rebelbase Woodley

I am not a conspiracy theorist or anything but I have noticed a trend in consumerism that got me thinking.  If 99% of college students are using Macs what is going to happen in a few years when all of those loyal Apple customers become heads of corporate America? 

For years Apple has been cranking out cool computers, phones and music devices.  It took me a while to realize the point of all of this: to capture a generation.  Their idea is to replace PCs with Apple products by getting young people hooked on their brand.  It is a great plan if it works.  The plan is:

1)       Market your brand as cool for young people

2)       Young people like your brand, old people feel shunned

3)       Young people become loyal to your brand

4)       Time goes by

5)       Young people become old people and replace old brand with your brand

6)       You take over the world

This seems like a simple model but most companies are not willing to stick to it through step 4.  Our idea is to make as much as possible when you can.  To take over the world (step 6) you have to have patience.  If you didn’t grow up in the 80’s you don’t get the ‘taste of a new generation’ reference above; but Pepsi used that slogan way back in the day when they attempted to de-throne Coca Cola as the biggest soda company in the world.  During the ’soda wars’ it got ugly (remember Crystal Pepsi) but Coke came out on top.  So this strategy doesn’t always work.

Microsoft sees all and knows all, so now they have launched a counter campaign that is meant to show just how cool it can be to use a PC.  They are trying to shake off the label of the evil corporation that wears suits and sits in cubicles all day.  Microsoft wants to show everyone that you can still save the world even if you don’t have a glowing apple on your laptop. 

Way to go Microsoft, I now feel that PCs are cool again….? 

The question is what does all of this have to do with the church universal?  Just like Apple’s plan to capture a generation, there is a force trying to capture a generation of young people away from the church.  It is obvious that the same generation that Apple is appealing to is leaving the church just as fast as they are buying up iPhones.  Here at our church we have had several meetings dealing specifically with the issue of ‘growing younger’.  So the question is when will our counter campaign get launched?  What does it look like for Christians in the world today to shake off our labels? 

There are thankfully a lot of people smarter than me out there who are trying to come up with answers to these questions.  My thoughts are that no matter what we are looking for weather it is a computer or a way to live life it has to work.  Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is only one thing that works.  Solomon’s conclusion is my conclusion, “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person”.  If followers of Christ do this we will not need slogans or commercials to get people into church.  People will see the Truth in our lives and be transformed by it just as we have.