No Exceptions!

One evening I stopped by the church just to encourage those who were there rehearsing for the spring musical. I didn't intend to stay long, so I parked my car next to the entrance. After a few minutes, I ran back to my car and drove home.

The next morning I found a note in my office mailbox. It read: "A small thing, but Tuesday night when you came to rehearsal, you parked in the 'No Parking' area. A reaction from one of my crew (who did not recognize you until after you got out of the car) was, 'There's another jerk parking in the "No Parking" area!' We try hard not to allow people--even workers--to park anywhere other than the parking lots. I would appreciate your cooperation, too." It was signed by a member of our maintenance staff.

I'm sorry to report this staff member is no longer with us. He was late coming back for lunch the next day, and we had to let him go. You have to draw the line somewhere. ...

No, I'm kidding. Actually he's still very much with us, and his stock went up in my book because he had the courage to write me about what could have been a slippage in my character.

And he was right on the mark. As I drove up that night, I had thought, "I shouldn't park here, but after all, I am the pastor." That translates: I'm an exception to the rules. But that employee wouldn't allow me to sneak down the road labeled "I'm an exception."

I'm not the exception to church rules, nor am I the exception to sexual rules or financial rules or any of God's rules. As a leader, I am not an exception; I'm to be the example. According to Scripture, I am to life in such a way that I can say, "Follow me. Park where I park. Live as I live."

That's why we all need people like my staff member to hold us accountable in even the small matters. Because when we keep the minor matters in line, we don't stumble over the larger ones.

Just when I was starting to think, "I'm an exception," somebody on our staff cared enough to say, "Don't do it, Bill, not even in one small area." That's love.

-- Bill Hybels, Willow Creek Community Church South Barrington, Illinois in Leadership, Vol. 9, no. 2.
See: Job 13:10; Mal 2:9; Jas 2:4

Equal Opportunity Savior

There's a wonderful story about a Chicago bank that once asked for a letter of recommendation on a young Bostonian being considered for employment. The Boston investment house could not say enough about the young man. His father they wrote, was a Cabot; his mother was a Lowell. Further back was a happy blend of Saltonstalls, Peabodys, and others of Boston's finest families. His recommendation was given without hesitation.

Several days later, the Chicago bank sent a note saying the information supplied was altogether inadequate. It read: "We are not contemplating using the young man for breeding purposes. Just for work." Neither is God a respecter of persons but accepts those from every family, nation, and race who fear him and work for his Kingdom. (Acts 10:34-35).

-- Kathleen Peterson, Chicago, Illinois, Leadership, Vol. 5, no. 1.
See: Ro 14:4, 10-13; 1 Sa 16:7

Zingers by Croft Pentz - April 22, 2008

Egotism is that certain something that enables a man in a rut to think he's in the groove.

Egotists are I specialists.

Conceit is an illness that refreshes the victim and makes others sick.

Fellows who boast of being self-made men usually have a few parts missing.

A big head is hard to keep under your hat.

-- Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
1990).

Five Ways To Get Rid Of Your Pastor

Sit up front, smile and say "amen" every time he says something good. He will preach himself to death.

Pat him on the back and tell him what good work he is doing in the church and community. He will work himself to death.

Increase your offering in the church. Then he will suffer from shock.

Tell him you have decided to join the visitation group and win souls for the Lord. He will probably suffer a heart attack.

Get the whole church to band together and pray for him. He will get so efficient that some other church will hear about him and give him a call. That will take him off your hands.

- Parsons Bible Illustrator 3.0

SKEPTIC CONVERTED
A minister preached a sermon one evening and went home utterly discouraged. He felt that he was a failure in the ministry, though at the same time he was greatly burdened for the lost. Some time past midnight his doorbell rang, and the leader of the choir, who was known as a bit of a skeptic, came to him saying, "Doctor, I am in agony concerning my soul. Your sermon tonight has convicted me of my sin, and I must have help or I shall die." In a very short time he was rejoicing in Christ. When asked what it was in the sermon that had impressed him, he said, "It was not so much what you said as the way you said it. I could see by the look in your eye and by the very pathos in your voice that you were longing for men to be saved, and I could not resist your message."

Where His Sermons Went

Coming to the close of many years of faithful ministry, an aged pastor tied his sermon notes in a bundle and wrote on it: "Where his the influence of all the sermons I have preached gone?" One who had been under his ministry for years and who had grown in Christlikeness and in the knowledge of God's Word, gave the following heartfelt appraisal of his sermons: "Where are last year's sunrays? They have gone into fruits and grains and vegetables to feed mankind. Where are last year's raindrops? Forgotten, of course, but they did their gracious and refreshing work. Your sermons, preached over the years, have gone into my life and into the lives of others, to make me and them better, nobler, and more Christlike. They have deepened our love for God's Word, given us a vision of and love for unsaved ones, and have challenged us to go on in the Christian life!"

