It may surprise you to hear me write (I have a loud pen) that I work at a car dealership. I don't have to wear leisure suits or snakeskin boots...although I do enjoy wearing gold chains with my chest hair showing. Ok, not really. But I do work at a respectable dealership in Victorville, Ca. The primary reason I took the job two years ago was because they allowed me the freedom to have Sunday mornings off so that we could plant a local church. That remains the one reason I stay at the dealership in spite of all the ups and downs, the stereotypes, the economy, the unsteady pay and the cut-throat competition amongst salespeople.
On a brighter note, our owner has a yearly competition for the salespeople in which he gives away a vacation for two. The last time they had this sort of competition (2006) they gave away a trip for two to Hawaii plus spending money. I had only been at the dealership for two weeks and anticipated one day being in the competition...cause who doesn't want a free trip somewhere. Well, last year because of the economy (I think) they did not have the competition. This year they did! The competition works something like this:
1. All sales people are required to participate.
2. Each week a vehicle is selected and each person must give a three minute presentation of the vehicle. This is known as a walk-around.
3. There are four judges that critique each person. And every week there is a guest judge (Chrysler representatives, other dealership owners, etc). Each judge can award a total of up to 100 points, with a 10 point deduction for going over the time limit.
4. At the end of each week (round), the scores are tallied and they eliminate several people with the remaining contestants moving on to the next round and the next vehicle.
That's basically how it works. We started with 23 contestants. We're now down to 3. I'm one of them. Of course I'd like to win. Even though the trip is only to Las Vegas and not Hawaii, I enjoy getting away with my wife, sleeping in, eating out, shopping and all that jazz. If I don't get eliminated next week I'll finish in at least 2nd place and get a prize of $500. Not bad at all.
Today my wife happened to bring me lunch at the time I was getting ready to present today's vehicle. One salesperson whispered to my wife, "I bet he practices at home all day, huh?" She said, "Actually, he doesn't." It's true. I haven't had much time to practice. Sermon prep time and time with the family come first before these types of things, so I've had to rely on my years of public speaking (preaching) to get me through this. I'm ashamed to admit that moving through the competition hasn't required much more effort than 1/2 hour of practice and preparation each week. The more I prepare, the better I'd actually be at presenting vehicles to a real guest who really wants to buy. That is the whole point of this competition--to sharpen our skills. At that got me thinking...
All the other sales people are preparing and studying to win a prize. They prepare in order to win a vacation. A vacation! I wonder how much effort Christians put into studying God's Word and knowing Jesus so that they can properly and passionately tell others about Christ--in order to win souls. People, Christians included, will work hard and labor to win a vacation. Will they work equally hard in order to bring people to Christ--without any temporal benefit? You see, certain things motivate us to action. For some it's money. For others it's the sheer joy of seeing others know Christ. My aim in life is to know Christ and present Christ. I'll work hard and labor in the Word for that...even if I gain nothing. Studying a car in order to win a vacation...nothing wrong with that...but it'll not consume me. I'd give that up any day to share Christ with a sinner.
I wonder what it would take to motivate you to be involved in the ministry of reconciliation--the ministry of the Word. Would you share Christ with someone for $1,000,000? Would you share Christ for a trip to Hawaii? If you'd do it for money or vacations, yet not simply out of love for God, then who really do you serve: God or money?
Just thinking out loud here.
On a brighter note, our owner has a yearly competition for the salespeople in which he gives away a vacation for two. The last time they had this sort of competition (2006) they gave away a trip for two to Hawaii plus spending money. I had only been at the dealership for two weeks and anticipated one day being in the competition...cause who doesn't want a free trip somewhere. Well, last year because of the economy (I think) they did not have the competition. This year they did! The competition works something like this:
1. All sales people are required to participate.
2. Each week a vehicle is selected and each person must give a three minute presentation of the vehicle. This is known as a walk-around.
3. There are four judges that critique each person. And every week there is a guest judge (Chrysler representatives, other dealership owners, etc). Each judge can award a total of up to 100 points, with a 10 point deduction for going over the time limit.
4. At the end of each week (round), the scores are tallied and they eliminate several people with the remaining contestants moving on to the next round and the next vehicle.
That's basically how it works. We started with 23 contestants. We're now down to 3. I'm one of them. Of course I'd like to win. Even though the trip is only to Las Vegas and not Hawaii, I enjoy getting away with my wife, sleeping in, eating out, shopping and all that jazz. If I don't get eliminated next week I'll finish in at least 2nd place and get a prize of $500. Not bad at all.
Today my wife happened to bring me lunch at the time I was getting ready to present today's vehicle. One salesperson whispered to my wife, "I bet he practices at home all day, huh?" She said, "Actually, he doesn't." It's true. I haven't had much time to practice. Sermon prep time and time with the family come first before these types of things, so I've had to rely on my years of public speaking (preaching) to get me through this. I'm ashamed to admit that moving through the competition hasn't required much more effort than 1/2 hour of practice and preparation each week. The more I prepare, the better I'd actually be at presenting vehicles to a real guest who really wants to buy. That is the whole point of this competition--to sharpen our skills. At that got me thinking...
All the other sales people are preparing and studying to win a prize. They prepare in order to win a vacation. A vacation! I wonder how much effort Christians put into studying God's Word and knowing Jesus so that they can properly and passionately tell others about Christ--in order to win souls. People, Christians included, will work hard and labor to win a vacation. Will they work equally hard in order to bring people to Christ--without any temporal benefit? You see, certain things motivate us to action. For some it's money. For others it's the sheer joy of seeing others know Christ. My aim in life is to know Christ and present Christ. I'll work hard and labor in the Word for that...even if I gain nothing. Studying a car in order to win a vacation...nothing wrong with that...but it'll not consume me. I'd give that up any day to share Christ with a sinner.
I wonder what it would take to motivate you to be involved in the ministry of reconciliation--the ministry of the Word. Would you share Christ with someone for $1,000,000? Would you share Christ for a trip to Hawaii? If you'd do it for money or vacations, yet not simply out of love for God, then who really do you serve: God or money?
Just thinking out loud here.
