Sipping my ritual morning coffee yesterday, I came across a Yahoo! News item titled "Starbucks stirs things up with a God quote on cups." The article referenced Starbucks’ The Way I See It campaign — printing thought-worthy quotes on coffee cups to stimulate conversation and friendly, caffeine-fueled debate around the retail space they like to call The Third Place.

Many of the coffee cup quotes reflect on what has driven individual success. Several of these nuggets of wisdom reference "faith," "hard work," and "perseverance." Now, a quote from Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life) is the first to mention "God" by name.

The article identifies several individuals and companies who openly express their faith in the course of business — and the fine line some of them walk.

Which is interesting. There still exists a feeling that God should be boxed up during working hours — that faith should be distinct from business practices. The difficulty I have with this is that we want wisdom and inspiration about what makes thought leaders successful — the way they really "See It" — but many of them may hesitate to be completely candid for fear that any mention of "God" could cause a "stir."

Whether overt or covert, faith and a God-centered drive to create value with integrity form the foundation of many companies. I applaud Starbucks for crossing that threshhold…..and giving me my Purpose Driven Latte.

• What about your business? Would printing a Bible verse or blessing on your product enhance an ongoing conversation about the goodness of God, or stop it cold?
• Given their business practices, are there any companies you wish would scrap the God-talk?

In fairness, Starbucks does not endorse the sayings printed on its cups, purpose driven or otherwise; let’s not start any rumors about Christian coffee.