

"The best brands are very true to who they are. If you have a faith-based brand, it's important that you stay true to that," he says. Potentially divisive emphases may well narrow the field of potential customers, but it can also inspire stronger loyalty with those customers who identify with what the company stands for.

Narrowing a company's focus can be scary, Trout says, but he often encourages clients to do it, because, in the end, "the opportunities you receive are much better suited for what you will deliver."

-Heather Stauffer

"Many of these folks are just trying to express who they are in their business."

Michael Zigarelli, Messiah College

FINDING A GUIDE

To be in business is to hear, repeatedly, of the value of mentors.

But for business people of faith, finding a mentor may require more than just identifying someone with experience in the industry.

"We do see more businesses that really are making faith practice a part of what they do," says Patricia Bucek, vice president of chamber operations at Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC. And when people with a deep-seated belief that faith plays a large role in business success come to the chamber seeking help finding a mentor, "that absolutely factors in."

"For some people, the Bible is a business manual," Bucek says. Asking about faith isn't a formal part of the chamber's mentorship matchmaking process, but it tends to come up in the screening conversations.

Just being of the same faith, however, is no guarantee that people will agree on how that faith should be expressed. Some may see an imperative to use the marketplace to explicitly exercise their religion, publicly encouraging righteousness and fighting evil, while others may believe that a subtler approach is wiser.

Martin Sauer is in the latter group. He says he has been a Christian for about four decades, and most of that time he has spent working at big businesses that were not explicitly religious. Now he's at Manheim Township-based Lancaster Bible College, serving as professor and director of the business administration major that just joined a college roster filled with ministry degrees.

According to LBC's website, the program's mission is, "To educate Christian students with the necessary business knowledge and skills that they may proclaim Jesus Christ and serve Him in the Church and society."

"When Jesus tells us, 'You have to love God and you have to love others,' in your business you have to love others. To me, that means if a person walks in my front door that I don't like and is not living in a way that I'm not comfortable with or happy with, that makes me uncomfortable, it doesn't matter," Sauer says. "I have to serve them, and I have to do so in a loving and gracious manner."

Don Schin is area executive for ActionCoach, a business coaching firm, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It is not a religious company, but many of the coaches are people of faith, he says, and clients often seek guidance on some aspect of living out their faith at work.

Those questions aren't always distinctively religious. They can be as elemental as how to respond, as a person of faith, if a company pulls your franchise agreement or someone steals from you, Schin says.

-Heather Stauffer

Martin Sauer is a professor and director of the business administration major at Manheim Townshipbased Lancaster Bible College.

photo/Submitted

BY JOHN HILTON * [email protected]