Journal of Biblical Integration in Business

Honoring God in a Publicly Traded Corporation: Inspiration from Service Master and the Writings of C. William Pollard

Kent Saunders — 2025-12-05

C. William Pollard served as the CEO of ServiceMaster from 1983-1993 and again from 1999-2001. During Pollard’s tenure, ServiceMaster was honored by Fortune magazine as the number-one service company in the United States in 1985. ServiceMaster experienced growth in revenues and profits every year during Pollard’s first term as CEO. In the summer of 2024, this author studied the writings of C. William Pollard and the ServiceMaster story as a Pollard Faith and Business Research Fellow at the Center for Faithful Business at Seattle Pacific University. In this paper, the author seeks to provide an example of, and insights from, a successful publicly traded company that sought to honor God as its primary objective.

Charles Feeney: An Example of Biblical Giving and Living

Brian Porter — 2025-12-05

This article explores Charles “Chuck” Feeney’s life, a self-made billionaire who co-founded the Duty Free Shoppers Group and gave away almost his entire fortune. Unlike many entrepreneurs, Feeney’s life embodies Christian principles. The article emphasizes three attributes reflecting Jesus’ teachings: giving away wealth, giving in secret, and living modestly. It aims to highlight Feeney’s legacy and suggests ways to incorporate his story into educational settings through readings, films, and discussions.

The Pedagogical Power of Holistic Biography

R. Scott Pearson — 2025-12-05

This issue carries impactful biographical sketches of two business leaders who exemplified important Christian principles—Brian Porter’s story of Charles Feeney and Kent Saunders’s reflections on the life and writings of William Pollard. Biography can be a powerful tool for instruction and edification, but the more complete biography is more valuable to the reader as it provides both the advocated norms and the cautionary tale to help guide the student toward the shore and away from the rocks that can dash the boat. Pollard and Feeney’s lives both offer amazing ideals, but teaching how to navigate the treacherous waters that our students and other business leaders will encounter in business must be the goal.

CEO Religiosity and Corporate Misconduct

Dongye Song — 2025-12-05

Using graduation from a Christian-affiliated university as a measurement, we provide evidence that there is a negative association between corporate misconduct and whether firms have a Christian CEO. The effect is more substantial when the CEO has a longer tenure, or firms are located in highly Christian-influenced areas. We also examine the association between Christian CEOs and different types of misconduct; we find similar results for labor-related and financial misconduct.

The Impact of a New Testament Values-Based Organizational Climate on Employees’ Perception of Organizational Performance and Employees’ Turnover Intention, Mediated by Organizational Identity

Bruce Winston — 2025-12-05

In this structural equation model study, we found that the New Testament-based Organizational Spirituality Climate scale (NTOS-C) positively impacted employees’ perception of organizational performance, as mediated by their perception of organizational identity. We also found that NTOS-C negatively impacted employees’ turnover intention, which is a positive result for both employees and the organization, but employees’ perception of organizational identity did not significantly impact employees’ turnover intention; thus, there was no mediation. In addition, the confirmatory factor analysis of the NTOS-C scale further validated the scale.

Healthy Leadership: Qualitative Research Towards Theory and Scale Development

Mark Bell — 2025-12-05

In this research, the authors detail a qualitative study where healthy leadership is presented as the antithesis of toxic leadership having been discovered through Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in Matthew 23:1-7. Data was collected from 18 individual interviews, and the analysis rendered 67 specific coding results associated with 6 healthy leadership dimensions. A future quantitative study is proposed to develop an instrument measuring healthy leadership entitled the Healthy Leadership Scale.

A Qualitative Analysis of Christian Vocation in Secular Workplaces

Lori Doyle — 2025-12-05

Drawing on C. S. Lewis’s “at-and-along” concept and the two-kingdoms doctrine, this study explores how Christians understand and live out their vocations in secular workplaces. A qualitative phenomenological analysis of Christian professionals revealed a tendency to view vocation subjectively rather than objectively but with limited eternal thinking. These findings highlight a need for clearer theological understanding of the sacred dimension of vocation in daily work.

