James T. Laney - "Beyond the Bottom Line" (September 14, 1986)

Download
- Rights
- Limited Re-Use
  Unknown Rights-Holder
  More Rights Info
- Files (2)
- MP3 Part 1
- MP3 Part 2
- Please be patient with media downloads. They are often large files.
Share

Embed Code
<iframe src='https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vh5d039?embed=true' height='125px' width='100%' frameborder='0' marginwidth='0' marginheight='0' scrolling='no' loading='lazy' allowfullscreen></iframe>
Permalink

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vh5d039
Skip to Item Info

Loading the media player...

Files for this Item

Transcript

Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.

	(pipe organ plays reverent music)	0:03
	(congregation murmuring)	6:54
	(footsteps walking)	6:59
-	Good morning, and welcome to Duke University Chapel.	7:35
	We are pleased to welcome you here	7:39
	for this Duke Campus Ministry Sunday.	7:41
	Today, in front of the chapel, all afternoon	7:43
	our Duke Campus Ministry students will be conducting	7:47
	a faith festival, highlighting the many dimensions	7:50
	of religious life here at Duke,	7:54
	and we invite all students	7:56
	to join them for the faith festival.	7:59
	One word about the service.	8:03
	The music for the psalm	8:05
	is incorrectly printed in the bulletin.	8:07
	Just follow along with the response	8:09
	with the choir as they sing.	8:11
	The words are right, the music is wrong,	8:14
	but join with the choir in that.	8:17
	Call your attention to the main announcements	8:20
	in the bulletin,	8:22
	including the visit this week,	8:24
	sponsored by Duke Chapel,	8:26
	of Michael Novak,	8:28
	speaking on capitalism and Christianity,	8:30
	and the public is invited.	8:35
	Our guest preacher this morning	8:39
	is the Reverend Doctor James Laney,	8:41
	President of Emory University.	8:43
	Delighted to invite this good friend	8:46
	and president of our sister institution	8:49
	again to the chapel pulpit.	8:53
	Dr. Laney is a renowned speaker	8:56
	and leader in American higher education,	8:59
	and we welcome him again to the chapel.	9:04
	We also invite you to join us for lemonade	9:08
	after the service,	9:11
	at which time you will have the opportunity to meet	9:12
	Dr. and Mrs. Laney.	9:15
	And now let us prepare ourselves for worship.	9:18
	(papers shuffling)	9:22
	(choir singing hymn)	9:43
	♪ Beautiful Savior ♪	9:44
	♪ Lord of the nations ♪	9:51
	♪ Son of God and Son of Man ♪	9:59
	♪ Glory and honor ♪	10:14
	♪ Praise, adoration ♪	10:22
	♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪	10:28
	♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪	10:41
	(pipe organ playing stately music)	11:03
	(choir sings accompanied by pipe organ)	11:45
-	Let us pray.	15:39
	Gracious God,	15:46
	rule over us as we meet together,	15:48
	and so fill us with your Spirit	15:51
	that in our singing and in our prayers	15:54
	and the reading and preaching of your holy word	15:58
	we may in spirit and in truth worship you,	16:01
	and proclaim your mighty deeds to all the world.	16:05
	Amen.	16:10
	Be seated.	16:11
	(congregation murmurs)	16:13
-	Let us pray.	16:18
	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	16:20
	by the power	16:24
	(congregation joins celebrant) of your Holy Spirit	16:25
	so that, as the word is read and proclaimed,	16:27
	we might hear with joy	16:31
	what you say to us this day.	16:33
	Amen.	16:36
	The first lesson is taken from Genesis.	16:38
	"When the boys grew up,	16:41
	"Esau was a skillful hunter,	16:43
	"a man of the field,	16:45
	"while Jacob was a quiet man,	16:47
	"dwelling in his tents.	16:49
	"Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game,	16:52
	"but Rebecca loved Jacob.	16:56
	"Once, when Jacob was boiling pottage,	16:58
	"Esau came in from the field	17:01
	"and he was famished.	17:04
	"And Esau said to Jacob,	17:06
	"Let me eat some of that red pottage for I am famished.	17:09
	"Therefore, his name was called Edom.	17:14
	"Jacob said, First sell me your birthright.	17:17
	"Esau said, I am about to die.	17:21
	"Of what use is a birthright to me?	17:25
	"Jacob said, Swear to me first.	17:28
	"So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.	17:32
	"Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils.	17:37
	"And he ate and drank and rose and went his way.	17:40
	"Thus Esau despised his birthright."	17:45
