Evangelical Insurance Agent

We met Craig on Friday, October 13, 2017, in the morning at his insurance office in Racine.  He was the first of our “Pastor Jerry” interviews and, in part because Jerry had just returned the night before from Bolivia, we interviewed him without Pastor Jerry present.  Craig’s office is very tidy and, in addition to being his office, it features his family and his faith.

Childhood in Rural Illinois

We asked about Craig’s backstory.  He told us that he is from North Central Illinois.  He will be leaving later today to drive three hours to return to his hometown to visit his father who is terminally ill, and may have only a few days to live.  His mother predeceased his father, leaving his dad as the last of his generation in the family.  When we set up the interview, his father’s condition, had it changed, could have kept him from seeing us. Craig’s generosity of spirit and strong relationship with Pastor Jerry let him set the time for us, if he could possibly make it.

Craig was raised in a town of about 7000, the county seat in a rural county about 100 miles from Chicago.   He was raised in a “very conservative church in a community with strong family values.”  Then one day when he was in his 20’s he met a young woman from Racine.  He and his wife have now been married for 31 years.  With Milwaukee to the north and Chicago to the south, there was more opportunity in Racine than where he grew up.  Craig started college at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and finished his education at Concordia, a small Christian private college just north of Milwaukee.

Craig has been in the insurance business since he was in his early twenties, then 12 years ago, he had an opportunity to work for a small, family owned company, where  he oversees the employee benefits insurance programs.  They now have 3 offices, Racine, Kenosha, and a small, recently acquired agency in Door County, about 3 ½ hours away the “beautiful New England of Wisconsin" peninsula jutting northeast into Lake Michigan near Green Bay. 

Role as Elder in Grace Church

Craig grew up in a Baptist church.  When he and his wife moved to Racine and were looking for a church, they visited several until a friend suggested Grace Church, then at its prior location.  As soon as they attended and heard Pastor Jerry speak they heard something that they liked.  Later that week, Pastor Jerry and his wife Jane made a home visit and they learned that Grace has a theological basis that was completely consistent with their values.

Grace Church

Craig has been on the Board of Elders, served as its chair, and has partnered with Pastor Jerry in helping to operate the church.  “Now Jerry is retired, but you could hardly notice it,” Craig reflects given Jerry’s level of activity.  Craig has traveled with Pastor Jerry as well, two times recently to Cuba.  The purpose of the trip was to Proclaim the Gospel and give the Good News.  “Cuba has been spiritually dark,” Craig informs us. For example, “they cannot talk with a person on the street about faith, nor can they preach in public.  But if they are invited into someone’s home they can speak.  The people are good people and want what everybody wants, including freedom to speak. They are warm and wonderful people.”

Faith and Spiritual Practice at Work 

We asked how his spiritual perspective affects his work.  He said that his “worldview, everybody has a worldview, is rooted in God’s Word, in the Bible.”  He sees the Bible to be the inspired, holy word of God that is truth.  It guides him in all of life.  “I am just a flawed human being, but I want to see the world through the grid of God’s Word.  I want God’s Word to guide me in everything.”

Craig's Insurance Company: David to local Goliath

This is true in all of his relationships; professional, personal, in his marriage and as the father in his home, including the parenting of his three daughters.  He points to a photo of his three beautiful daughters,  placed on a low cabinet visible to Craig and us.  Peter asks about “A day in the life of Craig Vaughn as an insurance agent.”  After saying that he does not want to put us to sleep, he discusses the areas of insurance he works on.

We then return to ask how his faith guides him. He responds,  “When faith guides your life that includes your work life.  It includes integrity, ethics, and fairness and is always rooted in Christ.  The Holy Spirit dwells within you and you want to live your whole life in Christ.  That drives all behavior, work, play; all of life.”

Peter asks for a specific example of where he consciously said, “This is how I’m going to approach this because of my relationship with Christ.” Craig responds by saying, “Any business involves stress as errors occur.  Hopefully, there is fruit in your life that comes from maturing in the faith.  One can deal with problems in a way that is God honoring.  There is still ugliness in life, but how one chooses to deal with it matters. Perhaps others can see that you are driven by your faith in Christ.”

Peter says that he would like to know what it feels like to have the clarity of God’s presence that Craig’s faith gives him in dealing with business problems.  

