A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America

            “What are you doing these days?”

            That is a question I’ve been hearing a lot the past month. My reply usually goes like this, “I have formed a chaplaincy company offering spiritual care to employees in the workplace.”

            What follows typically is one of three responses:

1. a blank stare
2. a request to describe in detail what I do, or
3. a question as to why spiritual care is needed in the workplace.

            When I first heard about chaplaincy in the workplace I experienced those same responses, well—maybe responses # 2 and # 3. I want to address question # 3--why spiritual care is needed in the workplace. Check that, I want to allow Ian Mitroff and Elizabeth A. Denton to answer it.

            A few years ago, Mitroff and Denton wrote a thought-provoking book called A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America. Mitroff held the Harold Quinton Distinguished Professorship of Business Policy at the Marshall School of Business at USC. As an organizational consultant, Denton was in high demand and employed by several Fortune 100 companies. Clearly, these were not preachers or pastors pushing a Christian agenda.

            One area of research that caught my attention was their interviews with employees working in U.S. corporations. The authors stated that two answers summarized well the sentiments of those surveyed:

•             1) “Organizations feel free to beat up on us 40 to 60 hours a week. Then they put the burden entirely on us to repair ourselves on our own time so we can come back for more!”
•             2) “Organizations are constantly wanting and demanding more and more of us all the time. But they can't have it both ways. They can't have more of us without getting and urging the whole person. Organizations must give back and contribute as much to the whole person as they want in return.”

            Employees in the corporate world do not hold those feelings alone. People holding jobs ranging from factory workers to teachers share them as well.

            Sadly, too often organizations and businesses do not seek to integrate the spiritual with the realities of the workplace. Many go in the other direction. Many seek to address the challenges of the workplace by walling off employees from their souls. Leadership too often demands that their employees compartmentalize their spirituality from the workplace.

            Ironically enough, according to Mitroff and Denton, many business leaders attempt to draw upon the spiritual without realizing it. They challenge their workers to show enthusiasm—failing to realize the word’s original meaning was “God within.” They pimp spirituality trying to energize their workers!

            Enthusiasm in its purest form is a spiritual concept. Employers must tread carefully. If they succeed in eliminating the spiritual from the workplace, they will ultimately kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

            I believe Mitroff and Denton are correct in their assessment, and that is one of the reasons I have chosen this course. I am convicted that employers must face up to the fact that people are spiritual beings and that they must address the spirituality of the employees. To do so offers the worker tools for finding deeper meaning in his or her work. Thus, the employer transitions from functioning as a competitor of God to a servant of God. Rather than creating fragmentation in the life of the employee, the employer offers integration—of mind, body, and spirit. This raises the enthusiasm, energy, and creative levels of the employee. To borrow an old slogan, the employer is symbolically saying to the worker, “Be all that you can be.”

            In that kind of workplace, everybody wins.

A Sacred Calling

“69% of the country believes that a bad day at the beach is better than a good day at work.”–Gallup poll

            I think this is sad. When an ancient Jew heard the word we translate “work” read from the Old Testament, the concept it brought to mind was not simply engaging in some type of compartmentalized labor. Rather he thought of work and worship. The notion was service (sacrifice) to God as offered through work. Six days a week in ancient Israel, the Israelites were to offer to God their work.

            The other side of the coin was the Sabbath. On the seventh day, the Jew was to rest. But rest here was not simply a cessation from labor. Rather, it was understood to be, again, a service to God. This rest was an offering to God—worship. The byproduct was re-newal and re-creation.

            The biblical understanding was never that a person would work until he or she reached the point of retirement, and then that person would be able to finally begin doing what he enjoyed. Instead, the biblical ideal was to work until death. The good life was to find work in something about which one was passionate. That person would work six days, and rest one. Both acts were offerings to God.

            And if a Jew was not passionate about her work? She could find consolation in the fact that she was offering a sacrifice to God through her work. Work was truly a sacred calling.

