Is the Word of God Research Based?

Briefly,

I'm working on my Oct 10th post for Leadertalk.  It's about how to adequately praise staff.  According to the Gallup Q12 criteria - which we are using district-wide, and about which teachers are surveyed annually, one of the criteria is "In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work".  Another specific criteria is "I have a best-friend at work".

Assuming this is research-based, we are taking pro-active measures here at school to address the issue of feeling significant, receiving praise, and having friends at work.

But, according to Bishop T.D. Jakes, who TIME magazine refers to as the next Billy Graham, it is wrong to look to the workplace for feelings of significance.   An analogy I personally heard him use is that we should consider ourselves to be "ships" and the work environment is the "ocean".  "The ship must stay on top of the water, separate and apart from it."  And, as he pointed out, if the "ocean gets into the ship, we all know what happens."

If Gallup says an effective environment provides employees with praise and feelings of significance, and God [assuming Jakes represents Him/Her] says not to look to the work place for those feelings...which one should I apply?

Assuming Bishop Jakes is preaching the "word of God"...does that trump "research- based"?

Can I legally refer to the Bible in a Site-Based Committee Meeting??

I am soooo gonna be struck by lightening!!

 

Technorati Tags: Religion_in_School God TD_Jakes Gallup Strengths_Finder

Comments

[barefoot]

I am going to go out a limb and propose the Bishop Jakes has never worked or set foot on an Alternative-School campus. While it is great to be praised by the powers above you, my sense of fulfillment and inner significance is derived from the students that make up my "ocean" so to speak. The bouyancy of the ship sailing must factor in the ocean that it is sailing, as well as the depth of the water. I would rather have a student say to me " thank you for your help today " than a 5 year tenure lapel pin. Our students today will sail us into the future most assuredly, but as teachers we must be there with them and help them build the ocean-going vessel they are to use. The ocean and the ship must work together as one unit in order to navigate the uncharted waters of the future, not seperate and apart as Bishop Jakes preaches.

[Numbah 1]

They say that the Devil is in the details...and research sure does have a lot of details, so...

[Patrick]

Hey Greg

I have thought these thoughts for many years...as I expect so many archeologists do, I have continualy teased my daughter Amanda, a devout Christian, by asking her "What if they find the Covenent of The Lost Ark ... open it and find out the Jews were right?"

I love the last two lines of this post.

Patrick