This document governs your use of SamuelStone.com, LeadershipSpirituality.com, ProvidencePlaybook.com, and BurnBright.guide (collectively, the "Sites"), and any related services, forms, assessments, newsletters, and communications operated by the Leadership Spirituality Institute ("we," "us," "our"), a practice operated by Rev. Dr. Sam Stone.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect information about you. A separate Terms of Service document governs the rules and mutual promises that apply to your use of the Sites.
The Burn Bright Engagement (our one-to-one coaching engagement) is governed separately by the Client Engagement Agreement, the Covenant, and the Scope of Practice Statement — all provided at onboarding. Those documents control if they conflict with anything here.
§ 1 · Plain-Language Summary
Before the legal detail, here is what we actually do with your information.
- We collect what you give us. Name, email, and any answers you type into our forms (the Leadership Vitality Diagnostic, the Chapter 1 request form, the consultation booking form, newsletter sign-ups).
- We collect a small amount automatically. We use Google Analytics 4, the Meta Pixel, and the LinkedIn Insight Tag to understand which content is working and which visits come from where. These tools also support advertising measurement and retargeting on LinkedIn and Meta platforms.
- We do not sell your information. Ever. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to anyone.
- We email you only for what you signed up for. You can unsubscribe at any time, and we honor it.
- We take pastoral confidentiality seriously. Anything you share with us in a coaching context is held in confidence except where law or safety requires otherwise.
The rest of this Policy is the detail behind those statements.
§ 2
Who we are
The Leadership Spirituality Institute is operated by Rev. Dr. Sam Stone, a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Certified Leadership Coach through the John Maxwell Team. Our mailing address and privacy contact information appear in §17.
§ 3
Information we collect
3.1 Information you provide directly
When you interact with our Sites, you may provide:
- Contact information — name, email address, and (optionally) phone number, job title, company, and LinkedIn profile.
- Assessment responses — your answers to the Leadership Vitality Diagnostic at BurnBright.guide, including multi-question self-report data about energy, workload, rest, and related dimensions.
- Consultation booking details — calendar selection, time zone, and any notes you include when booking a Leadership Vitality Consultation.
- Lead magnet requests — information submitted to download Chapter 1 of The Providence Playbook or other free resources.
- Newsletter subscriptions — email address and, optionally, name, when you subscribe to The Subtraction or other mailing lists.
- Correspondence — content of emails, messages, or feedback you send to us.
3.2 Information collected automatically
When you visit our Sites, we (and our service providers) may automatically collect:
- Device and browser information — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, and referring URL.
- Usage information — pages viewed, time on page, clickstream data, date and time of visit.
- Email engagement data — whether you opened an email we sent and which links you clicked.
- Cookie and tracking data — as described in §7.
3.3 Information from third parties
We may receive limited information about you from:
- LinkedIn — when you engage with our content or ads on LinkedIn, the LinkedIn Insight Tag reports aggregate and, in some cases, member-level data to us consistent with LinkedIn's privacy practices.
- Google (Google Analytics 4) — Google Analytics provides aggregate site-usage and conversion data through its measurement infrastructure consistent with Google's privacy practices.
- Meta (Facebook, Instagram) — the Meta Pixel and Meta's Conversions API provide aggregate and event-level data about visits and conversions on our Sites consistent with Meta's privacy practices, supporting both measurement and (where you have not opted out) retargeting on Meta platforms.
- Our email platform (GoHighLevel) — engagement metrics and deliverability data.
- Referrals — if someone introduces you to us by name and email with your permission.
3.4 Information we do not collect
We do not request, and our forms do not capture, financial account information (credit card numbers, bank accounts), government identifiers (Social Security numbers, passport numbers), or health records. If you are a coaching client, payment is handled through a separate invoicing or payment flow specified in your Client Engagement Agreement.
§ 4
How we use your information
We use your information to:
- Deliver the specific resource or service you requested (e.g., send you Chapter 1, return your diagnostic results, confirm your consultation booking).
- Communicate with you by email about the program or pathway you entered, including educational content, updates, and (where appropriate) invitations to a Leadership Vitality Consultation.
- Send you our newsletter The Subtraction if you have subscribed.
- Operate, maintain, and improve the Sites and our offerings.
- Understand which content is useful and which is not (aggregate analytics).
- Comply with applicable laws and protect our legal rights.
- Prevent fraud, abuse, or security incidents.
We do not use your information to:
- Sell or rent it to third parties.
- Build advertising profiles with third-party ad networks beyond the conversion measurement and retargeting tools we describe in §6 and §7 (currently the LinkedIn Insight Tag and the Meta Pixel, used on our Sites for advertising on LinkedIn and Meta platforms only).
- Make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.
§ 5
Legal basis for processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, our legal bases for processing your personal data are:
- Consent — when you opt in to a form, subscribe to a newsletter, or accept cookies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Contract — when processing is necessary to deliver a service you have requested (e.g., booking a consultation).
- Legitimate interests — for modest, expected purposes such as basic analytics, security, and responding to correspondence, where our interests are not overridden by your rights.
- Legal obligation — where we must process data to comply with law.
§ 7
Cookies and tracking technologies
7.1 What cookies are
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by websites you visit. They allow the site to remember your actions and preferences over time.
7.2 Cookies and tracking technologies we use
- Strictly necessary cookies — required for the Sites and forms to function (e.g., session management on GHL-hosted forms).
- Analytics cookies and tags — Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — set first-party cookies (typically
_gaand_ga_*) and send aggregate event data to Google so we can understand how the Sites are used. We have configured GA4 with IP anonymization and standard data-retention controls. - Marketing and conversion-measurement cookies and tags — we use the following:
- LinkedIn Insight Tag — sets cookies that measure conversions from LinkedIn, build audiences for retargeting on LinkedIn, and support ad performance reporting.
