Posted on 01/08/2008 9:29:32 AM PST by mngran2
A conservative Christian pastor plans to launch a high-profile campaign Tuesday urging religious followers to load up on Microsoft Corp. stock, in an attempt to force the company to "stop financing ungodly ventures."
The Rev. Ken Hutcherson, who leads Antioch Bible Church in Microsoft's hometown of Redmond, says that he will create a global and powerful group to promote traditional family values, including marriage exclusively between a man and a woman.
Hutcherson, joined by some of the country's most influential Christian leaders, has created a new organization, AGN Financial Network, to finance the effort. The worldwide venture asks people to buy three shares of company stock and donate one to AGN. Its Web site tells visitors, "You have the power to change the world," and contains tips on how to open a brokerage account. Among the listed supporters are Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention and religious pundit Gary Bauer.
"We're not trying to hurt Microsoft or their shareholders, nor are we calling for a boycott of their products," volunteer spokesman Dennis Sullivan said. "We are trying to get Christians to buy their shares."
It's unclear what effect, if any, the initiative could have on the stock price. It would be difficult to influence company direction -- just to gain a 1 percent stake in Microsoft, about 31 million people would each have to spend $104 to buy three shares. Microsoft has about 9.36 billion outstanding shares, and its largest holder is Chairman Bill Gates, with 858 million shares, or 9 percent of the total. Capital Research and Management Co. follows with nearly 557 million shares, or 6 percent.
At Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting in November, Hutcherson told the group that he was gathering evangelicals, Catholics, Jews and Muslims to challenge the company.
He told company leaders, "I could work with you, or I could be your worst nightmare, because I am a black man with a righteous cause, with a host of powerful white people behind me," according to an e-mail update to his supporters. "I hope to hear from you and if not, you will hear from me."
Microsoft leadership has publicly supported gay rights legislation, and the company officially opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation. Microsoft shareholders have voted in favor of the company's nondiscrimination policy, General Counsel Brad Smith said.
The company was one of the first to offer employee benefits to same-sex domestic partners, according to its employee resource group GLEAM, which stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Employees at Microsoft. The group, founded in 1993, has more than 700 members.
"Our company policies are well-known and supported by over 97 percent of our shareholders when it was voted upon in a shareholder resolution, and we just have no comment on this," Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said.
What the company does "within its four walls" is its own business, Hutcherson told the Seattle P-I on Monday. He objects to Microsoft's, and many other companies', influence on public policy.
"That's when I got upset at Microsoft, when they came down to Olympia ... I said, 'Wait a minute, what are you doing down here trying to make your own policy state policy?' "
In 2005, Microsoft supported, then withdrew its support, and then supported again a state bill that would have barred sexual-orientation-based workplace discrimination. Though the bill ultimately failed, Microsoft was criticized by gay groups, The Stranger weekly newspaper and Microsoft employees for bowing to pressure from Hutcherson. When Microsoft changed back to its traditional gay-friendly stance, the company was criticized by the Christian right for overstepping its corporate boundaries.
Microsoft officials had met with Hutcherson, but denied being influenced by him.
In a May 2005 e-mail to employees, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said, "I expect everyone at this company -- particularly managers -- to take a hard look at their personal commitment to diversity, and redouble that commitment."
Hutcherson said it's not Microsoft's job to influence the public agenda, and that it should be left to others, like him.
"That's what my job is," he said. "I'm a pastor."
When asked whether the new initiative is a ploy to make money for his church, Hutcherson said, "Absolutely."
"We're going to need the finances to go to the next companies," he said. "Anything you do successfully needs money."
Hutcherson, who describes himself as a "creative, freckle-faced black philistine," is a well-known and controversial figure in Western Washington; his church has 3,000 members. He said his battle is reminiscent of the biblical story of David versus Goliath.
When asked why he's putting so much effort into this new venture, he said, "God will judge us one day, and I want to do everything it takes for him not to judge us on my watch."
He wants AGN Financial's vote to resonate with the Microsoft board, he said, and wake up shareholders.
"Oh, yes ma'am, we're going after corporations," he said. "Microsoft has the privilege of being first because we have a history," Hutcherson said.
Also, I don't like this angle at all: 'When asked whether the new initiative is a ploy to make money for his church, Hutcherson said, "Absolutely.'"
Won’t work. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I’d imagine that Gates and his closest subordinates plus a few others probably have a controlling share in Microsoft already.
I applaud his heart... his mind needs a serious education, though. If word gets out that advocating for homosexual rights will make Christians buy your stock... anyone with a brain can figure that last sentence out.
You’re not going to scare corporations with the threat to buy their stock.
Just buy a share or two. You get the same vote as someone who holds 10,000 shares.
I did this with JNJ so as to fight their pro-abortion policies.
No you don’t. You get 1 vote, the other person gets 10,000 votes.
Of course, both of you are nothing but a waste of paper when the institutions vote with their 250 million votes.
I really like that. For Microsoft, diversity would truly mean Linux, Leopard, OSS, Mozilla...great diversity. And a wonderful way for Christians to express diversity, too!
Do ACLU memberships work this way too? I once thought that if enough freepers would purchase an ACLU membership we could change them through reverse subversion.
Um, what would be “reverse” about that? Sounds like pretty straightforward subversion to me.
Fun idea, though I don’t think buying any amount of “memberships” could cause an organization to change its charter, just like buying a couple shares of Microsoft stock won’t help anyone change Microsoft policy.
Presumably, the idea is to buy enough Microsoft to influence it in a shareholder meeting. That would be like trying to dilute the ocean with fresh water to make it drinkable.
Please just find a workable approach, such as depriving Microsoft of market share. Example: All evangelical churches swearing to use open source.
Presumably, the idea is to buy enough Microsoft to influence it in a shareholder meeting.
When was the last time an "agenda driven resolution" brought by a shareholder at an annual meeting accomplished anything at all?
I’ve sat down and had breakfast with the man. he’s intelligent, funny, warm, caring...
..and he’s crazy as a mule on a ferris wheel if he thinks this is going to have any chance of success, whatsoever.
Yes, we could. But what really would get their attention is an organized and well publicized effort, by churches and sympathetic pension funds, not to invest in Microsoft.
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