Chaplain Mistakes

Not knowing the correct sympathetic words to say in an end of life situation is not the biggest mistake a chaplain can make. That offense would be blatant evangelism. The basic job of a chaplain is to comfort or help those who are enduring a troubling time, no matter their faith. Their job is not to evangelize or persuade a person to change their faith or become a person of faith.

Less Traditional Chaplains

The role of chaplains has increased over the past thirty years as church attendance has drastically dropped. No longer are chaplains relegated to hospitals, prisons and various branches of the armed services. Today, the services of chaplains are employed by fire and police departments, airports, apartment complexes, veterinarians and both small and large businesses.

The growing trend in chaplaincy is using non-denominational chaplains in the corporate world. Estimates vary widely on how many corporate chaplains are currently in the work place. Including part-time, full-time and contract chaplains, the number ranges from 4000-25,000. Most are found in the Southeast and Southwestern United States. Businesses such as Tyson Chicken to Taco Bell and smaller businesses use workplace chaplains.

Why Offer Employees a Chaplain?

Life is filled with stress and sometimes that stress manifests itself at work through high absenteeism, shrinkage, lower productivity, conflict and bad customer service. Having a workplace chaplain gives stressed out employees a person to whom they can confide problems and have no fear of reprisal.

One benefit of a workplace chaplain is lower turnover rates. In fact, after Taco Bell hired its first chaplains in Central Texas, turnover in their stores dropped by a third. This one benefit alone will pay for the cost of most chaplaincy programs

Your Business Should Hire a Chaplain if…

1. You need your employees to be productive
2. You want to better the lives of your employees
3. You want to be prevent workplace conflict
4. You want to reduce absenteeism
5. You want to lower your employee turnover rate

Please tell us about your experience with a workplace chaplain. I’d love to have employees who have used a workplace chaplain relate their experiences too. Please leave your comments below.

If you are in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Area and need a workplace chaplain, please contact me. I am a local church planter and would love to discuss your workplace chaplain needs.