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	17:49
	(congregation murmurs)	17:54
	(pipe organ music plays majestic music)	18:03
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	18:15
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	18:19
	♪ The law of the Lord is perfect ♪	18:28
	♪ It renews the soul ♪	18:31
	♪ The rule of the Lord is sure ♪	18:35
	♪ It makes wise the simple ♪	18:39
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	18:44
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	18:48
	♪ The command of the Lord shines clear ♪	18:53
	♪ It lightens the eyes ♪	18:56
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	19:02
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	19:07
	♪ The fear of the Lord is holy ♪	19:15
	♪ Enduring forever ♪	19:18
	♪ The decrees of the Lord are true ♪	19:22
	♪ And all of them righteous ♪	19:26
	♪ They are more precious than gold ♪	19:31
	♪ More than abundant pure gold ♪	19:35
	♪ The word of the Lord is sweeter than honey ♪	19:40
	♪ Than honey fresh from the comb ♪	19:45
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	19:51
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	19:56
	♪ By them your servant is guided ♪	20:04
	♪ In keeping them there is great reward ♪	20:07
	♪ Who can know all my offenses ♪	20:12
	♪ Wash me from my secret wrongdoing ♪	20:16
	♪ O Lord God keep your servant from foolish pride ♪	20:23
	♪ Let it not overwhelm me ♪	20:29
	♪ Then shall I be whole and innocent of all my transgression ♪	20:34
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	20:43
	♪ And rejoice the heart ♪	20:48
	♪ Let the words of my mouth ♪	20:56
	♪ The cries of my heart ♪	20:59
	♪ Find favor before you, O Lord ♪	21:04
	♪ My redeemer and God ♪	21:09
	♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪	21:15
	♪ They rejoice the heart ♪	21:20
	(pipe organ playing music)	21:30
	(choir singing accompanied by pipe organ)	21:39
	(papers shuffle)	22:39
	(pipe organ playing softly)	22:49
	(choir singing slow ethereal music)	23:14
	♪ Salvation ♪	23:18
	♪ Is made ♪	23:32
	♪ Salvation ♪	23:48
	♪ Is made ♪	24:04
	♪ In midst of ♪	24:15
	♪ Is made ♪	24:25
	♪ In midst of ♪	24:40
	♪ Is made ♪	24:51
	♪ In midst of ♪	24:55
	♪ The earth ♪	25:10
	♪ O God ♪	25:15
-	The gospel lesson is taken from Matthew.	25:45
	"Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine	25:49
	"and does them, will be like a wise man	25:53
	"who built his house upon the rock.	25:57
	"And the rain fell, and the floods came,	25:59
	"and the winds blew and beat upon the house.	26:03
	"But it did not fall	26:07
	"because it had been founded on the rock.	26:09
	"And everyone who hears these words of mine	26:13
	"and does not do them will be like the foolish man,	26:17
	"who built his house upon the sand.	26:21
	"And the rain fell, and the floods came,	26:24
	"and the winds blew and beat against that house,	26:28
	"and it fell.	26:32
	"And great was the fall of it.	26:34
	"And when Jesus finished these sayings,	26:37
	"the crowds were astonished at his teaching.	26:40
	"For he taught them as one who had authority,	26:43
	"and not as their scribes."	26:47
	This ends the reading of the gospel.	26:50
-	It's a great personal privilege	27:08
	for me to be in this splendid place today	27:11
	on such a glorious morning	27:17
	and to hear this magnificent choir	27:20
	sing an anthem that took me back to my own collegiate days	27:24
	when I sang in a choir.	27:29
	Chesnokov's "Salvation."	27:32
	And to sense the indwelling	27:36
	of the power of the presence of God	27:40
	that can come with the gathering of his people,	27:45
	and the singing of his praises,	27:49
	and the reading of his word.	27:52
	So I come before you in gratitude	27:57
	for this opportunity to share in this splendid morning.	27:59
	Every age has a dominant characteristic.	28:09
	A tone, a spirit	28:15
	that is often	28:17
	captured by a phrase	28:20
	or a term.	28:22
	The Victorian Age.	28:26
	The Gay Nineties.	28:29
	The Roaring Twenties.	28:30
	And as the darkling plains of Europe	28:33
	were clouded in the 30s	28:38
	we recall Auden's Age of Anxiety.	28:40
	What would be the appropriate characterization of our age?	28:47
	Of the 80s.	28:54
	Certainly the term that seems to sum up	28:58
	the prevailing spirit and mood of our culture and our time	29:02
	is the bottom line.	29:08
	It's an ubiquitous phrase.	29:13
	We hear it all the time.	29:16
