Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

Judging and Money

I heard of one professor at a Christian school who bought a Mercedes every year. ?Now there?s a materialist if I?ve ever seen one,? you say. But you don?t know the whole story. You see, once a year this professor travels from America to Germany to teach at a Christian school. While in Germany, he purchases a Mercedes and uses it for his transportation. Now since Mercedes are made in Germany, they are a lot cheaper to purchase there than in America. Upon his return to the States, he ships the car with him, and sells it in the States for a profit, giving him enough money to pay for his travel back to Germany the next year, so that he can minister there again! ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Missions Giving Versus Nintendo

??total Protestant support of foreign missions amounts to almost $1.7 billion per year - precisely the same amount Americans spend on Nintendo games. Given the financial resources of the American church, this is nothing less than a sign of apostasy. The most basic crisis facing American Christians is not the survival of denominational organizations and agencies, or even the financial integrity of the local church. It is the question of whether or not we intend to be the church at all." (Albert Moeller, Christian Index, 1991)

Christian Business Principles Pay

Although I believe that God, for purposes that only He knows, will at times allow a Christian?s business to falter, it is interesting that following His principles tend to pay off in the business world. Management scholar Nabil A. Ibrahim studied 152 Christian-based companies and found that Christian-based ?companies grew significantly faster than other companies in their fields by every criterion examined: return on assets, net sales, number of employees and value of net assets.? The statistics he uncovered were significant: ?In the three years through 1987, Christian-based retailers surveyed by Prof. Ibrahim increased their employment 74% faster than other retailers, and their total assets grew 63% faster. In the service industries, the return on assets grew 73% faster among the Christian-based companies than among other concerns.? What makes this even more amazing is that some of these companies take stands that would at first seem to hurt them financially. Lon L. Day Jr., whose family developed the Days Inns motel chain, led the company to give a large share of its profits to charity, gave away 2.5 million Bibles, employed full time chaplains to help employees, and fired managers who took kickbacks or harassed women. When owned by Day, the Inn refused to sell alcohol. Mr. day estimates that they lost 20% of their bottom line to alcohol. ?But,? he comes back, ?we picked up twice as much by being family oriented.? Chick-Fil-A refuses to open on Sundays, which has kept some malls from allowing them in. Yet, this stand attracts committed Christian employees who want to keep their Sundays free. They also offer a large scholarship program. The result: ?In an industry whose turnover rate for part-timers can reach 300% a year, the 400-unit chain says its comparable rate is under 50%.? Ibrahim says that these companies ?stress quality, service and integrity,? which customers like. Ron Blue, managing partner of the Atlanta-based financial planning concern, Ronald Blue and Co., says, ?If you say you will return a phone call and you don?t, you have lied.? Principles matter. (The Wall Street Journal, by Roger Ricklefs, Dec. 8, ?89) ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Judging Materialists

I heard of one professor at a Christian school who bought a Mercedes every year. ?Now there?s a materialist if I?ve ever seen one,? you say. But you don?t know the whole story. You see, once a year this professor travels from America to Germany to teach at a Christian school. While in Germany, he purchases a Mercedes and uses it for his transportation. Now since Mercedes are made in Germany, they are a lot cheaper to purchase there than in America. Upon his return to the States, he ships the car with him, and sells it in the States for a profit, giving him enough money to pay for his travel back to Germany the next year, so that he can minister there again! ? Copyright 2002 Steve Miller - All Rights Reserved

Creed on Money

In popular rock band's song "In America," they say, "Only in America we stamp our god, In God We Trust"

Blonde Loses Bet

Foolishness can hurt you financially. For example, a blonde and a redhead met in a bar after work for a drink, and were watching the 6 O'clock news. A man was shown threatening to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge. The blonde bet the redhead $50 that he wouldn't jump, and the redhead replied, 'I'll take that bet!' Anyway, sure enough, he jumped, so the blonde gave the redhead the $50 she owed. The redhead said 'I can't take this, you're my friend.' The blonde said 'No. A bet's a bet'. So the redhead said 'Listen, I have to admit, I saw this on the 5 O'clock news, so I can't take your money'. The blonde replied, 'Well, so did I, but I never thought he'd jump again!'

Dying With Toys

I believe it was Malcomb Forbes who stated his philosophy of life as: "He who dies with the most toys wins. I saw a thought-provoking challenge to this philosophy on a t-shirt: "He who dies with the most toys... still dies."

A Jerk With a Billion Dollars

If you were a jerk before, you?ll be a bigger jerk with a billion dollars. ? Warren Buffet, ?Does Money Buy Happiness?? in Forbes Magazine

Buffett on Jerks With Money

Money isn't a cure all. It won't necessarily get you the respect you want. As Warren Buffett, America's most successful investor has said, "If you were a jerk before, you?ll be a bigger jerk with a billion dollars." Warren Buffett, ?Does Money Buy Happiness?? in Forbes Magazine

Verwer Gives Away Suit

George Verwer leads one of the largest mission organizations of our day. He's known for his zealous Christian lifestyle. As a young person he preached in a small church near Mexico City and was overwhelmed by the generosity of the people. After the meeting that night, the pastor walked Verwer to his van. He asked the pastor if he had a suit. "No," he replied. George told him that he had plenty of clothes and under the cover of night proceeded to take off his suit, give it to the pastor and drive off in his underwear. "It was quite a sight to see a young skinny George Verwer in his underwear around midnight knocking on the door of the Christian book shop where the team was staying!" (Verwer, George, Out of the Comfort Zone, Vision, Grace, Action, OM Publishing, Waynesboro, GA, 2000. p. x, introduction)

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