The Road Ahead for Mark Edge

            Last week I talked about how I had mistakenly spent my years in the Shiloh pulpit trying to think of strategies to reach the unchurched. After I stepped down from the pulpit, it occurred to me that Tyler was mainly comprised of overchurched people, not unchurched people. “Now what?” I thought.

            About two months ago, a friend mentioned to me that Interstate Batteries had a corporate chaplain located at their headquarters in downtown Dallas. I had never heard of a corporate chaplain and was curious. I could not find any information on their website, so three weeks ago last Thursday, I decided to drop by their offices while in Dallas. The receptionist could not have been nicer, but the chaplain was in meetings all morning, so she promised to have him call me.

            He did and we had a good visit by phone. He later sent me their corporate policy on chaplaincy. However, in that moment I was still curious, so I went to the largest bookstore I knew of in downtown Dallas. I searched for information about corporate chaplaincy or chaplaincy in the workplace, but the store had nothing in print on the subject. I went to the coffee shop, fired up my laptop, and began researching online. I discovered that a movement of chaplaincy in the United States had been at work for quite a while.

            Business Weekly, Fortune, The New York Times, and other media sources have all reported on the concept of offering spiritual care to employees in the workplace–and occasionally outside the workplace.

            Some people interviewed spoke of facing a crisis such as the death of a loved one, and not having a church home. They needed someone to help them with their grief and to conduct the funeral. Who better to turn to than a chaplain?

            My mind spun back to my days living in West Texas. I had officiated a number of funerals there for people who had no church affiliation and I found it a wonderful opportunity to minister to hurting people. Many of those people had been overchurched. Occasionally, these opportunities opened the door for people who wanted to hear about the Lord or to return to him.

            Returning to the present, I began to ponder the possibilities regarding workplace chaplaincy. The concept definitely appeared to reflect the scriptures. For example:

1. Work is important to God. The second commandment God gave to Adam and Eve involved a job–take care of the earth. He told them again to work in Genesis 2:15. He further commanded Adam to work in Genesis 3; only it was after the fall. Consequently, God told him the work would prove much harder.

2. God often provides images of workers to describe him in Scripture i.e. “builder” (Proverbs 8:27-31, “metal worker” Isaiah 1:24–26…)

3. Paul tells Christians they ultimately work for Jesus (Colossians 3:22–23.)

            The biblical ideal sees work as a sacred endeavor. This is good news, for we spend approximately ¼ of our adult lives (before retirement) working.

            In previous decades, Christians and non-Christians have harbored a view that work was a compartmentalize task, separated from the spiritual part of the Christian life. In early 2000s, Princeton University established a think tank dedicated to uncovering the connection between spirituality in the workplace.

            I believe a chaplain entering the workplace can bring the presence of Christ and assist workers in the spiritual pursuit of serving God through work. Indeed, by reconnecting the workplace with the spiritual, workers can further maximize their potential. This will in turn assist employees in reaching their potential. All of this affords the bosses and owners of businesses and corporations their best chance to earn profits for themselves and their shareholders.

            I am commencing today with the chaplaincy service to the East Texas area. I am assuming that I will be addressing overchurched employers and employees, who don’t want to be sued by the ACLU or any other special interest group. My approach will be holistic—I am addressing the spirit while others address the needs of the mind and body. I think I am going to call my service:

WorkEdge as in:

WorkEdge

Maximizing Lives

Maximizing Productivity

            (Quick! If this is a bad idea—tell me… before I print up my cards!)

            As I mentioned, I have been researching for over three weeks this subject. I have related a few of the reasons why I'm excited about serving in this manner in the Kingdom of God.

            All things considered, I see this as the best way yet for me to witness to the power of the gospel to an overchurched community. Let me emphasize, the mission of workplace chaplaincy is not evangelism. It is to provide spiritual care to the employees. However, a byproduct of that relationship could very well be evangelism. In addition, I would certainly welcome that opportunity. It would have to be at the employees’ request—not mine. Yet, it is inevitable, if I minister to enough people, some will want to know the Lord better.

            I think this is an opportunity from God, and I will find out soon. I don't plan to borrow money. If God is not behind this, I will have to do something else before too long.

