“Sources close to Steve Jobs have confirmed that he is currently in negotiations to buy a local Baptist Church. When asked his intentions, Jobs reportedly noted that Apple has attracted faithful consumers with deep convictions, but they have not yet determined a way to make Apple a faith. Jobs hopes that by merging Apple, Inc with a church he might be able to do this.”
Did I get your attention???
Why is it that in the church, these days, we seem to always be one step behind companies and other organizations. I look at Apple, Inc. They make lots and lots of money making electronics and yet somehow they have created a deeply committed consumer-base. They have become exceptional at their communications and advertising and die-hards like me have great loyalty…………to a money-making corporation!?!
How do we create a similar commitment in the church???
I have been thinking about this. Apple has attemped to never sacrifice quality. They have always aimed for the best, easiest-to-use, and most attractive computers (note: during years when Steve Jobs was CEO, but we must ignore the “dark times” for my purposes here). In order that everything works together flawlessly, Apple has taken a corporate approach that is unmatched anywhere else within or beyond their industry. Apple makes the hardware, the software, provides the tech support, has created its own .Mac web connectivity service, and makes its own peripherals like iPods. Most importantly they have never been willing to sacrifice quality for price.
This last point is where we have failed. In the church we think that we have to make church easy in order to get people in the pews, but wherever we have failed to set the expectation of commitment and loyalty we have created apathy and faithlessness. If we want to re-energize our churches we must start by setting high expectations. In other words we must not sacrifice quality for price.