- Meta Pixel — sets cookies (e.g.,
_fbp) that measure conversions from Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram), build audiences for retargeting on Meta platforms, and support ad performance reporting. We may also send server-side conversion events to Meta through the Conversions API (CAPI), which does not rely on browser cookies.
7.3 Your choices
You may:
- Configure your browser to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable cookies, some features of the Sites may not function properly.
- Adjust cookie preferences where we offer a cookie banner or preference center.
- Opt out of LinkedIn's advertising cookies through your LinkedIn account settings or LinkedIn's opt-out tools.
- Opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on (tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout) or by adjusting Google's Ads Settings.
- Opt out of Meta advertising through your Facebook or Instagram ad preferences, and through industry opt-out tools at the Digital Advertising Alliance (optout.aboutads.info) or the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (youronlinechoices.eu).
7.4 Do Not Track
Some browsers transmit a "Do Not Track" signal. Industry standards for DNT have not been finalized, and we currently do not respond to DNT signals. We do, however, honor cookie-preference choices you make through any cookie banner on our Sites and through browser-level cookie controls.
§ 8
Email marketing consent
8.1 How you opt in
You receive marketing email from us only when you take one of the following affirmative actions:
- Download Chapter 1 of The Providence Playbook (which enrolls you in the Path A nurture sequence).
- Complete the Leadership Vitality Diagnostic at BurnBright.guide (which enrolls you in the Path B nurture sequence).
- Subscribe to The Subtraction newsletter.
- Request a Leadership Vitality Consultation and receive associated preparation and follow-up email.
8.2 How you opt out
Every marketing email we send includes a clearly marked unsubscribe link at the bottom. Clicking it removes you from the relevant list within a reasonable period, typically within one business day. You may also write to the address in §17 to request removal.
Transactional emails directly related to a service you have requested (for example, confirming a consultation booking you made, or delivering a file you requested) are not marketing and may be sent regardless of marketing subscription status.
8.3 Compliance
We intend to comply with the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act, the EU ePrivacy Directive, the UK's PECR, Canada's CASL, and other applicable email-marketing laws.
§ 9
Data retention
We keep personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, or as required by law.
- Email subscribers and contacts — retained while your subscription is active and for a reasonable period thereafter for record-keeping. If you unsubscribe, we retain minimal information (typically your email address on a suppression list) to ensure we do not email you again.
- Diagnostic responses — retained while they remain useful for your reference and ours, and in any event subject to your deletion request under §10.
- Coaching client records — retained consistent with pastoral recordkeeping norms and any applicable legal obligation.
- Analytics data — retained in aggregate form; individual identifiers are typically discarded or anonymized within a reasonable period.
You may request deletion of your personal information at any time as described in §10.
§ 10
Your privacy rights
10.1 Rights available to all visitors
Regardless of where you live, you may:
- Ask what personal information we hold about you.
- Ask us to correct inaccurate information.
- Ask us to delete information we no longer need.
- Unsubscribe from any marketing list.
- Ask us to stop processing your data for a particular purpose.
10.2 Rights under GDPR (EEA, UK, Switzerland)
If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have the following rights:
- Access — to obtain a copy of your personal data and information about how it is processed.
- Rectification — to have inaccurate data corrected.
- Erasure ("right to be forgotten") — to have your data deleted in certain circumstances.
- Restriction of processing — to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
- Data portability — to receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
- Objection — to object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
- Withdrawal of consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw consent at any time.
- Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
10.3 Rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act / CPRA
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
- Know what categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
- Know the sources of that information, the business purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom it is shared.
- Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal exceptions.
- Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell personal information and do not "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under the CPRA.
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information. We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information for purposes that would trigger this right.
- Be free from discrimination for exercising these rights.
You may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.
10.4 Rights under other U.S. state laws
Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have substantially similar rights (access, correction, deletion, opt-out of targeted advertising, opt-out of sale, data portability). We honor these rights on substantially the same terms described above.
10.5 How to exercise your rights
To exercise any of the rights in this Section, contact us as described in §17. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law — generally within 30 to 45 days.
§ 11
Data security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information. These include encrypted transport for forms and email, restricted internal access, and vendor-management practices. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security incident that materially affects your information, we will notify you as required by law.
§ 12
International data transfers
We operate primarily from the United States. If you access the Sites from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States. For transfers of personal data from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to the United States, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or equivalent mechanisms, where required.
§ 13
Children's privacy
Our Sites and services are intended for adults, particularly executives and senior leaders. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 years of age. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
§ 14
Third-party links and services
Our Sites may link to third-party websites, tools, or services (for example, LinkedIn, a podcast host, a book retailer). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing information to them.
§ 15
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top. For material changes, we will provide additional notice — for example, an email to subscribers or a banner on the Sites. Your continued use of the Sites after an update indicates acceptance of the revised Policy.
§ 16
Jurisdiction-specific supplemental notices
If you reside in a jurisdiction with specific legal notice requirements, the notices that apply to you (e.g., CCPA "Notice at Collection" information; EU "Article 13" disclosures) are incorporated by reference in the sections above. Contact us if you need a more formal summary in a specific format.
§ 17
How to contact us
For any privacy question, request, or complaint, please contact:
Leadership Spirituality Institute
Attn: Privacy
Email: [email protected]
We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.
"We email you only for what you signed up for. You can unsubscribe at any time, and we honor it."
Leadership Spirituality Institute
Rev. Dr. Sam Stone · The Lightkeeper