Smart vs. Great and the Church

 “Smart companies respond to the users. Great ones lead the way by changing how users think.” Ge Wang, Associate Professor of Stanford University speaking of Apple and the work of Steve Jobs

When I read that quote last week in USA Today, I was immediately struck at the absence of what happens when "smart" and "great" are not employed. Professor Wang delineates smart and great to highlight the innovation of Apple and Steve Jobs, but how would we refer to an entity that does not respond to the changing climate of cultural interests or demands? Corporate America indeed survives and falls according to market share, so what is the label for those companies or entity's that don’t respond to the users and find themselves…irrelevant? Surely the Apple/Jobs story is an important lesson, as Apple has recently battled Exxon/Mobil as the worlds most valuable company, and at this time, seems poised to continue that trend. 

Can we indeed LIVE without oil and an ipod? Some may say no, and certainly in a lot of the world we would have to say, yes, we can LIVE without oil and ipods...or even a new iphone with which we could buy oil right from the phone. So if Apple and the Steve Jobs legacy is remembered correctly...they consistently dreamed of how best their product would be implemented into the lives of it's users. They somehow presented their products in a light that people would be drawn to them, and then soon discovered they could not LIVE without them.

Hmmmm. Question. If I can LIVE without oil and and ipod, can I LIVE without God? John 12:32 says "If I be lifted up I will draw all men..." So, if the Church lifts Jesus up in a way that the "users" understand presented in their own language and culture, we may see a whole lot more find faith in Christ the pursuit that they will abandon all other pursuits for. The answer per say to a problem I didn't even know I had. Smart and Great are important words here.

I'll finish this uncompleted thought with this observation. Nobody....NO ONE, no company, no global entity should put forth more effort, creativity and passion into communicating it's message to the masses than the Church. We ALONE carry the only can't live without message/product that we can NEVER be satisfied in communicating with excellence and anointing. After all, I can LIVE without the iphone4s, but I am LOST without Christ.