The Big Three (or One)

By Jim Faughn     The shelves of bookstores and libraries are full of the latest ideas, tips, methods, techniques, etc. which are designed to help people succeed in their chosen professions. Courses, gadgets, gizmos, seminars, websites, podcasts, and workshops are numerous that ostensibly help people to find a job/career and “move up the ladder” quickly in the workforce. “Life coaches” are more than willing (for a fee) to help prospective employees and/or current employees who want to make a name for himself or herself in the corporate world. Advice and instruction is provided on all sorts of subjects and comes in a variety of forms.     Have you ever wondered what a real expert has to say about all of this? Wouldn’t it be helpful to listen to somebody who is, himself, very successful in the business and economic world and who has hired, evaluated, and “terminated” a lot of people?     I’m reasonably sure that most who read this will agree that Warren Buffett fits that description. If we don’t know anything else about him, we probably have heard that he is very rich. According to what I read recently, his assets amount to $147 billion. That makes him the eighth richest person in the entire world.      While he had already found ways to make money prior to graduating from college, I guess that it could be said that his actual career did not begin until after his graduation from college in 1951. At age ninety-four, he is still actively involved and “in tune” with current events, investment philosophies, business and societal trends, etc.     I typed all of that in order to say that Mr. Buffett has more than adequate credentials to offer advice about what “really works” in the business world. That is especially true as it relates to the kind of people who make an organization successful.     I will close this short post with one of his quotes without making any comments of my own except to suggest that it might be helpful to listen to some old people with what seem to be old-fashioned ideas. Here is Mr. Buffet’s quote: “Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it, it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.”

- Jim Faughn, a retired preacher, serves as an elder for the Central Church of Christ in Paducah KY.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org

FIRE!

By David Bragg

    At 10:48 on Sunday morning, February 7, 1904, fire was reported near the heart of Baltimore, Maryland. The effort to bring it under control would eventually take 1,231 firefighters from Baltimore, surrounding communities, and even fire units from out of state. Each crew responding to the fire brought along their own equipment, primed and ready to assist. As these various units converged to tackle the rapidly spreading fire they stumbled over a nagging barrier that hindered their efforts: "the lack of national standards in firefighting equipment" (Wikipedia). Many of the firefighting units that responded to the disaster could offer little actual assistance because the couplings on their hoses didn't fit the connections on Baltimore's fire hydrants.
    When the fire was finally tamed over 1,500 buildings lay in ashes. Before long the National Fire Protection Association adopted national regulations requiring standardized equipment for all firefighting equipment, especially hose couplings and hydrant connections. The “Great Baltimore Fire” ranks within the top five of our nation’s greatest fire disasters.
    Just as we rely on standardization to make life easier, God recognized the same need long ago. While some bristle at any restrictions, we need the dependable guidelines God’s word provides. These provisions carry the promise that, if embraced and adopted, our life will be more meaningful and our eternal life enjoyed in the presence of God. Jesus spoke of this when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Most importantly, you will avoid the FIRE!

 - David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/

A Combination that is Difficult to Beat

By Jim Faughn

    One of my favorite books in the Old Testament is the book of Nehemiah. It, of course, provides the reader with details concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. From an historical perspective, that makes it interesting. However, that is not the only thing that intrigues me about this book. There are a number of lessons that are still useful for us today. Without going into detail, I would suggest, for example, that present-day leaders could learn a great deal from the qualities, personality, strategies, etc. of Nehemiah himself. We can also learn a lot from the people who “…had a mind to work” (Neh. 4:6). A recent reading (again) of Nehemiah reminded me of one possibly overlooked verse.  It would be helpful for God’s people today to read and consider it.
    The context of the verse has to do with the opposition and ridicule on the part of those who were enemies of the people of God and their project. In the words of Nehemiah 4:8, “And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.” Please notice carefully the response to that: “And we prayed to God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night” (Neh. 4:9) 
    There are three very important components in that verse. 

• Prayer (they prayed to God)
• Action (they set a guard)
• Persistence (the guard was in place day and night --- It could be said that they “never let down their guard.”)

