I Guarantee It

What happens when the founder of a company is kicked out of his own business? This is from May 29, 2013. Last week, the news was filled with stories involving scandal and charges of wrong doing with many celebrities. There's the ongoing case of New England Patriot tight end Aaron Hernandez and his involvement in the homicide of a friend. Celebrity chef Paula Deen was terminated by the Food Network and lost a multitude of endorsements for her use of racial slurs. In the odd department, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had their baby and named the child....North. No Joes or Marys for the rich and famous these days!

What I thought was the oddest story of the week, however, dealt with someone who is a semi-celebrity simply because of his advertisements. The Board of Directors for Men's Wearhouse ousted George Zimmer as executive chairman and spokesman of the company he founded. That's right- he got fired from his own company, the one that would not exist if it were not for him. I read some quotes about how there were disagreements about his wish to sell the company to private investors. Zimmer fired back and the uproar has continued now for more than a week. I'll be honest- I've never purchased anything from Men's Wearhouse.  Several years ago, I needed some clothes and it came down to Jos A. Bank or Men's Wearhouse. Since Dave and Sally had given me some pants from Jos A. Bank, I chose to go there and have been a customer ever since. Still, I like Men's Wearhouse if for no other reason than their commercials. You could always count on every ad ending with George Zimmer telling us,
"You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it." That voice is silent now. Well, who knows how business works- I mean Twinkies are back- but it looks like the run of George Zimmer is over.

Here's what I think is fascinating. Without George Zimmer, there is no Men's Wearhouse. Opening his first store, in Houston of all places, in 1973 at the age of twenty-five, Zimmer became the face and voice of Men's Wearhouse in 1986 when he began appearing in their commercials. I wonder if the company will just act like he doesn't exist in their new ads, kind of persona non grata. You know, I've noticed something when I hear advertisements for churches when they invite the listeners to their assemblies  On a number of occasions, they don't mention God or Jesus. Instead, the message is heavy on the church itself instead of the founder, the one who gave His life for its creation. The ads tend to be along the line of, "Experience_____________!" and you can insert the name of a church in the blank. I'm all for welcoming guests- the book of James was very blunt about it and the manner in which outsiders were treated- but if we take the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit out of the equation, there is no need to assemble. We become nothing more than a service organization like the Lions Club (which by the way does extraordinary work with donated eyeglasses), a bunch of nice folks who get together for charitable purposes but who have no holy calling. Maybe I'm overreacting but I get the idea that sometimes Jesus is just an afterthought. I'm not innocent in the matter either. It's much easier to tell people I am going to church rather than to say I'm going to worship my Creator and His Son who died so I might live. I've got some changing to do myself. I guarantee it.

Applicable quote of the day:

"I'm not against screens, or new songs, or innovation. I just don't like the gimmicks. I want to know when worship is over that that leader's sole purpose was to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ."
Charles R. Swindoll

God bless,
Steve

Luke 18:1

www.hawleybooks.com

E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com