CEO Offers Free Mid-America Tuition to All Employees
June 23, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
An international company that develops, manufactures and sells GE brand products to customers across the globe is now offering something new to its employees: free tuition toward a degree at Mid-America Christian University.
Every one of the 278 employees at Jasco Products Company in Oklahoma City and throughout the U.S. is eligible to apply for free tuition toward an MACU undergraduate or graduate degree. Jasco has selected specific degrees relevant to its business, and employees may pursue those even if they are not directly related to their current jobs.
This offer is just one of the ways Jasco helps its employees improve the quality of their lives so they can have more opportunities to honor God.
Jasco is a quiet giant, thanks to the leadership of President Steve Trice and his focus on considering how Jesus Christ can be glorified in every aspect of the business.
Trice started the privately-held company in 1975. As an exclusive GE licensee, Jasco develops, markets and distributes GE branded consumer electronic accessories, computer accessories, home electric products, and home security/surveillance products. These products are sold in more than 87,000 stores internationally by mass merchants; electronic superstores; home improvement stores; food and drug retailers; military installations and direct marketers.
In 1991, Trice was a 43-year-old successful businessman who was struggling with personal frustration and depression. He was invited to a prayer breakfast in Oklahoma City where he heard the gospel in a fresh way from Bob Vernon, the assistant chief of police for Los Angeles County. Trice accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and became active in the sponsoring organization, Connecting Business Men to Christ.
Since then, he has been actively discipled by fellow Christian men, and he has been discipling men younger in the faith. His relationship with Jesus has inspired him to make his business a vehicle for ministering to everyone it touches.
Since 1996, Jasco has employed a chaplain who is available to counsel and advise interested employees. Bible studies, Christian-based parenting classes and personal financial management classes are also free to workers. Interested married couples can attend Christian weekend retreats to strengthen their marriages and the company picks up the tab.
Jasco also encourages generosity.
“We’ve connected with 16 different charitable organizations in Oklahoma City,” Trice said. “If our employees volunteer 30 hours of their time, we match that with $300 to the charity in the employee’s name. If they give their personal funds, we’ll match those funds up to $500. We’re doing all that we know to do internally to help a person grow with God and those other relationships in their life,” Trice said.
Trice speaks often in MACU business classes, and he delivered a 2009 commencement address to graduates. So he knew where he wanted to go when his team decided to add more opportunities for employees.
“Recently, we started saying, “What could we do to help our folks in their careers and in their relationships with the Lord?” Trice said. “That’s when we connected with Mid-America. They already had a new campus five minutes away from our facility, and we love the work they do. So we decided to pay full tuition for our people to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree. The same curriculum is available on-line to our staff who lives in other parts of the U.S.
“One of our primary motivations in selecting MACU is its Christian Bible-based orientation and consequently its focus on ethics in all degree programs and curriculum. A huge problem throughout the business community is unethical behavior at all levels of an organization, and the consequences when administering agreements between organizations and clients. MACU has a proven history of effectively teaching biblically-based ethics to their students who, after graduation, demonstrate ethical behaviors and leadership in the marketplace.”
Trice realizes how countercultural his business approach seems to many people.
“For most of us, it’s about me and my pleasure,” Trice said. “We are trying to learn a different way. I spent half my life on one side of the cross, and now I’m living the second half on this side of the cross.
“I used to say, ‘People are our most important asset.’ In the back of my mind, I knew that we were leveraging people to make money for me and my family. Today, for me, it’s about helping people be all they can be, and that involves spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“We sell to the world’s largest mass merchandisers in a hugely competitive environment. We work hard at building strong relationships with all of our vendors and customers around the world and our people internally so that one day we’ve earned the right to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“As I understand Jesus’ mission, it was to seek and save the lost and to teach them to live life to the fullest. Therefore, that needs to be my mission. I stumble and fall every day trying to do it, but that’s my desire.”
