Posted on 04/08/2014 6:13:42 AM PDT by GIdget2004
Chick-fil-A is finally crossing the road.
The iconic chicken chain, as well-known for its conservative heritage as its savory eats, is recalibrating its moral and culinary compass. It wants to go from old school to almost cool. It wants to evolve from a place where gays once picketed to a place where they'll feel comfortable going to eat. It wants to broaden the brand as it expands nationally and plows into the Millennial-driven urban arena. Above all: it wants to be a serious player on fast-food's biggest stage.
USA TODAY was exclusively invited inside to visit the company's sprawling, wooded campus, get the first look at its new test kitchen, tour its store-of-the-future development facility and interview Chick-fil-A's controversial CEO Dan Cathy. Cathy, whose comments condemning gay marriage in 2012 set off store picketing and a social media firestorm, has now fully backed away from such public pronouncements that mix personal opinion on social issues with corporate policy.
"All of us become more wise as time goes by," he says, apologetically, in a rare, one-hour sit-down interview. "We sincerely care about all people."
(snip)
Chick-fil-A's socially conservative agenda, which formally led the company to donate millions to charitable groups opposed to gay marriage, has been tempered. This, just as the company aims to quickly expand into Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Southern hospitality must give way to urban reality as the 1,800 store chain moves to compete with big city success stories like McDonald's, Panera Bread and Chipotle.
If nothing else, Cathy has listened. In 2012, Cathy not only heard from some unhappy consumers about his comments against gay marriage, but also from some store operators and employees. Now, he says, "I'm going to leave it to politicians and others to discuss social issues."
(Excerpt) Read more at kens5.com ...
I took over Terri’s List, and I really stink at it.
Wagglebee, come home!
What Chick-fil-A boss Dan Cathy actually said about Gay Marriage
Posted on July 24, 2012 . Tagged with: Dan Cathy
On July 19, 2012, CNN Reporter Brad Lendon posted a report of a quote from Chick-fil-A’s President, Dan Cathy, that has sparked a national controversy involving the company’s stand on Gay Marriage. Cathy’s quote has led to calls for boycotts and other companies severing ties with the national food chain.
The CNN Report quotes:
“Guilty as charged,”, Cathy said when asked about his company’s support of the traditional family unit as opposed to gay marriage.
However, according to the Patheos GetReligion Blog, the actual interview and quotes need to be seen in the full context. Cathy only stated that they were “guilty as charged” in support of the tradditional family unit. The “as opposed to gay marriage” comment was CNN Reporter, Brad Lendon’s, interpretation of Mr. Cathy’s position.
From the article on Get Relgion, here is the larger context.
Drawing from the actual interview:
“We don’t claim to be a Christian business,” Cathy told the Biblical Recorder in a recent visit to North Carolina. He attended a business leadership conference many years ago where he heard Christian businessman Fred Roach say, “There is no such thing as a Christian business.”
“That got my attention,” Cathy said. Roach went on to say, “Christ never died for a corporation. He died for you and me.”
“In that spirit … [Christianity] is about a personal relationship. Companies are not lost or saved, but certainly individuals are,” Cathy added. “But as an organization we can operate on biblical principles. So that is what we claim to be. [We are] based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have. And He has blessed us.”
And the marriage thing?
The company invests in Christian growth and ministry through its WinShape Foundation (WinShape.com). The name comes from the idea of shaping people to be winners. It began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.
“That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries,” Cathy added.
Some have opposed the company’s support of the traditional family. “Well, guilty as charged,” said Cathy when asked about the company’s position. “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. …”
“We are very much committed to that,” Cathy emphasized. “We intend to stay the course,” he said. “We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
He’s boycotting CFA.
So to be clear you believe the text from post #78 is propaganda and provided by a pro-family ministry or am I mistaken about the intentions of Scott Lively’s Ministry?
Ambien. It will work wonders for you. Then you can finally rest.
I am willing to believe Dan Cathy may have indeed been truly apologetic that some were offended by his remarks, he could be apologetic out of pity for their willful disobedience of God’s teachings... he could be apologetic for any things, but having sympathy for others anger is not denying ones own beliefs or changing them
That’s very possible, but you are absolutely correct that that adverb is meant to color what he said in a way that is inaccurate. Nowhere in this article or anywhere else has Dan Cathy stated that he has changed his personal beliefs on this matter, nor has he explicitly apologized for them.
If I say something that offend you, and then I say, I am sorry you are offended by what I said, that doesn’t mean I didn’t mean what I said, it just means I empathize with the pain you felt, not that my statement was unjustified or wrong. Showing empathy for other people is what Christ taught, it doesn’t mean that you suddenly turn your back on him because someone is personally offended by your belief.
I empathize with people I disagree with all the time, because we are all human, and despite our differences, we all need and should be treated with human dignity. That doesn’t mean for one moment that I have changed my opinion to match theirs or that I regret my opinion.
Compassion is not compromise, and at best this article shows Dan Cathy showing compassion, not remorse.
I fail to see why successful regional businesses always have to try to “expand” if it means renouncing the values of their customer base that made them successful. It’s just greedy. Don’t the owners have enough money yet?
Love love LOVE that graphic!
bingo
he’s right to be paranoid, the ba$tards really do want to kill is business
welcome to brave new world where stating that men choosing to marry women is a subversive social statement
Where are you getting that "renouncing" business? Are you unable to detect the internal editorializing and agenda spin in the article?
That graphic loves you, too.
I disagree with this. George W Bush was a "compassionate conservative" correct? When didn't he compromise to the liberals? So in the context of GWB, his compassion was compromise.
p.s. I've already had a person I knew was a homosexual over for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Jesus is compassionate. Does that mean He compromises? No. Those are two different things. Just because George Bush called himself compassionate and he compromised doesn’t mean they are the same, and everyone who does one, by definition does the other.
All purchases are political. If C-f-A supports perversion, I lose one of the two reasons to eat there. I like their food, but I like my own cooking too. I only eat out when I support the restaurant politically.
We’ve all dined with sinners. You just happen to realize that people are more than just our sins. We are many things, not the least of which is God’s children. And you obviously grasp the concept that we do not have to agree with, or participate in another’s sin to value them as a person. It’s pretty clear to me that Dan Cathy has been expressing that very sentiment all along.
That's a mighty big "if".
What are you talking about?
You are trying to equate some PR term invented for an election with this article?
Where is the compromise? Where is Dan Cathy in any way saying I no longer believe that gay marriage is offensive to me and God? Show me, please, where do you see or read this?
I think it’s more important to hear the man’s actual words rather than a journalist who characterizes his words as being said “apologetically” because the journalist wants people to believe he has changed his position. I just don’t see it.
Are you suggesting the author of this article made that part up as well. If so then you'd expect Dan Cathy to demand a retraction and an apology for lying if they are not in fact talking with one another and friends. Wouldn't you agree with that?
I certainly would not like to read Code Pink using my name telling some reporter that I go to their meetings or enjoy picnics in the park with one of their organizers, if it is not true.
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