Craig says that he begins each and every day with a time with the Word, usually at home, but sometimes at work.  Through prayer he asks for God’s guidance because “he is not equipped to handle problems on his own as a flawed human being, but with God he can cope.”  Craig is experiencing stress as he deals with the end of his father’s life. He knows that his father has accepted Jesus Christ as his savior, and that he will see his father again.

He praises his parents as great examples of dealing with what matters in life; as it applies to eternal life.  “They have been great teachers for their own children and for mine [Craig’s daughters] as well.”

Healthcare: The perspective of a Healthcare Insurance Provider

Peter changes the topic to healthcare.  He starts with the question: “Is healthcare a right?”  Craig separates health insurance from health care in the question and answers that health insurance is not a right.  “Just because someone thinks it is a right does not make it a right.”  He says that healthcare is what happens when you go to a doctor’s office or hospital.  “Is that a right?  Or is it simply a benefit that having access to it is just something that happens in this country?”  He does not think that it is mentioned in the Constitution.  So it is not a right.

Peter then sought to overlay the teachings of Jesus about our responsibility to the poor and other people who cannot care for themselves.  How does that impact Craig’s thinking?  How does that impact the rights people have?  Craig said that Jesus taught about caring for the poor and that people should give to support and help people in their community, and even to the extent that we can help people and set up safety nets for those who don’t have the ability to meet their own needs.  He thinks that those are important things, but that there is a limit to what we can do based upon the finances that we have.

Peter asks where we draw the line.  Craig says that it is a difficult question.
“You want to do what you can do to help your fellow man, but the issue gets complex.” Peter asks if Craig gets guidance in prayer as to how to determine the direction we are going.  Craig says that he has not prayed on this specifically on how we can make it better.  He says that there are people smarter than him who are working on it. 

Politics and Intransigence in Washington

Unfortunately, people got stuck because “politicians in Washington, on the left and the right both have their own agendas.  Neither side wants to see the other get a “win” and get credit.”  The environment does not exist where people can engage in healthy dialog or come together in a collaborative way.  “To get things done and to do good work we need to have people working together in a healthy way and then we can have a good outcome.  But both parties have gone to their own corners and the environment is toxic.  All parties need to help.”

Craig sees toxic environment in DC

I asked him what it would take to get the politicians to cooperate and work toward helping people with solutions.  He says that this is a hard question.  He thinks the best way would be to continue to try to elect people who are willing to hold their principles and yet engage in dialog or policy making.  “There are some people, men and women in Washington who have good will.  There are people who love their country and want to work to resolve things.  He does not know how to find people who will keep promises. They put out a good message when “interviewing for the job.”  The problem is that they do not perform when they get the job.  There is far too much bureaucracy; government has grown to a size that the founding fathers warned us about, where it is too big, out of control and too intrusive in people’s lives.”

Foxconn

Peter shifts to the Foxconn development.  Craig responds by saying “this is going to create quite a stir locally.”  He thinks that ultimately positive and a “win” for not only the community, but for the region; not just for the jobs, but the related and connected businesses.  With Amazon and U-Line and Foxconn there will be a need for workers.  It will be a challenge to get good people to fill that many jobs.  The economic impact will be enormous and he thinks positive for the region.  I noticed that he seemed to sense the impact of Foxconn as greater than others that we interviewed.

David Insurance, the company Craig works for, has already been in contact with the Foxconn people to see what services may be needed; not Foxconn itself, but the people and companies that will be located nearby.  There is only one other local insurance company, Johnson Insurance (a subsidiary of Johnson Wax, headquartered in Racine) which is huge, David Insurance is second.  He likes to say that “Johnson is Goliath and his company is David.”

They will probably not be doing insurance for Foxconn itself, but can be a resource for their employees and are exploring the ripple effect of the Foxconn arrival.

Peter asked about Racine itself, including the 19th and 20th century manufacturing industries, and asked how Craig sees Racine evolving over the next few decades.  Craig came thirty two years ago from Central Illinois and has seen a lot of positive progress and steps forward.  He sees much potential and a beautiful location on Lake Michigan. There are lots of opportunities and he is optimistic.  He discusses the careers of his daughters, including the last one who is now a 4th grade teacher in a disadvantaged school in Racine. He anticipates that she will become the principal.

Magic Wand

Then Peter asks the “magic wand” question.  Craig considers it carefully.  There are a lot of things.  But the “one” would be “to see the Church of Jesus Christ growing and thriving within our community and beyond, reaching out in a way that is just vibrant and powerful with the hope that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

--David