The Ministry of Presence
June 21, 2011
In the Old Testament God was in the box! You remember, He was in the box with the jar of manna, Aaron’s rod, and the Ten Commandments. Anywhere the box went, blessings broke out as a result of the presence of Almighty God. In 2 Samuel 6: David decided not to take the Ark of the Covenant with him into Jerusalem; instead, he turned off the road and took it to the house of Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. It stayed there three months, and the Lord blessed Obed Edom and his family. King David heard that because of the Covenant Box the Lord had blessed Obed Edom’s family and all that he had; so he got the Covenant Box from Obed’s house to take it to Jerusalem with a great celebration.
The one occasion when blessings didn’t break out when the Ark of the Covenant was present, was in 1 Samuel 4, when the two despicable sons of Eli the priest, were carrying the Ark into the battle against the Philistines. They were expecting the presence of Almighty God to save them from the hand of their enemies. Anytime people try to manipulate the presence of God, by trying to get Him to fix their problems, delivering them from their pain, or anything other than to worship Him, they have misused His Holy presence. His presence is for adoration NOT manipulation. That’s not to say that He can’t, or couldn’t do anything…He is God and certainly could do whatever He desires.
After the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the Ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. (The pagan god of the Philistines) Early the next day the people of Ashdod rose early and found that Dagon had fallen on his face, on the ground before the Ark of the Lord! This happened two days in a row, and the Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and the surrounding area. The Lord brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors. The men of Ashdod immediately stated that this Ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.
Today, the presence of Almighty God isn’t in a golden box, rather He is in the golden hearts of believers. He promised in John 14 that He wouldn’t leave us as orphans, but would send us the Holy Spirit to be with us, He would teach us all things and remind us of everything He had said to us. His powerful presence, just like in the days of old, impacts every place He goes, and blessing should be breaking out all around us. As believers, if we aren’t carrying His presence into areas where his heart is broken, we miss out on witnessing the powerful impacts of the miraculous Holy Spirit today.
The ministry of “Presence,” is simply allowing the presence of God to guide us wherever he wants us to go, and do what He wants us to do, say what He wants us to say, and care the way He wants us to care. Allowing enough margin in our schedule, affords us an opportunity to do anything He desires us to do. His ministry of presence accomplishes more by accident, than the creative ideas of man do on purpose. Be the presence of God today wherever your journey in life takes you. You don’t need to be religious…just be present!
Be the Ark of God!
Corporate Care Offers Support for Employees and Companies
June 4, 2011
Corporate Care Offers Support for Employees and Companies
Related Information
Corporate Chaplaincy
Corporate Care, Inc.
•Founded: 1987.
•Address: 2217 S Fretz Avenue, Edmond.
•Web address: www.corporatecareok.com
By Jack Money
Business Writer
Life happens — even at work. The saying is true in all lines of work — including the oil patch. For that reason, Corporate Care shared a table with another faith-based organization at a recent oil and gas trade exposition. For Boe Parrish, the business is all about helping companies and their employees deal with problems. He started the business with his friend Scott Lewis in 1987, after Lewis asked whether he knew what a corporate chaplain was. A company was asking his friend to become one, Parrish explained. So, the two talked in an Edmond fast-food restaurant about what a corporate chaplain should be and came up with the idea for the company using napkins to sketch out ideas. Today, the company has clients from North Carolina to Colorado and from Minnesota to Texas. On a weekly basis, the company cares for 5,000 employees and their family members — a total of about 20,000 people.
‘Life happens’
Parrish, who said he has worked both in the ministry and in sales, said he knew first-hand how employees could be affected on the job by personal problems. “Life happens, and it is hard to leave a lot of that stuff at the house when you go to work,” Parrish, Corporate Care president said. “These are problems companies need to be prepared to help their employees deal with, because they often can affect productivity.” He said corporate chaplaincy goes above and beyond other types of employee assistance programs where employees are provided a card with an 800 number that no one calls unless they are threatened with the loss of their jobs.
“Having a proactive, on-site program makes all the difference in the world,” he said.