	Some friends of ours with a precocious eight year old	29:18
	were sitting around dinner discussing the pros and cons	29:21
	of a particular issue,	29:25
	and finally in exasperation the eight year old	29:26
	looked at his parents and he said,	29:29
	"All right, but what is the bottom line?"	29:31
	(congregation murmurs)	29:33
	Obviously, it bespeaks	29:36
	the pervasiveness of business,	29:40
	and of the importance of efficiency.	29:45
	It points to the need for productivity	29:50
	and accountability.	29:55
	And it doesn't easily brook an excuse or extenuation.	29:58
	One only has to go abroad to many countries	30:04
	and stand in a long queue, waiting for some service,	30:09
	only to be told when we reach the counter	30:14
	that the person that we were to see	30:18
	has gone off on a long tea break,	30:19
	to appreciate how much the crispness of our affairs	30:22
	lends a certain kind of satisfaction for all of us.	30:28
	The bottom line cuts through irrelevance	30:34
	and cant	30:39
	and gets right to the point.	30:41
	The "New Yorker," as most of you know,	30:45
	if fond of cutting through irrelevance and cant.	30:47
	In the summer, in one of the end of column quotations,	30:51
	they quoted an advertisement for the BMW.	30:56
	The first paragraph was,	31:03
	"Turn on the ignition of your ordinary car	31:05
	"and the engine starts."	31:07
	The second paragraph of the ad went on,	31:11
	"Turn on the ignition of your BMW,	31:14
	X-X-Z-Y or whatever,	31:17
	and sensors tell you immediately	31:20
	the outside temperature and humidity,	31:23
	your altitude above sea level,	31:26
	and if you wish will chart a vector for your next trip."	31:29
	The editors of the "New Yorker" wrote,	31:35
	"Tell us more about the one that starts."	31:36
	(congregation laughs)	31:39
	With apologies to those of you who are fond of driving	31:43
	the ultimate driving machine.	31:47
	(congregation laughs)	31:49
	There's a certain attractiveness	31:51
	in having a trenchant handle on affairs.	31:56
	A no nonsense approach.	32:02
	The competence and expertise of our age.	32:06
	And more and more we're finding the bottom line applied	32:11
	not only to business, or after dinner conversation	32:14
	by precocious youngsters,	32:19
	but also to institutions,	32:21
	universities,	32:25
	professions,	32:28
	medical practices,	32:30
	law firms.	32:32
	All across the spectrum of our society.	32:34
	We live by the bottom line.	32:39
	We are results oriented.	32:44
	And I think as long as it bespeaks a culture	32:49
	which doesn't reduce everything to the bottom line,	32:53
	which allows a certain latitude in concerns and aspirations,	33:00
	and virtues, this has its place.	33:06
	But I think all of us realize very quickly	33:11
	that the bottom line is really not enough.	33:13
	Ironically, it's not enough even in business.	33:20
	Corporate life itself	33:24
	must think of more than the immediate results,	33:26
	even though some people try to skim off	33:29
	and produce something that will	33:31
	make the stock more marketable	33:33
	for their own manipulative purposes.	33:36
	The people that know can appreciate how much	33:40
	a business is like any institution.	33:45
	It requires loyalty and dedication,	33:49
	hard work and discipline,	33:53
	a good idea,	33:54
	a sense of consistency and persistence.	33:57
	Last winter, in the "American Scholar,"	34:02
	there was a fascinating essay	34:05
	on the rise of the department store in the United States	34:07
	and the revolution in marketing that it caused.	34:10
	How from a myriad of	34:15
	merchants with small stores	34:18
	and peddlers who would haggle over prices	34:21
	and for whom the motto was caveat emptor,	34:25
	buyer beware,	34:29
	to a consistent price and consistent quality of	34:31
	all kinds of goods under the roof of one emporium.	34:36
	Told about Marshall Fields.	34:43
	Their legendary man in Chicago.	34:46
	How he went to a dinner party one night,	34:50
	an elegant dinner party,	34:52
	and there on his host's table	34:53
	he saw this gorgeous tablecloth.	34:55
	One that he knew had come from his store	34:59
	because he had made a mental note	35:01
	to reprimand the department manager,	35:05
	saying that that was never going to sell	35:07
	because it was too expensive.	35:09
	As he saw it there on his host's table	35:12
	he thought, "I owe that man an apology.	35:14
	"He did sell it and this lady bought it."	35:18
	And he smiled with great satisfaction.	35:22
	The next morning he called in the department manager	35:26
	to praise him.	35:29
	And the manager came before the great man	35:31
	and Marshall Fields said,	35:35
	"I am really impressed with your marketing prowess.	35:37
	"You had something I though would never sell,	35:41
	but it sold because I saw it last night	35:44
	at Mrs. So-and-So's."	35:46
	The man's face fell.	35:49
	He said, "I wish you'd called me in yesterday afternoon.	35:52
	It's true it did sell, but it was returned this morning."	35:54
	(congregation chuckles)	35:58
	The customer is always right.	36:03
	Maybe in the short run that's not always profitable	36:06
	in the strict sense of the term.	36:09
	But it does build a great business.	36:13
	Some of you've read the recent book out	36:16
	called "The Big Time,"	36:18
	which tells of the graduates of the famous class of 1949	36:21
	at the Harvard Business School.	36:27
	Men who have come in an incredibly concentrated way	36:30
	to dominate American business and industry.	36:35
	And the thing that came through in this description of	36:40
	these leaders of business and industry was	36:43
	the extraordinary sense of dedication,	36:48
	almost idealism, that they displayed.	36:51
	Obviously, toward their business,	36:56
	but also toward their communities,	36:59
	their sense of civic responsibility,	37:01
	their willingness to invest themselves for team spirit,	37:03
	it was almost as though they transferred from	37:06
	the playing fields of Cambridge, or wherever,	37:10
	to their corporate life	37:13
	a sense of participation and collegiality and team spirit,	37:15
	always, of course, under real leadership.	37:18
	And there was a contrast made	37:23
	between the leaders that came out in 1949	37:26
	with almost this naivete	37:31
	about the value of the work that they were doing	37:33
	and how it justified their lives,	37:36
	with many of the number-crunchers	37:40
	that are now lining up on Wall Street.	37:42
	Probably brighter.	37:45
	Certainly more clever.	37:46
	Able to perform an LBO, a leverage buyout	37:49
	over a weekend.	37:55
	But the point was clearly, though understated,	37:58
	clearly made.	38:01
	The bottom line is not enough.	38:05
	Even in business.	38:08
	For something to endure,	38:11
	to perdure, it requires integrity.	38:13
	In the sense of dependability.	38:16
	Virtues that are not always consistent	38:18
	with an immediate eye upon the profit and loss margin.	38:20
	But if the bottom line is not enough for business	38:28
	in the best sense of the term,	38:30
	neither is it enough for a society.	38:34
	We need efficiency but we also need justice.	38:39
	We appreciate the fact that a great and good society	38:44
	can never be built merely on an aggregate,	38:49
	an aggregate of self-interest.	38:52
	That Adam Smith's invisible hand	38:56
	is not the providence of a gracious and benign God.	38:59
	And that Adam Smith himself	39:04
	also wrote a theory of moral sentiments	39:07
	in appreciation of the fact	39:12
	that society must also have sympathy,	39:13
	and courage,	39:17
	and steadfastness,	39:19
	the virtues that come beyond the bottom line.	39:21
	During the 60s,	39:27
	the south, as many of us in here know,	39:28
	was wracked with problems of race.	39:31
	And in Atlanta,	39:36
	there was deep concern that race riots and dissension	39:38
	would tear the city apart	39:41
	and render it, as it were, helpless in the years ahead.	39:44
	At that time a handful of business leaders and civic leaders	39:50
	came together in private,	39:53
	really in great secrecy.	39:56
	And they pledged themselves and their fortunes	39:58
	to see that there was life beyond integration	40:02
	where the city could in justice and fairness	40:06
	understand what it was as a fair metropolis.	40:09
	And one has only to contract my hometown of Memphis	40:16
	or Birmingham, where that did not happen	40:20
	to such a degree,	40:23
	to see the difference.	40:26
	They understood that it might not in the short run	40:28
	be in any sense profitable for them.	40:30
	And many became pariahs among their own peers	40:34
	because they were taking stands for justice	40:37
	that the others did not agree with	40:39
	and could not support.	40:41
	And one looks	40:45
	with longing and frustration	40:48
	across the ocean	40:50
	to another nation	40:52
	which is being rent with dissension	40:54
	because it does not have a society	40:57
	that is fundamentally just for all people.	40:59
	And one longs for	41:03
	a clutch of business and government leaders	41:05
	who would sit down in private	41:07
	and pledge themselves and their fortunes,	41:09
	that there would be life on the other side of apartheid.	41:12
	The bottom line helps keeps us clear-eyed and clear-headed.	41:21
	Knocks off the nonsense	41:26
	and the excessive romanticism in life,	41:28
	and the sentimentality.	41:31
	But society lives beyond that in a world not only	41:33
	of business and efficiency,	41:39
	but of hope and dreams,	41:41
	and longings, and aspirations,	41:44
	of justice,	41:48
	and concern, and care, and community.	41:51
	The bottom line,	41:58
	as important as it is,	42:01
	and as well-served as we are,	42:03
	is not enough for us as persons either.	42:06
	Life is an investment.	42:11
	What kind of investment are we making?	42:16
	What are we investing in and for?	42:20
	And what will be the legacy?	42:24
	It's hard to translate the bottom line into a legacy.	42:27
	Those qualities that a society and a culture admire,	42:33
	how do we nourish those	42:38
	and nurture them	42:39
	and see that they are upheld and enhanced,	42:40
	implanted in the hearts of a younger generation?	42:44
	I think of a young Jim Billington who	42:51
	graduated from Harvard a year ago.	42:53
	And who, having been admitted to a professional school,	42:58
	decided to take off for a couple of years.	43:00
	And through his church,	43:03
	it happened to be the Episcopal Church,	43:04
	to work in Appalachia.	43:07
	And was sent down there in a very small, rural community,	43:11
	without a supporting group,	43:15
	and set up housekeeping and tried to do his job,	43:18
	simple as it was.	43:21
	And when he came to see me a few months ago,	43:24
	he said, "You know, for four months I labored	43:26
	"to try to win trust and confidence and friendship.	43:28
	"And as much as I tried to disabuse myself	43:34
	"of any condescension,	43:36
	"I realized that they were very skeptical and suspicious."	43:38
	He said, "It was only when I became ill."	43:43
	And he said, "I really got very sick indeed.	43:47
	"And I needed help for groceries,	43:51
	"and for someone to kind of come and nurse me	43:52
	"and to take care of me."	43:55
	And he said, "It was at that point	43:57
	"that the Appalachian people began looking in on me,	43:59
	"and they became my friends because I needed them.	44:05
	"From that point on," he said,	44:11
	"it's been a rich experience."	44:12
	I said, "Well, what, what have you learned	44:16
	"from that experience?"	44:18
	And he said, "Well, I've learned a number of things,	44:20
	"not only about myself,	44:22
	"but about what really is important in life.	44:25
	"What's enduring.	44:28
	"What I want to invest myself in."	44:31
	You know, we read the gospels	44:38
	and it's fascinating how seldom Jesus uses the contrast	44:41
	between the good and the bad, or the right and the wrong.	44:46
	And how often he adverts	44:52
	to what is wise and what is foolish.	44:55
	Those are consistent with	45:00
	what a university education is about.	45:03
	What is wise?	45:07
	And what is foolish?	45:09
	What kinds of things over the long haul	45:12
	will we look back on	45:14
	and see had the marks of wisdom,	45:16
	or of commitment, or dedication, or of courage,	45:20
	of things that give us a sense of self-respect and dignity?	45:23
	Not in self-preening way, but because they are congenial	45:26
	to the mind of God.	45:31
	Maybe a university education,	45:36
	in addition to its rigor, its challenge,	45:39
	its new disciplines,	45:43
	its extraordinary competencies and expertise,	45:45
	is also that very precious time	45:50
	when we can ponder things.	45:53
	Ponder them in their deepest sense.	45:57
	What they're for, and what we're about,	46:00
	and what, yes, what God wants of us	46:02
	in his wisdom.	46:08
	And maybe we will see that the bottom line	46:12
	is to do good,	46:17
	and avoid evil,	46:20
	and to care for our neighbor	46:23
	and to do justice.	46:24
	And to turn our backs upon foolishness	46:28
	and triviality and superficiality.	46:30
	And to appreciate the role of faith	46:35
	and hope	46:40
	and love of God	46:43
	and our neighbor.	46:46
	Amen.	46:49
	(papers rustling)	46:51
	(pipe organ plays sedate music)	47:02

	(happy organ music)	0:04
	(muffled singing)	0:08
	Please be seated.	1:16
	The Lord be with you.	1:28
	And also you.	1:30
	Let us pray for students around the world.	1:32
	For those who are persecuted and imprisoned for their faith.	1:42
	Lord, hear our prayer.	1:47
	For those who live in constant fear.	1:50
	Lord, hear our prayer.	1:53
	For those who are ill or hungry or cold.	1:56
	Lord, hear our prayer.	2:01
	For those how are in despair	2:03
	at the collapse of false hopes.	2:05
	Lord, hear our prayer.	2:08
	For those who are blinded by this world's success,	2:11
	that they may come to know the love of God.	2:15
	Lord, hear our prayer.	2:18
	For those who are lonely,	2:21
	that they may find comfort in the Gospel.	2:23
	Lord, hear our prayer.	2:26
	Let us pray for those in revolutionary situations,	2:37
	that they may confess their faith in the hour of trial	2:41
	and show forth a true picture of community in Christ.	2:45
	Lord, hear our prayer.	2:49
	For those in newly independent countries,	2:52
	that they may seize with zeal the great opportunities	2:55
	open to them to bring their people closer together.	2:58
	Lord, hear our prayer.	3:03
	For those who have civil strife raging in their countries,	3:06
	that they may be comforted in the face	3:10
	of the terrors surrounding them,	3:12
	and thereby be strengthened to comfort others	3:14
	by word and deed.	3:17
	Lord, hear our prayer.	3:19
	Let us pray for those who find out work too difficult.	3:31
	Lord, hear our prayer.	3:36
	For those who do not give of their best in their work.	3:39
	Lord, hear our prayer.	3:43
	For those who are oppressed	3:45
	by the fear of failure in examinations.	3:47
	Lord, hear our prayer.	3:50
	For those who are perplexed and cast down	3:53
	by the struggle to understand the world in which they live.	3:56
	Lord, hear our prayer.	4:00
	Let us pray for those whose work is a joy to them,	4:13
	that they may be strengthened and enabled	4:17
	to communicate their joy to others.	4:19
	Lord, hear our prayer.	4:22
	For those who are engaged in the work	4:25
	of research and discovery, that their minds	4:27
	may be enlightened continually to see more of your glory.	4:30
	Lord, hear our prayer.	4:35
	For those who are leaders in the student community,	4:38
	that their influence may be for good.	4:41
	Lord, hear our prayer.	4:44
	Let us pray to God for all who teach	4:55
	and have the care of students in educational institutions.	4:58
	Lord, hear our prayer.	5:03
	For those who work under great difficulties of time	5:06
	and lack of materials.	5:09
	Lord, hear our prayer.	5:11
	For those who find hostility, misunderstanding,	5:14
	and rivalry among their colleagues.	5:18
	Lord, hear our prayer.	5:21
	Let us pray for those who distort the truth	5:24
	in the interest of false ideologies.	5:26
	Lord, hear our prayer.	5:30
	For those who are presumptuous, bitter, or indifferent,	5:32
	that they may come to unite with others	5:37
	in mutual respect and Christian love.	5:39
	Lord, hear our prayer.	5:43
	For those who have a vision of their responsibility,	5:46
	that they may be given the wisdom and strength	5:49
	to discharge it effectively.	5:52
	Lord, hear our prayer.	5:55
	Let us pray to God for the student Christian groups	6:04
	throughout the world, that they may be living, worshiping,	6:07
	and witnessing communities	6:12
	in the universities and schools of the world.	6:13
	Lord, hear our prayer.	6:17
	For campus ministers and all who work	6:20
	in Christ's name with students.	6:22
	Lord, hear our prayer.	6:25
	For all seekers after truth, that their minds	6:28
	may be enlightened and their will strengthened	6:31
	to follow the truth disclosed.	6:34
	May the God of hope fill us	6:45
	with all joy and peace in believing,	6:46
	that we may abound in hope through the power	6:50
	of the Holy Spirit.	6:53
	Amen.	6:55
