The pastor went on, “Yep, in fact, we’ve gone international. And management has a plan to put at least one office in every country of the world by the end of this business era.”
The pastor paused a minute and then asked, “Do you have that in your business?”
The younger man said, “Well, no. Not yet. But you mentioned management. How do they make it work?”
“Actually,” the pastor said, “it’s a family business. There’s a Father and a Son…they run everything.”
“Wow. That must take a lot of capital.”
“You mean money? Yes, it does. No one knows just how much, but we never worry…those of us in the organization have a saying about our Boss, that ‘He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.’”
“Oh,” the man said. “He’s into ranching, too? Wow. Well, what about you?”
“You mean the employees?” the pastor asked. “They are something to see. They have a ‘Spirit’ that pervades the organization. The Father and Son love each other so much that their love filters down so that we all find ourselves loving one another, too. I know this sounds old-fashioned in a world like ours, but I know people in the organization who are willing to die for me. Do you have that in your business?”
“No,” the man said. “Not exactly. But what about your benefits? Are they good?”
“Good? They’re amazing. I have complete life insurance, fire insurance—all the basics. You might not believe this, but it’s true: I have holdings in a mansion that’s being built for me right now for my retirement. Do you have that in your business?”
“Not yet,” the young man said, by this time feeling like the figure salon business wasn’t exactly the place to be. “But can your operation last? I mean, companies come and go.”
The pastor said, “Oh, I think we’ve got a pretty good future. After all, we’ve got a 2,000-year run going.”
Nothing compares to the church, does it? No business, no investment, no enterprise, no activity. It’s the heart of God’s plan and the hope of the world. The church is the most dynamic, active, vibrant, forceful project on the planet. It is the one thing we will give our lives to that will live on long after we are gone—and not just for a generation or two, but for all of eternity.
But sometimes we just need to be reminded.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
