Goats Hair
Country Boy, Goats Hair, Why in the World Should We Care?
(Exodus 35: 2-26 and 36: 1-7)
If you are visiting today, do I have a story for you? Did you hear the story of the young country boy who moved to the big city? On Sunday he visited the first church he saw. As fate would have it, it was Pledge Sunday and they handed him a pledge card. He thought he probably wanted to join this church and he wanted to make a good first impression so he completed the card to give $100 over the year. The next Sunday the country boy returned to the church and was surprised to see his name listed in the church bulletin as a $10,000 contributor. After the service he notified the minister of the mistake. The minister responded by saying “I am so sorry. Our secretary often makes typographical errors when she types numbers”. The boy asked what could be done to correct the situation. The minister hemmed and hawed for a moment or two and then replied, “I guess we can make a correction in next weeks bulletin and say that you are NOT giving $10,000”.
Given a no face saving alternative the country boy did not know what else to do but to say, “just leave it as is and I’ll try my best to give $10,000 this year”. The minister seemed quite happy with the boy’s decision and said, “we will take your picture and hang it in the hallway with the pictures of all our other $10,000 contributors. We have quite a few of them. You can also choose your favorite scripture verse under your picture”. The young man needed to think only a moment and said, “Beneath my picture as a $10,000 contributor please place this verse – “I was a stranger and you took me in”.
A recent USA Today survey found that of the people who don’t attend church, 72% don’t attend because they feel they are just going to be asked to give money. It is never easy to talk to people about money, especially as the stranger giving the sermon. One recent study suggests that Americans spend 75% of our time
(Exodus 35: 2-26 and 36: 1-7)
If you are visiting today, do I have a story for you? Did you hear the story of the young country boy who moved to the big city? On Sunday he visited the first church he saw. As fate would have it, it was Pledge Sunday and they handed him a pledge card. He thought he probably wanted to join this church and he wanted to make a good first impression so he completed the card to give $100 over the year. The next Sunday the country boy returned to the church and was surprised to see his name listed in the church bulletin as a $10,000 contributor. After the service he notified the minister of the mistake. The minister responded by saying “I am so sorry. Our secretary often makes typographical errors when she types numbers”. The boy asked what could be done to correct the situation. The minister hemmed and hawed for a moment or two and then replied, “I guess we can make a correction in next weeks bulletin and say that you are NOT giving $10,000”.
Given a no face saving alternative the country boy did not know what else to do but to say, “just leave it as is and I’ll try my best to give $10,000 this year”. The minister seemed quite happy with the boy’s decision and said, “we will take your picture and hang it in the hallway with the pictures of all our other $10,000 contributors. We have quite a few of them. You can also choose your favorite scripture verse under your picture”. The young man needed to think only a moment and said, “Beneath my picture as a $10,000 contributor please place this verse – “I was a stranger and you took me in”.
A recent USA Today survey found that of the people who don’t attend church, 72% don’t attend because they feel they are just going to be asked to give money. It is never easy to talk to people about money, especially as the stranger giving the sermon. One recent study suggests that Americans spend 75% of our time