The Ferengi Factor

This past Sunday I encouraged my congregation to consider how the Ferengi Factor is affecting our lives. Possibly you are unaware of the Ferengi Factor. That is probably because I just made it up this week. In FACT there may be the few of you who don’t know what a Ferengi is and may be unfamiliar with this fictional civilization invented by the creators of Star Trek.

Way back when it first appeared on television, I became a fan of Star Trek. Not the type of fan who goes to Star Trek conventions and has a room full of Star Trek toys (Though I wouldn’t mind having a model of the Star Ship Enterprise for my desk.) and a Star Trek uniform. But I enjoyed the show and watched it at every opportunity. The acting wasn't particularly good. And the special effects left much to be desired. What I liked was the social criticism many of the scripts contained. The writers were encouraging to take a look at what we do and how we think.

I haven’t followed through the years as it morphed into Star Trek “Whatever” with new cast members and different characters. But there were a few episodes that stuck in my memory. One of those included the Ferengi.

The Ferengi were a species of super-capitalists that shaped an entire culture around the pursuit of self-interest… sort of like Americans on vacation. Their simple rules of acquisition resemble a dark-side core discipling process:

• Infatuation
• Negotiation
• Acquisition
• Obsession
• Resale

In addition to these core values, the Ferengi have some basic rules for life - almost 300 of them. They are not laws or religious tenets, but just guidelines for living life the Ferengi way. Let me share a few of them with you.

• Rule 006 - Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity
• Rule 010 - Greed is eternal.
• Rule 012 - Anything worth doing is worth doing for money.
• Rule 016 - A deal is a deal. (until a better one comes along).
• Rule 021 - Never place friendship before profit.
• Rule 033 - It never hurts to suck up to the boss.
• Rule 039 - Friendship is temporary; profit is forever.
• Rule 041 - Profit is its own reward.
• Rule 042 - What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine too.
• Rule 058 - There is no substitute for success.
• Rule 060 - Keep your lies consistent.
• Rule 097 - Enough is... never enough.
• Rule 106 - There is no honor in poverty.
• Rule 202 - The justification of profit is profit.
• Rule 266 - When in doubt, lie.

These rules would be funny and the Ferengi would be ridiculous if they didn’t sound so eerily familiar. It sounds like the American culture with the veneer stripped off. I believe what I call the Ferengi Factor has powerfully impacted how we view:

• Our possessions
• Our money
• Our work
• Our families
• And thus our daily lives and our relationships

We need to stop and rethink some of our basic suppositions. Why and how do we make decisions? What in our lives are important and deserve our time and attention?

• People
• Relationships
• Family
• Friends
• Serving God in Ministry
• Making a difference for eternity

What is our answer to this problem of wanting so much and being willing to do most anything to get it? How do we fit in the things we know are more important? We never seem to consider giving up something we are already doing. Instead, we cram more into our schedules and try to go faster. And it is killing us and our relationships. Everyone is yelling at us and urging us to do more. It is not sin, but busyness that keeps us from developing meaningful relationship, having time to develop our relationship with God, and time to include meaningful ministry in our daily lives. We don’t have time for growing spiritually. It is not some much that we reject God and doing the important things in life, we just don’t have the time. We struggle less with the Bible and more with the clock and the calendar.

Take a look at this story Jesus told.

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:27-37 (NIV)

What strikes me about this story is not that the priest and the Levite are bad people. Instead, I think they are busy people. They are important and they have places to be and things to do. They were so busy doing good things they ignored the things God had for them to do. They almost tripped over the needy man but managed to ignore him.

We don’t feel guilty because of sin, though we probably should. If we feel guilt, we feel guilty because we don’t have time for our spouses, our children, our friends and our God. We don’t come home staggering drunk, we come home staggering tired. And voices all around us: our bosses, our pastor, our parents, our wives, our husbands, even ourselves all telling us to do more and run faster.

Might I suggest that our lives would be better, fuller and more meaningful if we removed the Ferengi Factor? What would life be like, what would the church be like if we dropped the idea that success in life is having more, better, newer, faster. Instead of seeking to be successful – we were to seek to live lives of significance.

Let’s look at what Jesus simply asks of us: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Matthew 4:19 (NIV)

Let’s be real people. What we are doing is not working. Acting like a bunch of Ferengi is neither meaningful nor fulfilling. While we are living our lives at warp speed, while real life is passing us by like a blur. We are constantly frustrated because we don’t get to be with the people who really count because we are doing things that really don’t count. To change things we are going to have to decide to crank it down a couple of notches. When someone starts yelling that you need to do more perhaps you need to ignore them. We need to begin making some difficult, Godly decisions.

Think again: “Where am I going in such a huge hurry?” “Does what I am doing really matter?”

Copyright © 2014, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved

Cream to 2%

As often happens, as I gain some age and perspective, I have been taking a look back to process what I have experienced and possibly learned. I do this with some consternation because I have seen older folks do this all my life and they seem to almost always bemoan the good things that have been lost in their lifetimes. It is often a – woe is me, the world is going to hell in a hand basket – discourse. I don’t want to be one of those people.

But I also don’t think it takes one of great intelligence to realize that the shift in our value system over the past 50 years has had a profound impact upon our society. Some of that impact and those changes have been good and healthy. We now talk about some things we need to talk about that used to be taboo. In some ways we are more open and honest and real. And I love that.

But unless one is mired deeply in denial, it is painfully obvious that many of the changes in our values have had a negative effect on our culture. Many of us are in denial because admitting that negative impact would mean we have made some very wrong decisions and put our faith in some pretty poor values. We would rather dance around the issues than admit that we are wrong. My generation, like most generation before and after, believed ourselves to be the smartest people to ever inhabit the earth. All great thinking began with us. Those who came before us may have been well meaning but not too smart.

One doesn’t have to stop, look, listen and think very long before perceiving that something is wrong and the solutions we have applied to the problems we have encountered are not producing great results. In my simple, pragmatic way, I would say that if it isn’t working we should try something else. I would also suggest we take a hard look at our value system and how it has been changed over the years.

I heard a dear friend speak of his concern for the effect his grandfather had on his father and uncles over the years. Even after fifty years, his impact was powerful, dynamic and destructive. One of my friend’s uncles had committed suicide that week. The family was thrown into chaos. The uncle was the type of individual "that would never do such a thing". It caused the speaker to have vague fears about the effect his "weirdness" would have on his children and grandchildren. 

My fears are the opposite. I fear the lack of effect my "weirdness" will have on my children. I see myself as a transmitter of values from my father to my children. Family values are not easily communicated today. There is so much competition from other sources. School, television, movies, professional athletes, pop "feel-good" psychology and other influences give the family plenty of competition. And, to further complicate the matter, I have not been a good conductor. When I needed to be high quality copper, it seems I have been cheap iron. My father's values are not being transmitted well. As they say, much has been lost in the translation.

My father's value system was both beautiful and functional. His values were like thick cream skimmed off the top of life; rich, full, and useful. One could almost sink one's teeth into them. His values were strong, bold and solid. They worked. They were passed down through the proceeding generations and developed over the years through hard work, thought, application, reconsideration and reapplication. He received them as a precious gift from his father and he gave them to me. Not just for safekeeping, but to help me get them most out of life and to help me add the most to life. Values were to empower me to live, instead of a life of success, a life of significance. 

Several years ago my older brother and I compared notes and recollections and recognized these as some of the values we received from our father:

                        m Work hard and don't expect something for nothing.

                        m Make work fun.

                        m Listen to people. Really listen.

                        m Keep practicing until excellence is natural.

                        m Be generous in helping others.

                        m Be a giver not a taker.

                        m Set high goals and strive to attain them.

                        m Put God first, family second, and work third.

                        m Be dependable, a man of your word.

                        m Be prompt. Being late is rude.

                        m To have good friends you must be a good friend.

                        m Be fun to be around.

                        m Make sacrifices for your family and friends.

                        m Keep learning and thinking.

                        m Dare to dream big dreams. Have a vision.

                        m Stand up for what you believe to be right.

                        m Pray and trust God.

 

He gave me this magnificent chilled glass of thick rich cream. As he handed it to me, I could see the cream slosh up the sides of the tumbler, dripping with rivulets of condensation, and coating the glass with its translucent richness. He urged me to drink deeply of its cool sweetness knowing that the more of it I drank the more I would have to give to my children when it came time to pass the cup. Values, like love, are unusual in that the more you use them, the more you have to share.

But catastrophe struck before it came time to share its rich goodness with my progeny. I was there the entire time, but I am still not sure exactly what happened. I guess it happened so slowly and over such an extended period of time that the catastrophe failed to fully register in my consciousness. All I know for sure is that when I handed the glass to my children, the cream no longer stuck to the sides. When I looked closer I realized that the content of the glass was no longer rich, thick cream. It looked more like the 2% milk I now have on my cereal in the mornings. Much more watery than either whole milk or cream; 2% milk shows itself for the "weak sister" it is most clearly when it is used as a creamer in coffee. If you want to see something really nasty, put 2% milk in coffee.

The catastrophic change was unnoticed because it was not one grand accident where I (And my generation) tripped and spilled the values in a big mess on the floor. Instead, in out astounding egotism of thinking all great thinking began with us, we splashed a little out here, dribbled a bit there, choked on a mouthful here and poured a tad down the drain there. In my attempt to keep the glass full, I added a touch of water here and there to keep up the appearance of holding a full glass. After all, who was going to notice a little water?

Well, it ends up that I am the one who notices. I have noticed that our lack of solid values has had a powerfulliy negative effect on my world. Our culture in in chaos but we refuse to believe the chaos has anything to do with a faulty value system. We blame it on a lack of education, inequity of money distribution, political processes, classism, sexism, and corporate greed. The truth is all of these things are off kilter because our values are screwed up. We will not fix these social issues until we address our values.

But then, my children don't notice because they have never seen or experienced the real thing – the cream. The cultural assault on values crashing down on them from other sources makes for values more akin to sewage than cream. And I certainly didn’t help much: didn’t add much to the mix. Even so, though my values seem pretty thin and weak compared to those of my father, my watered down value system is quite distinct from the alternatives available to my children and grandchildren.

It is my prayer they can filter through the muck and somehow rediscover the rich, healthy, foundational values my father passed on to me.

Copyright © 2013, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved

Motivation

Motivation. Everyone is talking about motivation. My coaches were constantly trying to motivate us to work harder, play better and win more. Bosses are attempting to motivate their workers to produce more and better goods. Parents stay awake at night thinking of ways to motivate their children to do better in school. Motivation is a big deal.

There are thousands of articles written each year, and many more talks and speeches made with the express intent to motivate us. Frankly, very few of them have much impact. And most of those that succeed produce rather short term results. Like most people, I can be motived but usually for a very short span of time. Motivation wanes if it is not produced from within. We are only motived by things that really matter to us; things we really care about.

The things that motivate us; the things that drive us to do what we need to do are called our Core Values. At the church I serve we are in the process of writing our Mission Statement, our Vision Statement and our Core Values. Many people like to believe these things are not important and it is a waste of time to work on them. A more factual statement is; these things are important and foundational and they are difficult to think about. Whether we write them down or not; whether we articulate them or not; we have a mission and core values and these are the things that drive us.

Our mission is our calling in life. As a believer in God, I have a God given mission that I am living my life for and spending my time and resources in fulfilling. My vision is how I go about getting my mission accomplished. My vision gives my mission voice and hands and feet to get the job done. And my core values are the energy that empowers me to fulfill my mission. No mission – nothing happens. No vision – nothing happens. Wrong values – nothing happens. The church must have all three and faithfully be guided by them or the church will wander in the wilderness and eventually die. Scripture powerfully says it like this: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” (Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) The New International Version says it like this: “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” Either way, it is a bad idea to try to do church well without a clear mission, vision and values. It is universally true that churches that are not motived by a God given vision are in the process of dying. We like to blame our demise on many factors but it all comes back to lack of vision.

Again, many churches have these statements. Unfortunately most of these mission and vision statements are safely filed away in a cabinet in an office somewhere on the premises or posted on a wall in the church library but consistently ignored when it comes to making the decisions that impact the ministries, mission and the future of the church. Instead of adhering to these foundational principles, we tend to just head off in whatever direction that seems right and meaningful at the moment. And we will rarely fulfill our mission and follow our vision without first taking a hard look at our values. We must ask, what do we value?

Most churches in our culture fail to move forward; fail to impact our communities; fail to fulfill their missions because the basic core value that empowers the church is summed up in the statement – I want my way. Churches expend most of their resources and energy placating unhappy members; doing what makes the present membership happy; not doing anything, (no matter if it would be something that fits the mission exactly) that might cause any discomfort or upheaval among the present membership. We spend so much time and energy making sure everyone is happy and comfortable we don’t have the resources (time, talents, money, energy) to reach out to those in our sphere of influence who do not yet know Christ. We become inward focused instead of outward focused. We are more concerned with maintaining the present membership than reaching those who don’t know God. We become self-serving. And that is not what God intended us to do and be.

Here is the difficult part of the whole deal. We need to change our core values. We need to find the motivation to change those thoughts, attitudes and ideas (values) that motivate us. Wow, how difficult is that? We must be motivated to change our motivation.

We must begin by owning our current values. This is difficult because our current values, when considered in the context of being a Christian, are often embarrassing. We must admit to being self-center and self-serving and small minded; mired in the muck insisting that having our needs met is of primary importance. But once we can own up to our immature and selfish value system we can begin to dismantle it and rebuild with a Godly value system. My counsel to the church is the same counsel I have given myself. Study the New Testament to discover what values drove Jesus to do what He did and adopt those values. This seems to make sense to me since we are called to be His disciples, follow in His footsteps and to live life as He lived life. New values do not come easily.

This is a basic, foundational change that is extremely difficult to make. It takes courage, concentration and consistent readjusting. It is my prayer we, the church, have that courage and consistency. Because if we don’t, we will surely die.

Copyright © 2013, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved