Terms of Service

§ 1

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using any of the Sites — SamuelStone.com, LeadershipSpirituality.com, ProvidencePlaybook.com, BurnBright.guide — or by subscribing to any newsletter, completing any form, downloading any resource, or booking a consultation through them, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms") and by the Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree, please do not use the Sites.

§ 2

About our services

Through the Sites, we offer:

• Free educational content (articles, blog posts, videos, podcasts).
• The Leadership Vitality Diagnostic, a self-reflection tool.
• Chapter 1 of The Providence Playbook as a free download.
• The Subtraction email newsletter.
• Leadership Vitality Consultations (a 30-minute introductory conversation).
• Information about the Burn Bright Engagement, a 12-week individual coaching engagement offered separately under its own contract.
• Other offerings we may introduce over time.

Use of the free resources on the Sites is governed by these Terms. The Burn Bright Engagement is governed by the Client Engagement Agreement, Covenant, and Scope of Practice Statement provided at onboarding.

§ 3

Important scope disclosure — what this work is and is not

You are agreeing to these Terms because you understand and accept the following. This is the most important provision in this document.

3.1 Pastoral coaching, not clinical care

The content, resources, diagnostic tools, consultations, and coaching offered through the Sites are a form of pastoral coaching grounded in the sanctification tradition. They are reflective and formative in nature.

3.2 What this work is not

• This is not psychotherapy. Rev. Dr. Stone is not a licensed mental-health professional. We do not diagnose or treat mental-health conditions.
• This is not psychiatric care. We do not prescribe, adjust, or advise on medication.
• This is not medical care. We do not diagnose or treat physical illness.
• This is not crisis intervention. We are not an emergency resource. (See §4.)
• This is not traditional spiritual direction in the classical Ignatian, Benedictine, or Carmelite sense.
• This is not evangelism or apologetics. We do not require or attempt to convert you to any particular belief system.
• This is not legal, financial, tax, or investment advice. Nothing on the Sites or in any session constitutes advice of that kind.
• This is not performance coaching. We do not offer tactical operating support, team restructuring, or business strategy services.

3.3 You are responsible for your own care

You understand that no content on the Sites should be used as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, legal, financial, or similar advice from a qualified practitioner. You agree to seek such advice from qualified practitioners where appropriate and to maintain any existing care relationships (therapist, physician, attorney, advisor, clergy) while engaging with our content or services.

§ 4

Emergency resources

§ 5

Intellectual property

5.1 Our content

All content on the Sites — text, graphics, logos, images, audio, video, downloads, diagnostic tools, frameworks, methodology, and the arrangement thereof — is the property of the Leadership Spirituality Institute or its licensors and is protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.

The following are proprietary to the Leadership Spirituality Institute:

• The Providence Playbook® methodology and related materials.
• The CAREFREE framework.
• The Burn Bright Engagement program structure.
• The Lightkeeper brand identity.
• The Leadership Vitality Diagnostic and related assessment materials.
• The 石 wordmark character as used in our branding.

5.2 Your license to use our content

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to view, download for personal reference, and share brief excerpts (with attribution) from the Sites for non-commercial personal and professional learning. You may not:

• Reproduce, republish, or redistribute substantial portions of our content without written permission.
• Use our content to train artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models.
• Remove copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices.
• Use our trademarks, brand, or methodology name in a way that suggests endorsement or affiliation without permission.
• Create derivative works, courses, or training programs based on our methodology without a license.

5.3 Book content

Chapter 1 of The Providence Playbook is offered as a complimentary preview. The full book, The Providence Playbook: An Executive's Freedom from Burning Out to Burning Bright, is available separately. The chapter preview is for personal reading; redistribution is not permitted.

5.4 Feedback

If you send us feedback, testimonials, or suggestions, we may use them in our work without obligation to you, subject to the confidentiality expectations described in §6.

§ 6

User conduct

When using the Sites, you agree not to:

• Provide false or misleading information on any form.
• Use the Sites for any unlawful purpose.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Sites, other users' accounts, or our systems.
• Interfere with or disrupt the Sites or servers hosting them.
• Harvest, scrape, or collect data from the Sites by any automated means.
• Upload malware, viruses, or other harmful code.
• Harass, impersonate, or threaten us or anyone else.
• Use the Sites to train artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate access to the Sites for any user who violates these Terms.

§ 7

Testimonials and reviews

Any testimonials featured on the Sites reflect the honest views of the individuals who provided them. Results vary from person to person. No testimonial is a guarantee of a specific outcome from the Burn Bright Engagement or any other offering.

§ 8

Coaching engagements

Enrollment in the Burn Bright Engagement is governed by a separate written agreement (the Client Engagement Agreement, together with the Covenant and the Scope of Practice Statement). Those documents, not these Terms, govern the coaching relationship itself — including fees, scheduling, cancellation, confidentiality specifics, and scope.

The stated investment for the Burn Bright Engagement is communicated at consultation. Fees are not negotiated through the Sites.

§ 9

Communications

By providing your email address through a form on the Sites, you consent to receive transactional email related to the resource or service you requested. By affirmatively subscribing to a newsletter or nurture sequence, you consent to receive the related marketing communications. You may unsubscribe at any time (see Privacy Policy §8).

§ 10

Third-party services and links

The Sites may contain links to third-party websites or services. We do not control those third parties and are not responsible for their content, policies, or practices. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to their terms.

§ 11

Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and warranties arising from course of dealing or usage of trade.

We do not warrant that:

• The Sites will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.
• Content will be accurate, complete, or current.
• The results of the Leadership Vitality Diagnostic or any other tool will be clinically accurate or predictive of outcomes.
• Any specific outcome will result from reading our content, using our tools, or engaging our services.

§ 12

Limitation of liability

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages; in such jurisdictions, the above limitations apply to the fullest extent permitted.

§ 13

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Leadership Spirituality Institute, Rev. Dr. Sam Stone, and our affiliates, employees, agents, and contractors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with:

• Your breach of these Terms.
• Your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.
• Your misuse of any content, tool, or resource on the Sites.

§ 14

Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Sites or any resource at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or no reason — including, without limitation, violation of these Terms.

You may stop using the Sites at any time. You may unsubscribe from marketing communications using the unsubscribe link in any marketing email or by contacting us.

The following sections survive termination: §3 (Scope), §5 (Intellectual Property), §11 (Disclaimers), §12 (Limitation of Liability), §13 (Indemnification), §15 (Governing Law and Dispute Resolution), and §18 (Miscellaneous).

§ 15

Governing law and dispute resolution

15.1 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, U.S.A., without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

15.2 Informal resolution

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to first contact us at the address in §17 and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days.

15.3 Mediation preferred

If informal resolution is not successful, the parties agree to attempt mediation with a mutually acceptable mediator before litigation, where permitted by law.

15.4 Venue

Any claim not resolved informally or through mediation shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Bergen County, New Jersey, and each party consents to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

15.5 No class actions

To the fullest extent permitted by law, each party waives any right to bring or participate in a class action against the other in connection with these Terms.

§ 16

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms 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. Your continued use of the Sites after an update indicates acceptance of the revised Terms.

§ 17

How to contact us

For any question about these Terms, please contact:

Leadership Spirituality Institute
Attn: Legal
Email: [email protected]

§ 18

Miscellaneous

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force.

No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and — where applicable — the Client Engagement Agreement, Covenant, and Scope of Practice Statement, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Sites and any free resources, and supersede any prior agreements.

No agency or employment. Nothing in these Terms creates an agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between you and us.

Notices to you. We may provide notices required by law or otherwise by email to the address you have provided, or by posting on the Sites.