And the chaplains are there to help the company help its employees — not to convert them.”We are chaplains, not evangelists. We go to serve, not to convert,” he said.Payoff for companies Parrish remembered one case, for example, where a 31-year-old woman who was well-liked and a hard worker at her company learned she had breast cancer. While her company knew about that, it did not know that shortly after her diagnosis, her husband was involved in a car accident that left him unable to work. When she went to the corporate chaplain, she sought only enough help to be able to afford to buy a wig. But the company, through a benevolence committee the chaplain helped organize, ultimately helped the family with its car and home payments and other expenses. Her response, Parrish recalls, was ultimate loyalty to her employer.
And that’s the significant payoff for companies, he said.
Taking care of employees the payoff is particularly important in today’s oil and natural gas business, where big companies that pay well are strenuously competing for qualified landmen and geologists and other industry-specific specialists. “In that type of environment, you better take care of your employees or you’re going to lose them,” Parrish said. According to the Association of Professional Chaplains, nearly 4,000 chaplains representing more than 150 faith groups are working with people in health care facilities, correctional institutions, long-term care units, rehabilitation centers, hospices and the military. But Parrish said those mainly are working in health care settings, and he thinks the service still needs to make additional inroads into the corporate world. Art Stricklin, vice president of public relations for Marketplace Chaplains USA, agreed with Parrish in that regard.
Stricklin told The Oklahoman the chaplaincy business is growing dramatically. Marketplace Chaplains USA, which has clients in 48 states, is adding a client once every four days, he said.
A ‘wonderful product’ for employers, the service can be a blessing. Billie Haycraft Jr., president of Frontier State Bank in Oklahoma City, said his business is into its fourth year of using Corporate Care to work with its employees. Haycraft said Parrish and his company were referred to him by the bank’s owner, who had been using Parrish in another of his businesses for a lot of years already. Haycraft said Parrish offers a “wonderful product.”
“People are going through personal, financial, marital and health issues — things out of their control,” Haycraft said. “And we believed the company would be a service to our employees in helping them deal with those situations. He said Parrish visits his company weekly, and makes it a point to visit with every one of his employees during each of his visits.
Even more personally, Haycraft said he recently needed Parrish’s services after his mother died. “And he has made it very easy to go through these troubling times,” he said. “He is just a phone call or e-mail away for any issues that anyone at this bank has. He is available 24 hours a day.” After four years of being involved with Corporate Care, Haycraft admits it would be hard to imagine his company without its help. “Yes, I wonder how we got along without that,” he said. “I just don’t know how I could have coped with my issues the past year without Boe, and I think other employees in my business would say the same thing, without a doubt.”
Jack Money: 405-475-3470
jmoney@oklahoman.com
When Your World Implodes
June 4, 2011
My son and daughter are doing very well in school. Both are socially fitting in, adjusting to life in a very healthy way. My husband is rising up the ladder at work, providing well, and I have a great job with lots of recognition and appreciation for a job well done. Life is rocking along as we both turned the corner on thirty, and we’re about where we thought we would be at this point. It couldn’t be going much better, as we’re living the American dream. It was just another day in the life, when the phone rang, and all the blood in my head drained out, as the doctor wanted to visit with me about my annual checkup. He had never called me before, after this very routine wellness exam. He stated that he had some concerns with some lumps in my breasts, and wanted to biopsy them just to be on the safe side, and eliminate his concern.
You guessed it, a few days later I was informed I had advanced stages of breast cancer. I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was barely thirty-one, and found myself in the midst of one very dark nightmare. The fear was crippling as I considered not seeing my children grow up, missing the big dates like graduation, prom, college, weddings and grandchildren. I was witnessing my life flash before my eyes, and I was horrified at what I was witnessing. Oh but wait, it gets even darker. My husband was being everything I hoped he would be, not perfect, but he was there for me as the chemotherapy began. My hair started falling out and I became so weak and frail that I couldn’t hardly get out of bed. The phone rang and I wasn’t prepared for what was coming next. My precious husband was involved in a horrific automobile accident, and they were not sure he was going to survive. Once again, I went numb all over, hardly believing what my ears were hearing. Somehow I knew, that life as I knew it would never be the same.
