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Among
Co-Workers
Committees
A secretary burst into the
office of a Detroit executive on May 21
1927
and cried
“Mr. Murphy
a man
has just flown from
Then Murphy looked up. “All
by himself
a man can do anything
” he said quietly. “When a committee flies
the
Cooperation
During a hike in the woods
a troop of Boy Scouts came across an abandoned section of railroad track. Each
boy in turn tried walking the rails but eventually lost his balance and tumbled
off. Two boys
after considerable whispering
suddenly offered to bet that they
could both walk the entire length of the track without falling off. Challenged
to make good their boast
the two boys jumped up on opposite rails
extended a
hand to balance each other
and walked the entire section of track with no
difficulty whatever. That in a nutshell is the principle of Christian living. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
Teamwork
Bear Bryant
former head
football coach at Alabama and one of the greatest football coaches of all time
was once interviewed after it was announced that only one player from his team
had been named as an All-American. Bryant was asked if he was disappointed. He
answered that he was and then stated that since his goal was always team
effort
either all of his team should be All-American or none should be. ──
Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
Teamwork
During the 1960 Olympics
defending gold medallist Al Oerter and teammate Rink Babka were expected to
take the gold and silver medal in the discus throw. Although Babka was very ill
the night before the competition he beat his teammate in the first four throws.
On the fifth throw Oerter stepped into the circle
spun around
and threw the
discus farther than any other that day. He had snatched victory from defeat and
won the gold medal
while Babka took the silver. What no one knew until later
was that Babka had noticed and pointed out a flaw in Oerter’s teachnique during
the fourth throw. A small adjustment was all Oerter needed
and it cost Babka
the gold medal. Babka was not the winner that year
but no one could call him a
loser. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
Ignace Jan Paderewski
the
famous Polish composer-painist
was once scheduled to perform at a great
American concert hall for a high-society extravaganza. In the audience was a mother
with her fidgety nine-year-old son. Weary of waiting
the boy slipped away from
her side
strangely drawn to the Steinway on the stage. Without much notice
from the audience
he sat down at the stool and began playing
"chopsticks." The roar of the crowd turned to shouts as hundreds
yelled
"Get that boy away from there!" When Paderewski heard the
uproar backstage
he grabbed his coat and rushed over behind the boy. Reaching
around him from behind
the master began to improvise a countermelody to
"Chopsticks." As the two of them played together
Paderewski kept
whispering in the boy's ear
"Keep going. Don't quit
son...don't
stop...don't stop."
Today in the Word
Moody Bible
Institute
Jan
1992
p.8.
Charles Osgood told the
story of two ladies who lived in a convalescent center. Each had suffered an
incapacitating stroke. Margaret's stroke left her left side restricted
while
Ruth's stroke damaged her right side. Both of these ladies were accomplished
pianists but had given up hope of ever playing again. The director of the
center sat them down at a piano and encouraged them to play solo pieces
together. They did
and a beautiful friendship developed. What a picture of the
church's need to work together! What one member cannot do alone
perhaps two or
more could do together--in harmony.
Don Higginbotham.
Exodus 20:16 Psalm
50:20
We have only one person to blame
and that's each other.
Barry Beck of the New York
Rangers
on who started a brawl during the NHL's1997 Stanley Cup playoffs.
There's a wonderful story
about Jimmy Durante
one of the great entertainers of a generation ago. He was
asked to be a part of a show for World War II veterans. He told them his
schedule was very busy and he could afford only a few minutes
but if they
wouldn't mind his doing one short monologue and immediately leaving for his
next appointment
he would come. Of course
the show's director agreed happily.
But when Jimmy got on stage
something interesting happened. He went through
the short monologue and then stayed. The applause grew louder and louder and he
kept staying. Pretty soon
he had been on fifteen
twenty
then thirty minutes.
Finally he took a last bow and left the stage. Backstage someone stopped him
and said
"I thought you had to go after a few minutes. What
happened?"
Jimmy answered
"I
did have to go
but I can show you the reason I stayed. You can see for
yourself if you'll look down on the front row." In the front row were two
men
each of whom had lost an arm in the war. One had lost his right arm and
the other had lost his left. Together
they were able to clap
and that's
exactly what they were doing
loudly and cheerfully.
