用愛來投資人

德士特和博蒂.耶格（Dexter and Birdie Yager）是我所認識最快樂、有趣的一對夫妻，他們是安麗最大直銷商之一。我從來沒有加入安麗，但我和妻子偶爾會與這對夫妻共進晚餐，每次的會面都令人難忘。

我感到非常驚奇，不管我們到哪家餐廳，德斯特似乎都知道每位服務生的名字。他對待他們如同世上最重要的人，他們也會環繞他，好像飛蛾就光一樣。看見此總令我們感到美好並激勵人心，他們非常愛人，我想這是他們事業成功的最大秘訣。倘若我們真的很成功，這也將會是我們成功的最大原因。

有一晚我在他們家待到凌晨三點，即便已經深夜了，他們仍充滿生命力。那夜管理員來敲門，他說附近餐廳的一位服務生想要來看看他們，因為他們曾告訴他可以『隨時』過來。德斯特笑了笑說：『歡迎，請他進來！』

我們以此作為藉口回家，但我永遠無法忘記德斯特所說的話，他知道我質疑他三更半夜讓人到他家的智慧。他說：『你絕不會知道來的是誰，所以我們應該待他們如同世上最重要的人。』顯然德斯特這樣做不是為了業績，而是他真的很愛人，幫助他們就是他的生活。

德斯特的成功遠超過安麗的範圍，他還擁有其他事業。他常與一些總裁和電影明星碰面，但我認為他成功的秘訣在於他真誠對待每一位服務生、技工和工友，彷彿他們和明星一樣重要。這不就是使徒保羅所說的，把加倍的體面給那有缺欠的肢體嗎？

有一段時間，安麗和其他類似的傳銷機構所帶領信主的人數，可能比教會還多。他們放膽傳福音，我曾參加他們舉辦的一個活動，在呼召時有好幾千人將生命獻給主。雖然信息很有能力，但我知道在整場活動中人們所受到的尊榮和愛，才是讓那麼多人信主的原因。

我認識一些不同直銷公司的高層，我並不是在推銷他們，只是用他們當作教會必須瞭解的重要教材。事實上，我在1987年開始對多層次傳銷產生興趣，那時我領受一句從主來的話，主說：許多在安麗的人瞭解一些教會無法瞭解的天國重要原則，我們必須向他們學習。我認為每一個領域的成功原則都是以天國原則為基礎，但這真的引起我的注意力，所以我開始研究多層次傳銷經營，很快就看出主的意思。

首先我必須解釋，在晨星事工我們有一個政策，就是全職同工不能加入直銷，純粹是因為我們不能將服事的對象視為業績的潛在客戶。即便如此，自從我研究多層次傳銷以來，我成為其擁護者。當然，加入直銷的人有著各種不同的理由，有的並不是很好。確實有一些人累積巨大財富是出於貪婪；這也發生在許多教會中，但我並不打算放棄教會。

新約的事奉是多層次的，正如我們在提摩太後書二章2節所讀到的：『你…聽見我所教訓的，也要交託那忠心能教導別人的人。』其中有四個層級：1）保羅，2）提摩太，3）忠心的人，4）其他人。在多層次傳銷裡，你的『下線』越多，也可能越成功。在我們使人作門徒的大使命上也是如此；一位真正的裝備者很快會生出許多代，這些人都是由他們所裝備的人再去裝備來的。

在多層次傳銷中，惟有幫助他人成功，你才可以成功。這使人不得不思考幫助他人的實際方法。亞特.威廉斯（Art Williams）是威廉斯經紀公司的創辦人（A.L. Williams），他曾經告訴我，他不建造事業─他建造人。這也應該成為教會的基本想法；倘若我們每天醒來，想著要如何幫忙將某人建造起來，我們的生命會有何等大的不同？

 (摘自喬納 word for the week, Week 14, 2012)


Invest in People By Loving Them - The Path of Life, Part 7
Week 14, 2012 
Rick Joyner 

Two of the most enjoyable and interesting people I’ve met are Dexter and Birdie Yager. They had one of the largest organizations within Amway. I have never been part of Amway, but my wife and I used to get together with the Yagers for dinner occasionally, and each time it was an evening we would never forget.

I was always amazed at how Dexter would seem to know the name of every waiter and waitress at whatever restaurant we went to. He treated each one of them like they were the most important person in the world, and they would swarm around him like moths to a light. It was always as fascinating and inspiring to watch this as anything else we did. The Yagers loved people, and I think this was by far the biggest secret to their huge success. It will also be the biggest reason for our success, if we are truly successful.

One night we were at the Yager’s house until almost 3:00 a.m. Dexter and Birdie were still as full of life as when the night began. There was a knock on the door, and it was one of the guards. He said a waiter from a local restaurant was there and wanted to see Dexter, who had told him to come by “any time.” Dexter laughed and said, “Sure, bring him in!”

We used this as an excuse to go home, but I’ll never forget what Dexter said when he could tell I was questioning the wisdom of letting people come into his house at three in the morning. He said, “You never know what people will become, so we should treat them all as if they were the most important person in the world.” It was also obvious that Dexter was not just doing this because he thought they might be the next big Amway distributor, but he really loved people and helping them was his life.

Dexter’s success did stretch far beyond Amway, as he owned a host of other businesses as well. He often met with Presidents and movie stars, but I think the secret of his great success is that he sincerely treated every waiter, waitress, mechanic, janitor, and so on as if they were just as important as the famous. Isn’t that what the Apostle Paul meant when he said we should bestow more abundant honor on the less comely?

For a period of time, Amway and other similar multi-level organizations possibly led more people to the Lord than the church. They were boldly evangelistic, and in one event I attended, several thousand gave their lives to the Lord at an altar call. The message had been powerful, but I know that the way people were honored and loved at the entire event had set the stage for so many conversions.

I have known people at the top of different multilevel marketing enterprises. I am not promoting them but am using them for an important understanding that the church must get. In fact, I became interested in multi-level marketing in 1987 when I received a word from the Lord that many in Amway understood some of the important kingdom principles that the church did not understand, and we must learn. I think virtually every principle of success in any field is based on a kingdom principle, but this really got my attention. So I studied the big multilevel marketing businesses, and I saw quickly what the Lord meant.

First, I must explain that we have a policy that those who are a part of the full-time ministry team at MorningStar cannot be a part of multilevel marketing. This is simply because we can’t have people who are trying to minister to others start looking at those people as prospects for their business. Even so, I have been a big proponent of the multi-level marketing concept since I studied it. Certainly some get into them for various reasons, some of which are not good. The huge wealth generated by some does at times have greed being promoted. This has happened to many churches too, but I am not going to give up on the church.

New Testament ministry is multilevel, as we see in II Timothy 2:2. “the things which you have heard from me . . . entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” These are four levels: 1) Paul, 2) Timothy, 3) faithful men, 4) others. In multilevel marketing, the deeper you go in your “legs,” the more successful you are likely to be. The same is true in our commission to make disciples. A true equipper will soon have multiple generations being equipped by those they equipped.

In multilevel marketing, you will only be successful if you help others to become successful. This does have everyone thinking about how they can help others in a very practical way. Art Williams, the founder of A.L. Williams, once told me that he did not build a business—he built people. This too should be the basic mentality of the church. How would our lives be different if we woke up every day thinking about how we could help build someone else up?