The Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute has suspended its operations on Twitter and removed its Twitter feed from its website’s homepage.
“We have taken this action because we don’t want to be hypocrites,” said Dr. Owen Phelps, CEO of the Yeshua Institute. “We don’t usually evaluate the leadership of others, but reports of recent actions by Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, are such that we cannot allow ourselves to be associated with the social media platform at this time.”
Since purchasing the platform on Oct. 27, Musk has taken the company private, dissolved its board, fired several top executives and laid off half or more of the company’s workforce. He also reportedly issued an ultimatum in which he said employees had to commit to an “extremely hardcore” work environment. In response, reports indicated that hundreds, if not thousands, of employees resigned.
According to Wikipedia, “Media reported comments by interviewed staff that the poor handling, mockery and firings of peers could not be overlooked, and that mental health and family life could not be sacrificed ‘to make the richest man in the world richer’."
Phelps explained: “Our understanding of Jesus-like Leadership is based on the S3 Principles of Servant, Steward and Shepherd.”
- Servant – It’s not about me.
- Steward – It’s not mine.
- Shepherd – People are precious.
“Frankly, at this time we don’t see any of those principles reflected in the current state of affairs at Twitter, so at this time we have to suspend our account, hoping the situation changes drastically in the days ahead,” Phelps said.
“In the meantime, we are praying for all the people adversely affected by the current situation.”