Zingers by Croft Pentz - April 17, 2008

Many a person who prides himself on having an open mind merely has a vacant one.

It's strange, but a big head is the sign of a small man.

The real test of a big man is his willingness to occupy a small place in a great way.

The less some people know, the more eager they are to tell you about it.

People are seldom too busy to stop and tell you how busy they are.

-- Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
1990).

Envying Mozart

Remember the story of Mozart's life told from the perspective of Antonio Salieri. The play and the film were both called Amadeus. Salieri was the court musician in Vienna. He worked hard at his craft, writing melodies that were nice and choral pieces that were fine and instrumental works that were good. He knew that God had blessed him.

As a young man he had prayed fervently to God, "Let me make music that will glorify you, Father. Help me lift the hearts of people to heaven. Let me serve you through my music."

Then came the boy wonder, the child prodigy, young Mozart. He dazzled the crowds, playing music as if it was second nature to him. Complex melodies came from his dancing fingers. His melodies were complex and fun all at the same time, songs that soared till they seemed to bring heaven right down to earth.

Here's the catch: Mozart was such an obvious sinner. He was immature, vulgar, and obscene. He made off with the ladies every chance he could get. Salieri grew green with envy. How could life be so unfair. He was the servant of God. Why should Mozart be blessed with such talents? Salieri lived a pious and obedient life. Why should Mozart traffic in all these worldly pleasures and still get ahead? Salieri spent a lifetime of hard and tedious work. Why should it all come so easily for youthful Mozart?

The story continues until Mozart dies a mysterious death. Salieri's eyes gleam. And in the dramatic climax, Salieri sits in an insane asylum, where he curses God for denying him the kind of talent that blessed young Mozart. Envy lurks on the path of the crushed spirit.

-- Wayne Brouwer, "Taming the Beast," Preaching Today, Tape No. 118.
See: Pr 11:2; 1 Sa 2:3; Isa 5:21.

Not All Composers Make Good Conductors

The following story brings out the fact that we were all created to function in certain areas with gifts and talents, however, whenwe begin to move outside of that realm it sometimes leads to great difficulty for us... and others.

He wanted to conduct. His conducting style, however, was idiosyncratic. During soft passages he'd crouch extremely low. For loud sections, he'd often leap into the air, even shouting to the orchestra.

His memory was poor. Once he forgot that he had instructed the orchestra not to repeat a section of music. During the performance, when he went back to repeat that section, they went forward, so he stopped the piece, hollering, "Stop! Wrong! That will not do! Again! Again!"

For his own piano concerto, he tried conducting from the piano. At one point he jumped from the bench, bumping the candles off the piano. At another concert he knocked over a choir boy.

During one long, delicate passage, he jumped high to cue a loud entrance, but nothing happened because he had lost count and signaled the orchestra too soon.

As his hearing worsened, musicians tried to ignore his conducting and get their cues from the first violinist.

Finally the musicians pled with him to go home and give up conducting, which he did.

He was Ludwig van Beethoven.

As the man whom many consider to be the greatest composer of all time learned, no one is a genius of all trades.

-- David Sacks in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.

See: Pr 11:2; 29:23; Mt 18:4; Jas 4:10.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - April 8, 2008

Flattery is all right as long as you don't believe the one giving the flattery.

The greatest of all passions--seeking self-approval.

Status is a poor substitute for stature--a man should be able to get ahead without getting a swelled head.

People who place too much importance on their standing are generally too big for their shoes.
You don't have to be much of a musician to toot your own horn.

-- Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers(Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).

The Burden Bearer

Bob Weber, past president of Kiwanis International, told this story. He had spoken to a club in a small town and was spending the night with a farmer on the outskirts of the community. He had just relaxed on the front porch when a newsboy delivered the evening paper. The boy noted the sign Puppies for Sale. The boy got off his bike and said to the farmer, "How much do you want for the pups, mister?" "Twenty-five dollars, son." The boy's face dropped. "Well, sir, could I at least see them anyway?" The farmer whistled, and in a moment the mother dog came bounding around the corner of the house tagged by four of the cute puppies, wagging their tails and yipping happily. At last, another pup came straggling around the house, dragging one hind leg. "What's the matter with that puppy, mister?" the boy asked. "Well, Son, that puppy is crippled. We took her to the vet and the doctor took an X ray. The pup doesn't have a hip joint and that leg will never be right." To the amazement of both men, the boy dropped the bike, reached for his collection bag and took out a fifty-cent piece. "Please, mister," the boy pleaded, "I want to buy that pup. I'll pay you fifty cents every week until the twenty-five dollars is paid. Honest I will, mister." The farmer replied, "But, Son, you don't seem to understand. That pup will never, never be able to run or jump. That pup is going to be a cripple forever. Why in the world would you want such a useless pup as that?"

