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Chaplains on the Job a Remedy to Workplace Violence?

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PLANO, Texas -- We see the horrific images all too often of violence in the workplace. Most recently, WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were gunned down on live television by a former co-worker.

No one really knows what personal issues employees might be bringing to the job, but violence has become so commonplace that U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch recently declared, "It is a sad fact now that no one is safe."

On the job, personal problems abound, and there's often no one to help or even notice potentially dangerous signals.

One Texas-based group wants to change that by providing employers a unique solution: a chaplain.

Marketplace Chaplains

"By having chaplains in the workplace, they know that there's somebody that they can talk to confidentially, privately and that can help them," Chaplain Paul Shirley said. "Sometimes just talking about an issue really diffuses it for them and helps them get perspective."

The company is called Marketplace Chaplains. It has chaplains serving across the United States and even internationally. They provide companies and their employees with non-denominational, confidential, pastoral care 24/7, 365 days a week.

"I think there's a place as an H.R. manager where you have to stop from a corporate perspective. But the chaplains will step in and take over at that point where we, as an employer leave off," Mary Defrank, with Venture Mechanical, said.

"We've had chaplains conduct funerals and do hospital visits and be all the places that we can't be on a day when an employee really needs help," she said.

James Cochrum, co-owner of Venture Mechanical, said the chaplains service is a blessing.

"It provides a sense of peace as you come to work and you know that they have that avenue if there is that need," Cochrum said.

In the Trenches

Started in 1984 by Gil Striklin, Marketplace Chaplains is now one of the largest workplace chaplain organizations in the world outside of the U.S. military.

"Gill Stricklin came out of the Army; he was a chaplain in the Army and he saw that this was very effective. And if chaplains were needed in the trenches in the Army, why not corporate America?" Will Thomas, chairman of the Marketplace Chaplains Governing Board, said.

Chaplains can now be found in all 50 states and in five different countries.

"If Nancy calls and says my mother's sick, and if Nancy's in Oregon and her mom's in Fort Worth, we're able to respond and see her mom and then get back to her immediately and say, 'We saw your mom; she's doing well,'" Thomas explained.

"We have the ability to respond to this increasing distance between families and really bring them back together," he said.

There to Serve

Participation in the chaplain program is voluntary and since they're often in secular workplaces, not everyone is interested in their services. But for a majority of the employees that they work with, when life gets hard, it's the chaplains that they turn to.

"We're living in a society in which Christian values and Christ and the Church are not as prominent in individuals' lives and so just the fact that these companies invite us in, to be able to come and do the services that we provide, it gives us an opportunity to come and share Christ," Chaplain Tera McFarland said.

Success for Marketplace Chaplains isn't about the number they serve but the quality of care provided to employers and employees. It's all about relationships.

"We are not trying to push anything. We are just there to serve the people, the employees and their families," Shirley said. "And so it's, you know -- we're not trying to make anything happen spiritually, but it often does because they bring it up."

The chaplains who walk the halls of companies across the country bring more than just qualifications to the job.

"I feel a passion to come to these places, these workplaces, different companies, different venues, different areas, different sizes and meet people," Chaplain John Salas said.

"People are the same. People have the same problems, basically, so just trusting God to use something that I say, trusting God to touch them through the love that I want to share with them and the care I want to extend to them, and just know that it's Jesus in me that's making the difference," he said.

Many people may not show up to church on Sunday, but they will most likely be at work on Monday. And in a growing number of companies, a chaplain will be there ready to walk through life with them, and maybe share something about eternity.

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT