The Next Big Thing

A few years ago:  Twinkie creator Jimmy Dewar said: “Twinkies was the best darn-tootin’ idea I ever had.” 
Now:  Hostess is filing for bankruptcy. 


A few years ago:  Small video stores were closing because they could not compete with the large chains during the VHS to DVD conversion. 
Now:  Blockbuster videos have "For Lease" instead of "New Release" in their window.


A few years ago:  Mom and pop book stores were folding up when book mega stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders came to town. 
Now:  A tablet reading device like Kindle or Nook can hold thousands of books and the large stores are disappearing. 


A few years ago:  Families looked through the Sears or J.C. Penny catalogues so they could shop from home. 
Now:  We can use Ebay, Craigslist, or Half.com to find items from anyone, anywhere, at anytime.


A few years ago:  The answering machine made it possible to find out who called when someone was not AT their house.
Now:  The number of cell phones in the United States exceeds the number of people.


What has changed:  Methods
What is the same:  We are still; eating snacks, watching movies, reading, buying, and communicating


A few years from now:  We will be doing the same things using new and improved methods. How will we get there? Well, that depends on some innovative people out there or maybe it depends on you.








What other changes can you think of in the past few years? 

Spring Cleaning or Spring Clinging

For the last couple of days I have been struck with the fact that it is really easy to accumulate a whole lot of junk.

I have been cleaning in my office, my closet at home, and in the church shed. As a youth pastor with a low budget (and a pretty frugal person), I am always hopeful that I will be able to use something again.

I have located used spray paint cans from 7 years ago, props that have only been used once, and promotional items for old events. They are never used again, but are somehow hard to part with. We remember their usefulness and yearn for the time when they helped us.

In a way we are always comfortable in the past. There is rest in memories, because the outcome is already decided. It is the future that is uncertain. In this new year as we move toward spring cleaning lets remember to shed the things that hold us captive to the past and boldly move towards a future has yet to be written.

Change will be the catalyst to new victories, only imagined by those who are willing to let go of the relics of past accomplishments.

What the Church Should Learn from Blockbuster's Demise

     I was recently in a comic book store with some teens from my youth group, when I found an audio cassette tape from Return of the Jedi. I announced my find. One of the girls said "Whats that?" I responded, "You have never heard of Return of the Jedi?" But to my shock she was talking about the cassette tape. When did I get so old?

     We will soon be able to add video rental stores to the list of things we know about that make us sound old. If Movie Gallery liquidating its assets wasn't enough, Blockbuster is also calling it quits. Ouch! I remember how cool they used to be. You could find anything there. They even outlasted the great switch from VHS to DVD, while smaller chains went under while trying to resist.

     The digital revolution, however, has dealt Blockbuster a knockout blow. Netflix and Redbox have all but put a stamp of irrelevance on the former movie giant's forehead. Their jump to on demand viewing and express kiosks came too little too late. You will still see their name on the Blockbuster Express kiosks since their partner, NCR, has unlimited rights to use the name of the soon to be nonexistent company.

    This trend is oddly reminiscent of the church. I sometimes feel old when I see a church that once was vibrant and alive dwindling away into obscurity. But a church is not dead when it closes its doors forever. No, it happens long before that.

     It starts when we become irrelevant to the culture of a generation that needs Christ just as bad as the last one did. The mindset that killed Blockbuster is one embraced by many churches. "It worked once, then it may work again" becomes the mantra of a church on its way out. We need to constantly evaluate what we are doing and how we present the gospel to the world. We would study a foreign culture before going to the mission field (as Paul did in Athens); it is time we studied ours.

     Is Blockbuster's fall tragic, or is it positive? After all, we can still rent movies (easier in fact). The barriers are being removed. In the same way, the closing of outdated (often legalistic) churches remove barriers that prevent this generation from even darkening the door. Our God is still being praised, and that will never change.

     It's time to decide if we will remain relevant and make the necessary changes--even if they are uncomfortable--to affect this culture for Him.