I was barely able to work, and it would be weeks and weeks before my husband would work again, if he even survived the accident. Income dried up, bills piled up, fear raised up and I was lost, as I didn’t know what to do or where to go for help! I was slipping away, and couldn’t find a handle to hold on to…did I mention FEAR!! Suddenly it hit me, I had a chaplain at the company I had gotten to know as he made his weekly rounds at our office. He was compassionate, a good listener and someone I could finally unload my fears, anxieties, hopes and dreams on. His strength and faith held me up when no one else could. There were some things I just didn’t feel comfortable discussing with my pastor, yet my company chaplain, whom I connected with so easily, began this long journey with me and my family.
His words of hope always seemed to be right on the mark. The resources and options he provided were perfectly timed, and exactly what my family needed. He convinced our company to establish a benevolence fund at work. The employees could contribute $5 to $10 per pay period, and the company would match or even double match what was contributed by all of the employees. Portions of this fund would then be made available to any team member in crisis! This fund bought me a wig when my hair fell out, paid our house and car payments, fed my family and above all else, gave us HOPE, that we wouldn’t be alone during this journey. Over the next few months our health slowly began to improve, until we were both back at work and life returned somewhat back to normal.
There would be new challenges down the road in my marriage and life, but I will never ever forget the season in my life, when my company cared enough to provide a benefit I had never heard of, and thought I would never use, to save our lives. It’s been almost twenty years since that challenging time of my life, and my career has taken me to other companies, but on a few occasions, when I needed someone to lean on, I called my old chaplain to help me again. He always was there for me even though my new company wasn’t one of his clients. He simply said, once you’re part of his Corporate Care family, you’re always a part of the family! I am eternally grateful for my chaplain, my friend.
Anonymous Employee
Is There A God?
June 3, 2011
Maybe you’ve never considered whether or not there is a God. Possibly you were one who just knew from infancy that God was real, and never considered that the reality of God was ever in doubt. You also might be someone who at some point did believe there was a God, but due to some traumatic event, decided there is no way God would ever allow that event to happen, therefore, your belief in God has melted away. One final option may be where you are, that you do not believe there is, or has ever been a God. I wanted to share my thoughts about the reality of God for me personally, because a friend recently asked me this question.
I have come to the realization of God; because of some friends that I was playing baseball with who were living a different lifestyle that attracted me. It was the summer of 1971, and my family had just moved to Oklahoma from Western Kentucky. Once again, my dad had chosen to leave our current home, and move for a better job opportunity in Oklahoma. We had just settled in, when I discovered many of the guys on my new baseball team were so excited about going to a place called Falls Creek. That was all they were talking about for weeks leading up to the event. Their description of this summer-time event was, it’s a place where guys and girls connect, and there is a huge softball tournament with seventy-two teams entered. My two passions…girls and baseball, what could possibly be better than that! I should’ve been suspicious when we had to get on a church bus to get there, but oh well, what the heck.
Sure enough, there were thousands and thousands of girls and plenty of opportunities to play ball. However, there was something different about this place. Every evening we all had to attend a church service type-of-thing. The talks were amazing to say the least, and I found myself captivated by the speaker named Charlie Graves. On Thursday evening, Charlie spoke about baseball, for crying out loud. It was an amazing talk where he had woven the story of God, and how much he loves us, into a baseball talk. I remember thinking later that God customized this wonderful story of redemption into a format that was just perfect for me.
I was so captivated by the talk that I was moved to surrender my life to this Jesus, I had just heard about for the very first time. There was such a sense of the presence of God at that moment, I knew immediately that something supernatural had just occurred. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I think I may have been the kid in the cabin that year that everyone was praying for. Little did I know then, how much that single decision would completely change the course of my life? Literally, everything about me and my family would be different in a matter of a couple of years. The first thing I did was to buy a Bible, because I didn’t have one, and had never even heard of the Bible. Once I bought one and began reading it, I was hooked for life. I just couldn’t believe all of the promises that were in there for me! I began reading, and completely read the book from cover to cover three times the first year I invited Jesus into my life.