            I pray God blesses this ministry so much that I have to ask others who are qualified to assist me. I would be pleased pay good money to these Christians gifted by God for this ministry–men serving men and women serving women—in the marketplace.

            I have been reading recently H. W. Brands’ new biography of Ulysses S. Grant. During the early part of the Civil War, various Northern generals squandered opportunities to win the war. Grant on the other hand, was dealt the tougher challenge from the beginning. Yet, he established a pattern of winning through persistence. If one strategy did not work in Vicksburg, he would attempt another… and another… until he won the victory. He used the same strategy of perseverance in Virginia in the later stages of the war. 

            Grant to this day is known as a great general. His genius lay mostly in his relentlessness, a quality few generals had.

            I think we Christians, especially those of us in overchurched locales, need the courage to remain relentlessness. We try a strategy; if it does not work, we try another.

            We try relentlessly.

            That is my aim when it comes to reaching out to the overchurched.

# 1 Thing I Have Learned Each Decade: Decade # 4—God Is Gracious

            During my first two decades, life was relatively easy. The third decade of my life, I discovered that life was hard. This was a good lesson for me, because it prepared me to appreciate what I learned in the fourth decade of my life – God is gracious.

            I discovered God’s grace in college. I internalized the biblical message that I was saved by grace. However, I was in my 30s before I truly began to appreciate God's gracious activity in my life and each blessing He gave me.

            One place this was exemplified was in my profession. The first five years of the decade, I lived in Argentina doing foreign mission work. I loved those years. Until my children were born, those were the greatest years of my life.

            In 1995, I was given the privilege to preach at a church in Brownsville, Texas. Four years later, I was blessed to begin preaching in Winters, Texas, near Abilene and Abilene Christian University.

            I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated both jobs. The two jobs were diverse in some ways. Each offered its own challenges. Moreover, I had many things to learn. Nevertheless, I appreciated getting to participate with God in His mission. Equally important, I appreciated God allowing me to follow the passions of my heart and aligning those passions with my profession.

            Having worked in real estate and roofed houses during the decade of my twenties, I was able to fully embrace the chance to do something I truly loved to do. I have not worked since I quit roofing in 1989.

            Let me elaborate: I cannot stress what a blessing it was (and is) to feel like I was doing what I was created to do; this sense allowed me to enjoy my work. When a person enjoys his work, it is not a job.

            The second major area in which God reinforced His graciousness was in the area of family. Judy’s and my natural-born daughters entered into this world during this decade.

            Fatherhood presented ENORMOUS challenges. I learned this immediately after Haleigh’s birth.

            Haleigh was born a little prematurely and did not eat enough in the first few months of her life. We had to wake her up literally every two hours—twelve times every 24-hour-period—to feed her.

            The physical and emotional strain was enormous. I can remember walking the streets of Argentina searching for something Haleigh’s pediatrician recommended and literally telling God, “I don’t know if I can do this (be a father.)”

            We somehow made it through that crisis, as well as the crisis our second daughter, Abby, endured when she ceased breathing immediately after birth and was placed in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for two weeks.

            From a selfish perspective, it seemed hard taking a day off each week with two little girls whose idea of fun was to play dolls, play dress up, and play CANDYLAND. I hate CANDYLAND, but I played it over and over with them.

            Personal pleasure for parents, of course, is irrelevant; however, I was later blessed to enjoy the fruit of those relationships, which was formed during those hours on the floor with dolls and CANDYLAND game boards. It wasn’t long before those girls grew out of those life phases and chose interests that corresponded with mine.

            Again, not that it is a right, but relatively early in my parenting career, I received the blessing of not only raising my kids but enjoying them as well.

            Lastly, I’ll mention that I was thirty when Judy and I entered the second year of our marriage. By then we were able to cultivate some good foundations for a healthy marriage.

            I enjoyed being married to Judy-so much so-I did not feel a deep yearning to have children. We were married almost 5 years before we had Haleigh. I wanted to have children because I felt privileged to participate in God’s work and mission in the world, not because I wanted to bring a third party into our household to compensate for something that was missing in our marriage.

