Chaplains see greater need, openness in economic downturn

By Adam Miller

Jerry Weaver says difficult times are an opportunity for believers to offer real hope to people faced with seemingly hope-deprived circumstances. Corporate chaplains like Weaver also offer employees an opportunity to open up about their otherwise-suppressed feelings. Photo by John Swain.

ATLANTA—Behind the cubicle walls, the office doors, the crashing numbers on Wall Street and the failing finances of once-thriving business are the stories of people facing pay-cuts, unemployment, family crises and crises of faith.

As on the frontlines of battle, the frontlines of the economy have their casualties, and Southern Baptist chaplains serving in corporate settings are experiencing greater opportunity in these difficult times.

“We make ourselves available 24/7 for businesses, we offer our services free of charge to them and business owners see a real value in our ability to help alleviate emotional strain caused by family life problems and market problems,” says Mark Cress, president of Corporate Chaplains of America and a North American Mission Board (NAMB)-endorsed chaplain.

With the responsibility of dozens to hundreds of employees, corporate chaplains work with multiple companies where they make “rounds” and build relationships. Though chaplains have the express purpose of sharing Christ with people, it’s sometimes years before permission and opportunity arise.

But as economic health has deteriorated, so have the walls between chaplains and employees.

“Sometimes you don’t get beyond talking about football and family,” says chaplain Matt Baldwin, who serves six businesses in North Carolina. “We live in a disengaged culture though. A lot of people don’t have family nearby. Many don’t have a church. Sometimes I’ll think I’ll never get beyond small talk. Then I’ll be surprised.”

Baldwin tells the story of a man who stopped him for conversation recently after years of silence. “I spent around three years of doing rounds with him, checking on him each week. One day he pulled me aside. He disclosed more than I could have ever imagined.”

More than a hundred chaplains serve on behalf of Corporate Chaplains of America, most of them Southern Baptists.

And the purpose of opening up to chaplains about their feelings and life issues is not simply so employees can work on their mental health. It’s also so, within the context of a friendship, chaplains can share a truly hope-filled response to life’s worst problems.

“We can share Christ as long as we’re invited to share what we believe,” says Bill Ciocco who serves in South Carolina.

Many chaplains have a background in business and a heart for businesspeople.

“We have different types of casualties in the workplace,” Jerry Weaver, a chaplain to trucking companies near Atlanta. “And a couple emphases we have now are not only employees who lose jobs or experience pay cuts, but the left behinds. Those who say ‘Why wasn’t it me?’ We also focus now on employers, most of whom experience grief even as they are forced to lay off for the health of a company.

“We really have unprecedented access,” he added.

Currently, 2,875 Southern Baptist chaplains have been endorsed by the North American Mission Board. As economic uncertainty builds, chaplains will work to incorporate the assistance of local churches and believers who can serve as lay community chaplains. Chaplains serve in a variety of settings including medical centers, the military, prisons and in response to disaster through Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. To learn about NAMB chaplains, visit www.namb.net/chaplains.