And no, this isn't a CandleLight Home Party. This is a Wiccan group that lives nearby.
Posted on 04/17/2006 10:11:41 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
(103 listed in business directory that uses quotes from Bible...)
Between the slogans claiming low prices, high quality and broad experience, one local business directory features verses from Scripture.
The Bible quotes are one way in which the Christian Business Directory for the greater Madison area, now in its 10th year, distinguishes itself from other guides to local goods and services.
The cover of the Madison directory quotes Proverbs 4:18 - "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day."
Its advertisers say the guide can put consumers in touch with businesses dedicated to integrity and honesty.
The directory is published by Red Letter Publishing of Fort Collins, Colo., and is one of 29 in cities across the country, including Boise, Idaho; Las Vegas; and Springfield, Ill.
In Wisconsin, Red Letter also publishes Christian business directories in Milwaukee, Green Bay and Appleton.
In Madison, 130 area businesses and professional people, from accountants to wood flooring dealers, are listed in the 2006 edition.
"I am Christian and love working with people who have a faith-based approach to life," said Realtor Jan Byrne.
Byrne says she knows of only one client who came to her from seeing her advertisement in the directory.
"But it supports good name recognition. People say 'I saw you in the directory,'" Byrne said.
Byrne's ad features a quote from Proverbs about trusting in the Lord.
She said the passage, which she keeps in her wallet and on her desk, helps guide her life.
"When three deals fall apart at once, I try to trust strongly in my ability to get back out there," she said. "What the Lord has in store for me as a Christian and as a Realtor will become apparent as life unfolds."
Advertisers in the directory use one another's services, but Byrne said she would need to have had personal experience with a local business before she would recommend it.
Tom Pellitteri of Pellitteri Waste Systems believes that a presence in the directory is a good indicator of a commitment to fair business practices.
"Hopefully all businesses have standards of honesty and integrity," Pellitteri said. "The directory is a place to let other Christian people know there are businesses with those attributes."
He said that he doesn't necessarily bring up his Christian beliefs to customers, but that his personal relationship with Jesus has shaped his business practices.
"I believe the standards of our company are much higher than industry standards," Pellitteri said.
Pellitteri said the Bible verse he uses in his ad, from the second epistle to Timothy, is one that resonates with him.
The passage speaks about how all scripture is "God-breathed."
"It tells me that the word is something God has given us and it gives us the reason for everything. The Bible becomes our benchmark," he said.
While he certainly does business with those not in the directory - "most of our vendors aren't in there" - Pellitteri said that's where he would turn if he were looking for a plumber or an electrician and didn't know one.
Attorney David F. Grams said he likes the exposure in the Christian community, but his advertising in the directory has probably brought him more people looking for counsel in a difficult situation than actual paying clients.
"It's given me an opportunity to help some people," said Grams, who specializes in estate, business and tax planning. "The Lord will remember that even if I'm not directly compensated."
He believes that the Christian business community is a strong influence in the Madison area, even if it is not always obvious.
"I'm not one to wear on my sleeve that I'm a Christian, but when I get a one-on-one opportunity I try to help lead people to prayer or to be a better person," Grams said.
Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, based in Madison, called the Christian Business Directory "divisive."
Barker said that when he first saw it some years ago by the cash register at El Charro, then a favorite restaurant, "it felt like they were flaunting religion to their customers."
"I felt it was inappropriate for a business serving the general public," Barker said. The restaurant since has closed.
He said that inclusion in the directory probably makes businesses feel as if they seem more family-oriented or values-oriented, but that it backfires with a lot of prospective customers.
"Those of us not within Christianity are not included," he said. "If it's a Jewishrun business or an atheist-run business, does that mean they don't have integrity?"
Christian business people in Madison are networking in ways beyond the directory.
Monthly breakfasts that started among directory advertisers are a great way to network, Byrne said.
The breakfasts are the first Friday of each month from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Prime Table on Monona Drive.
Pellitteri is a member of Connecting Business Men to Christ, which holds monthly luncheons where a businessman testifies on how his relationship with Christ has affected his life.
The organization of Christian men mentoring to each other is not unlike other specialized ministries reaching out to families or pregnant women, for example, he said.
The lunches, held the second Friday of each month at the Elks Club, have drawn hundreds when a special nationally known speaker is featured.
"If the people who come are touched and want to learn more, we do Bible study with them," Pellitteri said.
Of course the "gay business" directories around are fine I guess. I think they are called the purple pages where I live.
"But the cry-baby thing is a dead give away!"
No kidding. I'm listed in women-owned business publications; am I somehow discriminating against men, or *GASP* gay men or lesbians? Is my being a woman, or a Christian or anything else I care to identify myself as (cat lover, gardener, hunter, etc.) an unfair advantage to other businesses or something? Yeesh.
You do what you can every single day, to promote your business. It's as simple as that. (And running it with an underpinning of moral and/or religious values adds a nice touch no matter what, LOL!)
I'm going to look into a listing in this publication, too. Just to irritate the lib that wrote this piece for 'Das Kapitol Times.' :)
In other stories of shocking discrimination, only fellow members of the Chamber of Commerce are located in the Chamber Directory and only businesses owned by women are in the Women In Business Directory (We call it the Business and Professional Women Directory out here).
I can't imagine why anyone would care if someone puts out a "Christian Business Directory." Just about every town has one. It's another form of advertising, paid for by the businesses that are listed in it.
I suppose some folks use these directories and only buy from businesses which advertise in them, but I doubt that it is very many.
For my own part, I've been treated well by some Christian-run businesses, and ripped off by others. I can say the same thing about businesses that don't identify themselves by the religious beliefs of their owners.
It's just advertising.
Sort of like the car with the "Honk if you love Jesus" bummper sticker. You honk, and the driver gives you the finger. That's happened to me...just once. You can't tell a book, or a business, by its advertizing.
Oh shut your stupid mouth. Freedom includes freedom of association. Nothing is stopping local Jewish community, or atheists or Muslims or Hindus or Buddhists or Wiccans from publishing their own community directory.
If he can't get this right why should we listen to anything else he has to say?
In case you don't know, that's Annie Laurie Gaylor's communist front group. Dan is her husband. Her mother founded the Freedom FROM Religion Foundation here in Madistan, WI. They were whipping their usual hissy fit this past weekend when State Offices and Post Offices closed at noon on Good Friday in recognition of the holy-day. *Rolleyes*
http://ffrf.org
And no, this isn't a CandleLight Home Party. This is a Wiccan group that lives nearby.
I think that fellow needed another bumper sticker.
"Jesus loves me.
Everyone else thinks I'm an -------."
those poor kids :(
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