Despite the strong product offerings, I was moved most by the 2 minute video clip<\/a> they started the day with entailed \u2018Perspective<\/em>.\u2019 I\u2019ve transcribed the text below. It was an excellent, secular example of an effective opening liturgy.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Why did I describe it as effective? It prepared the gathered people for what they were about to experience, actively told a story that compelled them to find some space within it,<\/strong> and communicated the public values of the company \u2013 while also serving to minimize less attractive values. For example, the words \u201cprofit\u201d and \u201cdividend\u201d were nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n Finally, it was effective because it forced me to think: if they can do this for a watch, why do we struggle to share the Gospel as\u00a0convincingly?<\/p>\n And then I remembered.<\/strong><\/p>\n Apple Inc. is a company that values innovation. To be fair, it isn\u2019t because they are better than us; they developed this trait because they had to. Before Steve Jobs\u2019 triumphant return they were a company on the ropes. They innovated early, developed a strong sense of who they were, and became complacent. Sound familiar? When I first encountered the company, their narrative was one of the little guy who had the best idea in the world only to have the big, evil corporation (Microsoft) steal it from them.<\/p>\n When Jobs returned, Apple began to innovate again. He brought back with him values that had been refined during his years of exodus away from the company; simplicity, perfection, and an obsessive focus on the liminal space between the user and the device. Some of these values had been present in Jobs\u2019 early work with the company but now they were more refined and clearly took more precedence.<\/p>\n But this post isn\u2019t really about Apple. It is about us.<\/strong><\/p>\n Innovation has been a buzzword in some Christian circles for a while now. And to be fair, I\u2019ve seen some churches take some big risks and stretch in ways that express a real commitment to change. Sadly, it is also true that many churches refuse to change a single thing as if Jesus himself blessed the use of church pews and the particular hymnal they\u2019ve grown accustomed to.<\/p>\n But I worry that too much of our innovation, when it is even happening at all, is taking place\u00a0at the wrong level.<\/strong><\/p>\n At the end of the day, does it really matter how we worship? The time of day? The instruments at play? Are these the types of things that really scream innovation or are they simply iterative change grown pronounced in its importance because of our refusal to address what is truly needed?<\/p>\n [quote_box_right]Simply put, as our collective understanding of our world and universe have grown, the God we preach hasn\u2019t kept pace.\u00a0[\/quote_box_right]What I\u2019m struck with most in watching Apple\u2019s slick, PR piece is how unwieldily and clumsy our messaging, and subsequently at its core, our theology, is in comparison. Despite a rich history of Christian theological innovation, at some point we decided to stop and adopt a nostalgic reverence as our idol in place of a living God who is continually engaged with the world.<\/p>\n Simply put, as our collective understanding of our world and universe have grown, the God we preach hasn\u2019t kept pace.<\/p>\n![\"Apple,](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Apple-Watch-300x143.jpg?resize=300%2C143\")
<\/a>
![\"vision\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/vision.jpg?resize=300%2C144\")
The ones who follow a vision, not a path.<\/p>\n