The boy paused for a moment, then reached down and pulled up his pant leg, exposing that all too familiar iron brace and leather knee-strap holding a poor twisted leg. The boy answered, "Mister, that pup is going to need someone who understands him to help him in life!"

Crippled and disfigured by sin, the risen, living Christ has given us hope. He understands us--our temptations, our discouragements, and even our thoughts concerning death. By His resurrection we have help in this life and hope for the life to come.

--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 75.

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The Sinner's Friend

One evening a woman was driving home when she noticed a huge truck behind her that was driving uncomfortably close. She stepped on the gas to gain some distance from the truck, but when she sped up the truck did too. The faster she drove, the faster drove the truck.

Now scared, she exited the freeway. But the truck stayed with her. The woman then turned up a main street, hoping to lose her pursuer in traffic. But the truck ran a red light and continued the chase.

Reaching the point of panic, the woman whipped her car into a service station and bolted out of her auto screaming for help. The truck driver sprang from his truck and ran toward her car. Yanking the back door open, the driver pulled out a man hidden in the backseat.

The woman was running from the wrong person. From his high vantage point, the truck driver had spotted a would-be rapist in the woman's car. The chase was not his effort to harm her but to save her even at the cost of his own safety.

Likewise, many people run from God's provision of atonement on the cross, fearing what He might do to them. But His plans are for good not evil--to rescue us from the hidden sins that endanger our lives.

--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 37.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - April 4, 2008

The humble Carpenter of Nazareth was also the mighty Architect of the Universe.

No day is dark when the Son is present.

Christ was born here below that we might be born from above.

The Son of God became the Son of Man that he might change the sons of men into sons of God.

If the world doesn't hate you, you are not like Jesus.

The Privilege of Suffering

Joni Eareckson's story is now well known to us both through her books and the movie about her paralysis as a teenager and her amazing fight back to a useful and productive life of ministry through her art. From the preface of Joni:

Isolated, by itself, what is a minute? Merely a measurement of time. There are sixty in an hour, 1,440 in a day. At seventeen, I had already ticked off more than 9 million of them in my life. Yet, in some cosmic plan, this single minute was isolated. Into these particular sixty seconds was compressed more significance than all the millions of minutes marking my life prior to this instant.

So many actions, sensations, thoughts, and feelings were crowded into that fragment of time. How can I describe them? How can I begin to catalog them?

I recall so clearly the details of those few dozen seconds--seconds destined to change my life forever. And there was no warning or premonition.

What happened on July 30, 1967, was the beginning of an incredible adventure which I feel compelled to share because of what I have learned.

Oscar Wilde wrote: "In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." To rephrase his thought, I suggest there are likewise only two joys. One is having God answer all your prayers; the other is not receiving the answer to all your prayers. I believe this because I have found that God knows my needs infinitely better than I know them. And He is utterly dependable, no matter which direction our circumstances take us.

In the Psalms we're told that God does not deal with us according to our sins and iniquities. My accident was not a punishment for my wrongdoing--whether or not I deserved it. Only God knows why I was paralyzed. Maybe He knew I'd be ultimately happier serving Him. If I were still on my feet, it's hard to say how things might have gone. I probably would have drifted through life--marriage, maybe even divorce--dissatisfied and disillusioned. When I was in high school, I reacted to life selfishly and never built on any long lasting values. I lived simply for each day and the pleasure I wanted--and almost always at the expense of others.

--James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 13.

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"Adversity"

Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down in infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Deafen him, and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver. . . . Call him a slow learner; "retarded," and write him off an uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.

Ted W. Engstrom (1916- )
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Zingers by Croft Pentz - April 1, 2008

Some people refuse to come forward in church unless escorted by pallbearers.

If you make your church important, it is quite likely to return the favor.

Many people go to church praying that they will hear preaching that will hit someone else.

A church without a purpose is like a house without a door--it has no reason to exist.

The church is not made up of people who are better than the rest, but of people who are trying to become better than they are.