our society, you are allowed to pick and
choose. With Amway, you pick and
choose," Ms. Kartaginer remarked.
Dr. Handelsman also is unfazed by
the occasional "Praise the Lord" refrain
either at a meeting or on a motivation-
al tape.
"My feeling is, so what? Jews have be-
liefs. You take what's useful to you," he
said. "Our uplines have told us they
don't want us to change our beliefs."
Yet, he finds his involvement in
Amway to be "really spiritual. When you
leave yourself behind and give others
the help they need, you get back ten-
fold," Dr. Handelsman said.
Karen Kahn said Amway, by its na-
ture, is welcoming to anyone willing to
give it a try.
"The people we're working with have
been incredibly receptive to the fact that
there are Jewish people. You can't build
this business not wanting to welcome
all kinds of people. You have to be ac-
cepting of all different types," she said.
Her husband goes frther: He believes
that the increasing presence of Jews in
Amway has opened hearts and minds.
Jews, he said, have "educated the mass"
about Judaism.
But the company's reputation wor-
ried him at first. So, he called Richard
Lobenthal, former director of the Michi-
gan Anti-Defamation League. Mr.
Lobenthal found no file on the compa-
ny.
Then Dr. Kahn, a member of Con-
gregation Shaarey Zedek, called Rabbi
Reisel, whose photograph he had seen
in the AMAGRAM. The Orthodox rab-
bi said he and his family plan to make
aliyah — thanks to their Amway earn-
ings.
That Mr. Van Andel and Mr. DeVos
support a political agenda that is heav-
ily influenced by born-again Christian
theology does not bother Dr. Kahn or
Dr. Handelsman.
"It doesn't bother me where Amway
money goes. I see it as a vehicle for me
and my family. This will allow me to
be more charitable," Dr. Handelsman
said.
Dr. Kahn, likewise, said his greater
financial security vis-a-vis Amway will
enable him to give more money to Jew-
ish charities like the United Jewish Ap-
peal.
That tzedakah, however, will never
be as much as Amway gives to organi-
zations like Campus Crusade for Christ,
a "missionizing" group founded by Mr.
DeVos and Amway honcho Bill Bright.
Campus Crusade for Christ works close-
ly with Jews for Jesus, said Mark Pow-
ers, director of the Baltimore-based Jews
for Judaism.
Mr. Powers has received many phone
calls from Jewish college students who
have been "hit on" by representatives of
Campus Crusade.
"I really don't care how many Jews

get involved in this and say they'll be
able to contribute to Jewish causes," he
said. "There's more money going to
Campus Crusade and other missions
wholly owned by [Mr. Van Andel and
Mr. DeVos] than all the Jewish money
involved in this whatsoever.
"My question is, what is the value of
a Jewish life? Are your dreams more im-
portant? Any money they can contribute
cannot possibly offset the amount of
money and damage done by the money
that goes to these missionary organiza-
tions," Mr. Powers said.
In her 1989 book Spiritual Warfare,

The Politics Of The Christian Right,

Sara Diamond writes that Mr. DeVos
and Mr. Bright were among the finan-
cial backers of Third Century Publish-
ers, which was "established for the
purpose of promoting books and study
guides designed to link a comprehen-

ciety where there is a mix, they'll tone
it down somewhat, but they never lose
the feeling," he said. "People become
very spiritually connected to the com-
pany."
Small and big Amway functions,
which some describe as more revivalist
than corporate in tone, generally be-
gin with a prayer. Nowadays, however,
the speaker might mention Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob in the invocation, along
with Jesus, said Amway distributor Ter-
ry Weingarden.
Jonathan Jacobs noted that a speak-
er will invoke "Judeo-Christian" values
rather than just Christian ones during
a prayer opening an Amway meeting.
It makes him feel neither better nor
worse about the company.
"In some seminars you hear the word
`Jesus'; at others you don't. Sometimes
you do during personal testimonials.

"In Amway,
there's no

MOM

anymore."

David
Kahn

sive conservative political agenda with
born-again Christianity."
David Kahn (not related to Joel), a
network marketing consultant who op-
erates A.D. Kahn Incorporated in South-
field, said Amway's Christian
orientation "has worked well for them."
Many network marketing companies,
in fact, use religion to pump up their dis-
tributors.
"It's all 'Praise the Lord, thank Jesus
for that.' In a more heterogeneous so-

If that individual has had some spiri-
tual feeling along the way and wants to
mention it, it's [his] right to do it," Mr.
Jacobs said.
It is no secret that Mr. DeVos and Mr.
Van Andel "are strong in their belief of
Dutch Christian values," he continued.
"They feel there's a higher power that
rules their life. It's semantics whether
they call him 'Jesus' or we call Him
God." LI

An Old Ship

A network marketing consultant
says Amway isn't the way to go
to make money.

JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER

D

avid Kahn compares Amway to
a huge luxury liner — it moves
real slow.
At 37 years old, the Ada, Mi.-
based company has been around so long,
the public consciousness is at the satura-
tion point, said the network marketing
consultant.
"In Amway, there's no room anymore.
You run out of people. Ask 10 neighbors
if they've been exposed to
Amway and they'll say they
have, and weren't interested.
Only the doors in the Far East
are still open. It has nothing
to do with the quality of the
company," Mr. Kahn said,
adding that the big wheels in
Amway who have made mil-
lions — staple inspirational
figures like Dexter Yager —
built their networks when the
company was young.
"I can't tell you how many
Amway distributors fall off,"
he continued. "They just don't
make enough money, they lose
friends. And this is indigenous
to Amway. Amway is such a
mainstay of the industry that
when people invite you to a
meeting they won't tell you it's
an Amway meeting."
Furthermore, distributors,
unless they can sign up
dozens of people, cannot hope
to make much money. Based
on calculations of Amway's
revenues last year ($6.8 bil-
lion), the number of its dis-
tributors (2.5 million), their
volume and their profit mar-
gin, Mr. Kahn figured the av-
erage monthly earnings
amount to $39.
Plus, he added, Amway
products are actually more expensive than
what's on the shelves in local stores.
"Amway does have a zealous attitude
about its own company. That's why you'll
have distributors sign up and buy in the
Amway catalogue just to participate. In
reality, if they got off their tail and went
to the store, they'd be able to buy in the
store what they bought for more."

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