            It was in that decade, before we had children, that Judy became my best friend. She remains so to this day.

            It was during that time that I really enjoyed being in her company. Those days, I would rather be at home with her than anywhere else. Later, I would rather be home with Judy and my kids than anywhere else. This feeling continue to this day.

            Looking back, I realize that during my thirties, God cultivated an understanding within me of how blessed I am. I remain blessed.

            This is God's gracious activity in my life. I don't know how long it will last. I am not entitled to these blessings, but I have learned to squeeze every bit of enjoyment out of them while I can.

            My children are not my toys. They have begun leaving home, one by one. This is as it should be.

            I would love to die at exactly the same time Judy does. It probably will not happen that way. Yet I remain forever grateful for whatever time we have left together.

            We humans deserve spiritual separation from God. Anything we get above that is a gift.

            Salvation comes by God’s grace. Other events that bring joy come by the grace of God as well.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Last week I finished LOOKING FOR ANNE OF GREEN GABLES THE STORY OF L. M. MONTGOMERY AND HER LITERARY CLASSIC. The author is Irene Gammel, a professor of English at Ryerson University in Toronto.

            Drawing extensively from Montgomery’s diaries and journals, Gammel provides a detailed backdrop of Montgomery's inspiration for Anne. While Gammel’s work is not a true biography, she uses her rich resource material to reveal a multi-layered depiction of Montgomery's life.

            While her life might be described as a wonderful life, it was a very sad life also. Montgomery's mother died when she was young; raised by her grandmother, their relationship in adulthood was extremely strained. Both experienced an even worse relationship with Montgomery’s uncle, who attempted to remove Montgomery and grandmother from the family homestead—where Maud cared for her grandmother during the matriarch’s final years.

            Like most writers, Lucy Maud Montgomery was a complicated human being. Montgomery married a Presbyterian minister, Ewan Macdonald, while in her late thirties. She bore him three sons, one being stillborn.

            This I knew.

            What I did not know was that Ewan suffered a nervous breakdown, and was continually plagued by deep depression until his death. Moreover, she suffered from depression as well. Instead of each partner being available to pick the other up, Maud and her husband each exasperated the condition of the other.

            Most biographies and encyclopedic works note that Montgomery died of heart disease in 1942 at the age of 67. Ewan died one year later.

            (Not found in the book, but related information to Montgomery’s depression, is an article written by Montgomery’s granddaughter, Kate Macdonald Butler, published in the Toronto newspaper THE GLOBE AND MAIL, in 2008. She claimed that instead of dying of heart disease, Montgomery took her on life through a drug overdose. Here is a link to that article: http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080919.wmhmontgomery0920/BNStory/mentalhealth/

            A biographer argues that Montgomery did not kill herself: http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080924.wmontgomery24/BNStory/mentalhealth/

            Whether or not Montgomery took her own life, the consensus among scholars is that psychologically, she was in a bad way at the time of her death.)

            ANNE OF GREEN GABLES did not arrive solely from Montgomery’s inspiration. It was also the product of many years of reading, observing, and writing—the writing being only moderately successful… until Anne.

            Ultimately, I believe Gammel’s book is worth reading for anyone who is a fan of that redheaded girl from Prince Edward Island.

2. The more I listen to Washington talk about the debt crisis, the more I think Aristotle was right—virtue lies between two extremes. There are probably exceptions, but I think Aristotle affirmed the rule.

3. Four episodes to go in the first year of “24.” Haleigh has gone to DRY BONES this week in Denver, so I’ve got to wait until she gets back. I’ve got to concede—

Jack Bauer must have experienced the most stressful twenty-four hour period of humankind in a long time. I would not trade places with him.

4. The Texas Rangers beat the trading deadline with some good trades. I like it that they received Koji Uehara and Mike Adams—good pitchers for the seventh and eighth innings. I also like their chances in the playoffs—assuming they get there.

5. Who is going to beat the Eagles in the East? They made great moves last week, especially signing Vince Young to back up Michael Vick (similar qb styles), Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Andy Reid is a very good analyst of player personnel.