All of a sudden I began to see God everywhere in everything. The clouds, the sunrises, sunsets, fall leaves, mountains, streams, forests, people, everywhere! How could I have not seen the handiwork of God before now? How could I even draw a breath of air without him? I so hungered to understand and know more about this amazing God I had just discovered? Then, like a ton of bricks, it hit me. My family didn’t have a clue about this rich treasure I had discovered. They didn’t know about the Bible; they had no knowledge about heaven or hell, much less about church. I had to get them to believe in God, but I had no idea how to begin to make that happen. Then my friend, Loretta, shared another promise with me. Acts 16:31 states, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household, meaning everyone in your family. So, for the next two and a half years I prayed for my parents and brother and sister to come to know him, and give their lives to him. By March of my senior year in high school, my whole family had received Jesus into their hearts. As a result of this change in our family, over sixty of my extended family members also received Christ, because of my parent’s new-found faith. He so drastically changed my dysfunctional family and gave our lives meaning, purpose and peace. How could I not serve him all the days of my life.
Next, he led me to the college where I would meet the girl of my dreams, and begin shaping my future forever. Through what I would describe as divine events, he allowed me to cross paths with what would become my life partner, wife, lover and friend. I looked into the blue eyes of this beautiful red headed girl and knew in an instant, she was going to be my wife and lifetime companion. After marrying my bride and finishing school, the Lord brought us three beautiful daughters and a vision for using our lives to serve others while we are on this planet. There have been numerous challenges over the years with health, relationships, wealth, career, and certainly marriage, but through it all, God has performed so many miracles it is hard to recant all of them.
I have now walked with God for forty years. I’ve learned so much and yet still feel like I know nothing about him. But I do know that he has never let me down even one time, and I let him down daily. It isn’t because I want to, but because my spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. God has transformed me and my family by the power that only comes from on high! There have been financial miracles, healings, victories over weaknesses, revelation of his nature, and most importantly, he placed his very own Spirit within me so I can hear his voice, which is softer than a whisper and wiser than the wisest man to ever walk this earth. His power, presence and purpose all reside within me. His Spirit teaches me about himself with such clarity that is hard for me to fathom it all. I see him everywhere, I hear his voice, I feel his presence, I marvel at his Word and I’ve received a thousand blessings from his people.
Every fiber of my being declares there is a God who loves me, and knows my very name, and even knows the number of hairs on my head. I can’t help but tell others about the eternal greatness of my God. He is the God of gods, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and Prince of peace. He is absolutely everything to me! YES, you better believe, I believe there is a GOD!
What Does It Mean To Trust God?
June 3, 2011
To trust God, like anything else in this faith walk, requires faith! How do I get faith? Where does faith come from? The Word states that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17 (NIV) In able to trust, you must’ve heard, in able to hear you must communicate and listen for his voice. Once he speaks, that’s where we have the golden moment to choose to believe and act, or not believe and miss out. The key to trusting God, is believing that God still speaks today. John 10:27 says, “my sheep know my voice, and they follow me.” I believe He does still speak today, and if you want to learn to trust, you must also learn to hear and recognize His voice like He promised you could. Trusting in what you hear the Spirit of God speaking, is the first step to trusting. Once he speaks and you hear, that should give you faith to believe and to act!
Acting without hearing the still small voice of God, is presumption. We are hoping that what we’re doing is God’s perfect will, but since we didn’t hear him, we don’t have the faith, or assurance to trust in him. For me personally, FAITH is HEARING GOD! But, faith without works is dead, so my actions must closely follow what I believe I’ve heard. Years ago, my three little girls would always want to go to a small local theme park called Lions Fun Park. They would ask me numerous times, and then wish, and hope and dream that they were going, but it wasn’t until they heard their father (me) SAY we’re going, did they finally KNOW we were going. They knew if they heard me speak it, they would have all the faith they needed, to begin preparing to have fun!
Remember, faith comes by hearing!