	And now in the spirit of Thanksgiving	6:58
	for the mercies of God, let us offer our gifts	7:00
	and ourselves unto the one who made us.	7:04
	(gentle organ music)	7:16
	(muffled singing)	9:08
	("Doxology)	16:04
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	16:22
	♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪	16:29
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	16:35
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	16:39
	♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly host ♪	16:43
	♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪	16:50
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	16:57
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	17:00
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	17:04
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	17:07
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	17:11
	♪ Amen ♪	17:20
	Our kind and gracious God,	17:32
	the hope of all who seek thee and the joy of all who find.	17:35
	Diverse that we are in age and outlook,	17:40
	we are one in our desire to voice our gratitude to thee.	17:43
	We thank thee for friends who care.	17:48
	For ways that open when every door seems shut.	17:51
	For the reality of forgiveness, both human and divine.	17:55
	We thank thee for thyself oh eternal God	17:59
	ground and source of every good	18:02
	and especially for thy love which no need can exhaust.	18:05
	This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ who taught us	18:10
	to pray with confidence.	18:14
	Our father who art in heaven,	18:16
	hallowed be thy name.	18:19
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done	18:21
	on earth as it is in heaven.	18:24
	Give us this day our daily bread,	18:26
	and forgive us our trespasses	18:29
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	18:32
	And lead us not into temptation,	18:35
	but deliver us from evil.	18:38
	For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.	18:40
	Amen.	18:45
	(triumphant organ music)	18:48
	(muffled singing)	19:28
	The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,	23:59
	the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	24:02
	be with you now and always.	24:05
	♪ Amen ♪	24:13
	♪ Amen ♪	24:19
	♪ Amen ♪	24:26
	(vocalizing)	24:32
	♪ Amen ♪	24:51
	♪ Amen ♪	25:07
	(joyous organ playing)	25:26

Item Info

Title:

James T. Laney - "Beyond the Bottom Line" (September 14, 1986)

Description:

Sermon start time: 27:08. Sermon end time: 46:51.
Every age can be characterized by certain tone or spirit. For the 80s, it might be encapsulated by the phrase, "the bottom line." American culture is saturated with a business mentality marked by an obsession with efficiency and productivity. While this can be important, it is not enough, neither in business nor in our spiritual lives. Perhaps, the bottom line is God's wisdom. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Maybe we will see that the bottom line is to do good, and avoid evil, and to care for our neighbor and to do justice. And to turn our backs upon foolishness and triviality and superficiality. And to appreciate the role of faith and hope and love of God and our neighbor.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4vh5d039

Date:

September 14, 1986

Speaker:

Laney, James T.

Biblical Book:

Genesis

Chapter and Verse:

Genesis 25:27-34

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0352
ref8226_udh
uachapelsermaud
duke:320263
dcrau001333
ark:/87924/r4vh5d039
c1412aa0-ffb7-43ca-b5bc-b8158a359ea4

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Unknown Rights-Holder

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

Sponsor:

Sponsor this Digital Collection

James T. Laney - "Beyond the Bottom Line" (September 14, 1986)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

More Info & Options