Tim Hansel
Holy Sweat
1987
Word Books Publisher
p. 104-105.
Bees can show you
something about teamwork. On a warm day about half the bees in a hive stay
inside beating their wings while the other half go out to gather pollen and
nectar. Because of the beating wings
the temperature inside the hive is about
10 degrees cooler than outside. The bees rotate duties and the bees that cool
the hive one day are honey gatherers the next.
Bits & Pieces
September 17
1992
p. 19-20.
It's those stately geese I
find especially impressive. Winging their way to a warmer climate
they often
cover thousands of miles before reaching their destination. Have you ever
studied why they fly as they do? It is fascinating to read what has been
discovered about their flight pattern as well as their in-flight habits. Four
come to mind.
1. Those in front rotate
their leadership. When one lead goose gets tired
it changes places with one in
the wing of the V-formation and another flies point.
2. By flying as they do
the members of the flock create an upward air current
for one another. Each flap of the wings literally creates an uplift for the
bird immediately following. One author states that by flying in a V-formation
the whole flock gets 71 percent greater flying range than if each goose flew on
its own.
3. When one goose gets sick or wounded
two fall out of formation with it and
follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with the struggler until it's
able to fly again.
4. The geese in the rear of the formation are the ones who do the honking. I
suppose it's their way of announcing that they're following and that all is well.
For sure
the repeated honks encourage those in front to stay at it. As I think
about all this
one lesson stands out above all others: it is the natural
instinct of geese to work together. Whether it's rotating
flapping
helping
or simply honking
the flock is in it together...which enables them to
accomplish what they set out to do.
Chuck Swindoll
letter
October
1991.
The next time a committee
is appointed and the committee names several task forces to do its job
think
of this story: To highlight its annual picnic one year
a company rented two
racing shells and challenged a rival company to a boat race. The rival company
accepted. On the day of the picnic
everyone entered into the spirit of the
event. Women wore colorful summer dresses and big
floppy hats. Men wore straw
skimmers and white pants. Bands played and banners waved. Finally the race
began. To the consternation of the host company
the rival team immediately
moved to the front and was never headed. It won by 11 lengths. The management
of the host company was embarrassed by its showing and promptly appointed a
committee to place responsibility for the failure and make recommendations to
improve the host team's chances in a rematch the following year. The committee
appointed several task forces to study various aspects of the race. They met
for three months and issued a preliminary report. In essence
the report said
that the rival crew had been unfair.
"They had eight
people rowing and one coxswain steering and shouting out the beat
" the
report said. "We had one person rowing and eight coxswains." The
chairman of the board thanked the committee and sent it away to study the
matter further and make recommendations for the rematch. Four months later the
committee came back with a recommendation: "Our guy has to row
faster."
Bits and Pieces
September 19
1991
p. 5-6.
I'm just a plowhand from
Arkansas
but I have learned how to hold a team together. How to lift some men
up
how to calm down others
until finally they've got one heartbeat together
a team. There's just three things I'd ever say: If anything goes bad
I
did it. If anything goes semi-good
then we did it. If anything goes real good
then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you.
Bear Bryant.
Every year in Alaska
a
1000-mile dogsled race
a run for prize money and prestige
commemorates an
original "race" run to save lives. Back in January of 1926
six-year-old Richard Stanley showed symptoms of diphtheria
signaling the
possibility of an outbreak in the small town of Nome. When the boy passed away
a day later
Dr. Curtis Welch began immunizing children and adults with an
experimental but effective anti-dipheheria serum. But it wasn't long before Dr.
Welch's supply ran out
and the nearest serum was in Nenana
Alaska--1000 miles
of frozen wilderness away. Amazingly
a group of trappers and prospectors
volunteered to cover the distance with their dog teams! Operating in relays
from trading post to trapping station and beyond
one sled started out from
Nome while another
carrying the serum
started from Nenana. Oblivious to
frostbite
fatigue
and exhaustion
the teamsters mushed relentlessly until
after 144 hours in minus 50-degree winds
the serum was delivered to Nome. As a
result
only one other life was lost to the potential epidemic. Their sacrifice
had given an entire town the gift of life.
Source Unknown.