Forgotten Marketplace
June 3, 2011
With all the creative changes going on in church staffing, one would think churches would consider adding a pastor to the marketplace to build relationships within the business community. Offering ideas like: job boards for local business owners and candidates to find each other, mentoring for older executives to mentor younger executives, pier to pier groups for executives of faith, assisting executives with integrating faith into their companies, executive lunches where successful executives gather around a meal, with one executive sharing his testimony of faith, and offering top notch networking events that would rival anything the local chambers would offer.
Additionally, virtual groups on Linked In or Facebook would be perfect in establishing a place for all business and marketplace individuals to meet, fellowship, encourage one another. Sadly, as I read about the church staffing trends, the trends continue to be inward-focused to the church, instead of outward-focused to the world He came and wept over. Everyone goes to work, and so precious few go to church. Shouldn’t we create, empower and equip professionals to connect with the world of work?
Developing and implementing a marketplace strategy is crucial if the church is going to touch and reach the world for Christ. Offering solutions, ideas, and tools for business professionals, opens up so many opportunities for unchurched relationships to occur. One of the greatest challenges the church faces today, is establishing relationships with the unchurched. We have a tendency to have the members of our churches down at the church two to four times a week, leaving no time for relationships with the lost and unchurched. We must resist the bait of programmania, and allow the church ample opportunities and time to connect with the world. Just a thought!
Being Resourceful
June 3, 2011
How many times a day do you have people requesting a meeting with you, because they heard you were the guy to go to for…? Go ahead and fill in the blank. If people come to you for advice, direction, counsel, encouragement or expertise, you have learned something extra about the topic they’re seeking you out about. It’s been said, if a person invests one hour a day for sixty months, they will become an expert at the item they’re investing their time into. So I’ll ask you, what are you an expert at? Where have you poured your passion, time, and research? When was the last time you were invited to the leadership meeting of one of your clients, just to gain your insights, wisdom and perspective? Being invited to someone else’s table, when what is being discussed has nothing to do with your product offering, is the crowning compliment to any person. It demonstrates that you’re not in the game just for yourself any longer, but you exist for other’s dreams too!
Whether you’re in sales, service, academics, manufacturing, or banking, one of your goals should be, becoming a resource for others around you. I have recently discovered that having others coming to you with questions they can’t get answered, problems they can’t get solved, or jobs they can’t find, adds immeasurable value to you, your relationship, and your company as you become the resource guy. Follow your passions, and become an expert at something, the marketplace needs what you’ve learned over your career, and lives are waiting to be changed because of your knowledge, information and your inspiration. Decide today to become a resource guy, and watch the paradigm of your world make the most drastic shift you’ve ever experienced. Be resourceful!
Corporate Chaplaincy…The Time Is Now!
June 1, 2011
Corporate Chaplaincy,
The Time Is Now!
As you already know, great employees are difficult to find, and even more difficult to keep once you have them. Yet, highly efficient and productive employees are what everyone of us must have, if we are to compete in this competitive global marketplace of the 21st century.
It’s been said, that your employees don’t care how much you know…until they know how much you care. We’re all aware of the fact, that our employees have a number of personal issues they face everyday, and yet these issues that seem to be such a detrament to productivity, offer an employer a “golden moment” to seal a relationship with your employee forever. How we respond at their critical moment of need, determines how that employee perceives your level of caring about them as a person, and as a valued employee.
That’s where we come in, by partnering with you to care for your employees 24/7/365, it’s like you’re there caring for them. We have corporate chaplains, who are ready in a moment’s notice, to be there with you, and your valued team, representing your heart and your values. No one cares like Corporate Care, in being there for your people, regardless of the issues they face in their lives. Twenty-five years of caring for thousands of lives across America, uniquely qualifies Corporate Care to be there for you and your team.
You’ve been thinking about what else you can do to help recruit and retain the highest quality people? Offer them care…Corporate Care! It makes all the difference! Visit us at http://www.corporatecareok.com for more information, or call me personally at 405.990.0107 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 405.990.0107 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and let’s visit about all the different ways to truly make a difference in your team!
Warm regards,
Boe Parrish
Chairman
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