Lessons in Effective Management from I Chronicles 22-29

David Shankle — 2025-12-05

Biblical concepts can be applied to the primary management functions to improve organizational effectiveness. This article considers I Chronicles 22-29 within the framework of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling to highlight effective faith-based management practices. The contemporary management framework combined with a biblical perspective places godly wisdom at the center of the management process. Management practitioners in ministry, higher education, business, and industry should find practical, faith-informed management applications.

The Dehumanization of Labor: Historical Roots, Modern Manifestations, and Theological Responses

Rachel Hammond — 2025-12-05

This paper examines labor dehumanization from the Industrial Revolution to the present, drawing connections to theological concepts. It explores the shift from Taylorism and scientific management to the human relations movement and highlights the continued existence of dehumanizing practices in modern work settings, such as call centers, the gig economy, and knowledge workers. Additionally, it discusses artificial intelligence’s role in potentially exacerbating or mitigating these issues. Integrating the theological concepts of the imago Dei, total depravity, and redemption, the paper identifies opportunities for Christian managers to address labor dehumanization through redefining productivity for knowledge workers, prioritizing employee well-being and flourishing, and considering the appropriate use of AI technologies.

Strategic Leadership and AI-Driven Decision Making: A Faith-Based Governance Framework

Joshua Maluchnik — 2025-12-05

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into strategic decision-making presents transformative opportunities for efficiency and predictive insight—yet also raises profound ethical and governance challenges. This study introduces a faith-based AI governance framework that integrates biblical leadership principles—stewardship, justice, and wisdom—with ethical oversight strategies for AI implementation. Drawing upon a systematic literature review of approximately 51 scholarly, regulatory, and theological sources, along with case-based synthesis and scriptural analysis, the framework establishes a four-tiered model encompassing moral foundations, leadership pillars, practical implementation strategies, and measurable ethics outcomes. Unlike secular governance models that emphasize procedural compliance, the proposed model centers on spiritual accountability, human dignity, and Christ-centered leadership. It provides Christian business leaders, faith-based institutions, and ethical enterprises with a comprehensive guide to responsible AI adoption rooted in servant leadership and theological integrity.

A Few We May Have Missed: Books to Consider for Your Classroom

Marty McMahone — 2025-12-05

Larry Locke became the editor of the Journal of Biblical Integration in Business in 2018. One of the standards that quickly became part of the publication was a requirement that books being reviewed be recently published, generally within about a three-year window. While this standard has kept the journal’s book reviews connected to the most recent scholarship, there are a few good books that have slipped through the cracks. This article is an attempt to capture a few of those books for the journal’s readership.

The Spiritual Art of Business: Connecting the Daily with the Divine

Trevor Hodges — 2025-12-05

How can one pursue a meaningful career in business and maintain Christian values that promote spiritual growth? Barry L. Rowan addresses this complex question by reflecting on his life in business and seeking to live like Christ. His book, The Spiritual Art of Business: Connecting the Daily With the Divine, provides readers with a practical devotional that challenges them to apply biblical principles to areas of their lives and occupations. Rowan’s background includes diverse business development experience that includes building and transforming eight enterprises. He serves as a board member at several for-profit and nonprofit corporations. The author pulls from his life experience of building businesses and serving corporations to provide readers with an impactful read.

Religion in a Changing Workplace

Jason Stansbury — 2025-12-05

Religion in a Changing Workplace reports two very large multi-method empirical studies of religious expression, religious experience, religious discrimination, and religious accommodation in the American workplace, and makes a case for faith-friendly workplaces that are more engaging for their employees.

Leadership or Servanthood? Walking in the Steps of Jesus

Larry Locke — 2025-12-05

Hwa Yung has served a lifetime in ecumenical leadership. A native of Malasia, he was the bishop of the Methodist Church in that country for almost a decade, along with serving as Principal of the Malasia Theological Seminary, as Chairman of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, and on the international board of the Lausanne Movement. He has authored or co-authored a number of books offering an Asian view on Christianity and its application in the marketplace. His latest work, Leadership or Servanthood? Walking in the Steps of Jesus, speaks in that same voice, providing an external, objective view of the Western Church’s adoption of business leadership theory and offering a corrective, biblical approach.

Endings

Marty McMahone — 2025-12-05

Final Section