Chaplaincy Resources

As your ERG evolves here are a few practical tips.

An embassy can only exist in a foreign territory if they are welcomed there. In the same way a Christian ERG needs to be cognizant of and respect the conditions under which they are welcomed into the organization.

We’re living in a time of extremes that are testing our faith and testing our businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes in how we operate on a daily basis.

Chaplains in the workplace “lead to lower employee turnover, higher reported job satisfaction, greater employee productivity and lower absenteeism rates,” according to Corporate Chaplains of America. The impact of the chaplain, at its best, can reverberate through the entire organization.

A modern day Christian Renaissance Man, Matt McPherson is the founder and CEO of both Mathews Inc., the largest bow manufacturer in the world, and McPherson Guitars, a leading name in the music industry for hand-crafted acoustic guitars

The pandemic has thrown into sharp relief a shift in American religious life. Growing numbers of Americans, especially under the age of 30, are not religiously affiliated or involved with spiritual or religious organizations.

In moments of crises, the core of who you are is fully exposed and the deeply embedded values of your culture take over. For Vermeer, 70 years of a biblically-based culture turned into action immediately after a tornado struck in 2018. Since then, they’ve celebrated a year of record sales and growth across their business. This article was one of CEF’s 2019 White Papers.

Today we are talking to Toby Kurth, the lead pastor at Christ Church San Francisco. Toby has been a faith voice inside the Faith Driven Movement, a friend, pastor, and even Chaplain to our team. We’re excited that we finally got to have him on the show today—it feels like this episode is long overdue. Toby talked to us about the things that shape our desires, how leaders should use their power and privilege, and the marks that define Faith Driven Entrepreneurs. It was a phenomenal conversation and one we can’t wait to share with you. Listen in now…

We’re in Dallas, Texas today talking with Pete Kelly, CEO of Apartment Life—a growing nationwide ministry helping people see their neighbors as their greatest amenity. They help apartment owners care for residents by connecting them in relationships, which pays incredible dividends for everyone. Pete provided some insight into the value of community and how connecting people with one another improves everyone’s quality of life. We think what Apartment Life is doing has the potential to revolutionize the way businesses interact with real estate across the world, and we think you’ll be glad you heard about it now!

In Part Two with David Morken, the team discusses more thoroughly about what it means to be mission ready both individually and corporately. David talks about the importance of obedience to God and avoiding the pitfalls of both willfulness and passivity and Henry leads the discussion into practical applications of how their company’s HR policies intentionally reflected kingdom values as they target the whole person for impact.

At Faith Driven Entrepreneur, we encourage businesses to consider having a chaplain on staff. This video about a chaplain’s love for people is overwhelming! He goes above and beyond the call of Chaplaincy to save a life! Take a look!

I have an allergic reaction to the common dilemma of the “success to significance” paradigm, as if a follower of Jesus could be “successful” for 20 years and then “make up lost time” being “significant” for a latter period.  Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Jesus in Mark 8:37 says “What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?”

Beyond our careers, in the businesses we lead, the same tension must be worked out as well. Is it a business that funds ministry?  Is it a ministry that does some business to pay the bills?  Is that perhaps a false dichotomy? Is there a “tertium quid” resolution of tension in doing business AS ministry for the entrepreneur who is primarily a citizen of the Kingdom of God?  I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t call any part-time disciples and the Great Commission seemed to have an “all y’all, right now” implication for every one of us.

Undoubtedly, you’ve come to understand that we are big fans of chaplaincy here at FDE.  Here’s a video from one of entrepreneurs that Corporate Chaplains of America works with.  At Bandwidth, our first interaction with Corporate Chaplains of America was 10 years ago when Jeff Brown started visiting us every other Friday morning.  His impact on our staff was HUGE.  We’ll tell that story on an upcoming blog.  In the meantime, please enjoy this video about Janet Ward Black’s experience.

If you’ve been following this blog over the past few months, you’ll know that we are HUGE fans of chaplaincy.  You also know that we like to feature good, short videos with stories on our Monday blogs.  Here’s a good one, with some of our favorite quotes below:

Monday video…..This is a quick one. If you don’t yet know that we’re a huge fan of chaplaincy here at FDE, well, you likely know now 🙂

Great accelerators and venture funds like YCombinator and Andreessen Horowitz are designed to solve the common problems of starting a company so the founders can focus on the core new innovation. At the earliest stage, this includes things like forming a corporation, choosing a lawyer, and getting free cloud hosting. In the first few months, founders need help prioritizing what is important, focusing on the right metrics, and preparing how to pitch to investors. Later, founders need help with recruiting, building a sales organization, introductions to large companies, etc. These are challenges that nearly every founder needs help with, and investors are uniquely positioned to provide. Organizations like YC and A16Z can build these support services and share them with hundreds of portfolio companies, giving those companies a huge advantage and higher likelihood to succeed.

However, there is another challenge that many founders face that is largely unserved by anyone: how to deal with the stress, pressure, and damage to relationships that are common for founders.

Millenials flock to Denver faster than almost every other city in the country. Colorado’s recreational culture, active lifestyle and surging downtown create a magnetic atmosphere for young people. But our new neighbors include more than hipsters in search of tech startups and fresh powder.

“Colorado is better than other places,” said Ah Hki, who moved to Colorado two years ago from a refugee camp in Thailand. “I found a great job and have a lot of work. Housing is expensive here, but the wages are higher here, too. And the weather is better.”

Each year, several thousand refugees make Colorado their home. When they do, a make-or-break factor in their acclimation is whether or not they can find good work.