They did not depend upon any one of these three by itself. They did not just pray. They did not just take action. They did not just persist in building the walls without taking defensive measures. They persisted in that as well. It should go without saying that God’s people are under increasing attacks today. The number of people who are opposed to us and to what we are trying to accomplish for Him is seemingly growing daily. It is not now, nor has it ever been, the time to “throw in the towel” and give up. Neither is it the time to do only one of the things that the people of Nehemiah’s day did. It is now, and it always has been, the time to pray, act, and persist. Great things can still be done! 

- Jim Faughn, a retired preacher, serves as an elder for the Central Church of Christ in Paducah KY.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.centralchurchofchrist.org

Success

The road to success is always under construction,
Few people travel the road to success without a puncture or two.
Life is not so much a matter of position as of disposition.
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice.
The best vitamin for making friends:  B1
Nobody raises his own reputation by lowering others.
He who throws mud loses ground.
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Lost time is never found again.
One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.                                                
Some people develop eye strain looking for trouble.
A hard thing about business is minding your own.
Triumph is just “UMPH” Added to try.
Success comes to those who make it happen, not those who let happen.
Frogs have it easy, they eat what bugs them.
Children need more models than critics.
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime.
If the going gets easy you may be going downhill.
Don't let yesterday use up today.
The future is purchased by the present.
Ideas won't work unless you do.
Jumping to conclusions can be a bad exercise.
A ship in harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for.
A turtle makes progress when it sticks its neck out.
Failure is the path of lest persistence.
Hard work is the yeast that raises the dough.
Patience is counting down without blasting off.
Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image.
Some folks won't look up until they are flat on their backs.
If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep.
Friend: one who knows all about you and likes you just the same.
Make friends before you need them.
Money talks and often just says, "Good-by".
Birds have bills too and they keep on singing.
Forbidden fruit is responsible for many a bad jam.
God's retirement plan is out of this world.
A good example is the best sermon.
The Ten Commandments are not multiple choice.
Minds are like parachutes, they function only when open.
No man knows less than the man who knows all.
It’s nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.
Live as you wish your kids would.
Swallowing your pride seldom leads to indigestion.
Past failures are guideposts for future success.
One lacks courage to start has already finished.
A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits.
If others have sinned, you need not mention it.
When looking for faults use a mirror not a telescope.
We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
The greatest of all faults is to imagine you have none.
There is no right way to do a wrong thing.
It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.
He who forgives ends the quarrel.
Having a sharp tongue can cut your own throat.
Smile, it takes only 13 muscles, a frown takes 64.
Of all the things you wear your expression is the most important.
Kindness: a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Heaviest thing to carry, a grudge.
Everyone has 20/20 hindsight.
A bad conscience has a very good memory.
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.
The best way to cheer yourself up is the cheer somebody else up.
You have to choose happiness, it doesn't choose you.
Failure to prepare, we prepare to fail.
Don't learn safety rules simply by accident,
A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.
Break a bad habit, drop it.
Feed your faith and doubt will starve to death.
If you're going in the wrong direction, God allows U turns.
Success is ... more attitudes than aptitude.
Your favorite attitude should be gratitude.
A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.
Procrastination is the thief of time.
Two-thirds of promotion is motion.
One thing you can give and still keep - is your word.
Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Success comes in cans, failure comes in can't.
Well done, is better then well said.
The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.
After all is said and done, more is said than done.
You are rich according to what you are, not according to what you have.
Your interest should be in your future, you're going to spend the rest of your life there.
Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
Be like a postage stamp, stick to one thing till you get there.
Anger is a letter short of danger.
Men give away nothing so freely as their advice.
Positive thinking is better than negative.
Kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve.
If you don't care where you're going, any road will get you there.
Put your goals in writing, if you can't put it on a sheet of paper you probably can't do it..
The best way to determine what motivates people, ask them.
Not doing more than average is what keeps the average down.
There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm.
Where you come form isn't as important as where you are going.
Be yourself, who else is better qualified.