10 Things Churches Can Learn from the Apple Store
What follows below is a post from Guy Kawasaki who was for many years a “chief evangelist” for all things Apple and who continues to write about excellence in design, marketing, innovation, and retail. In this piece he summarizes some key insights from a book about the phenomenal retail success of the Apple store. As I was reading Guy’s post, I couldn’t help but think about how many of these same insights might apply to the ways we think about church.
So I’ll place the whole of the original post below so that you can read Guy’s insights. But I’ll also comment (in italic) after each section, offering a “translation” intended to suggest how we might apply this to our congregational lives. They won’t always be a perfect fit – like any translation, there are always some things that get lost. Still, I found it a helpful exercise and hope you do, too. So please feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions in the comments and if you find the post helpful share it with others.
One brief note before getting started: some of us may be uncomfortable using the language of retail stores to describe the church, particularly if we start referring to those who come to church as customers. That’s a fair concern. Church is not one more place to exercise our habits for consumption, and worship isn’t meant to be just another shopping experience. At the same time, both retail stores and churches care about the people who walk in their doors and should give attention to the kind of experience they want those people to have. So noting that the two aren’t the same, we still might learn from one to help us do the other more faithfully.
10 Things You Can Learn From the Apple Store, by Guy Kawasaki.
My friend, Carmine Gallo, has written a book called The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. The Apple Store is the most profitable retailer in America, generating an average of $5,600 per square foot and attracting more than 20,000 visitors a week.
In the decade since Steve Jobs and former head of retail, Ron Johnson, decided to reimagine the retail experience, the Apple Store not only reimagined and reinvented retail, it blew up the model entirely and started from scratch. In his research for The Apple Experience, Carmine discovered ten things that the Apple Store can teach any business in any industry to be more successful:
1. Stop selling stuff. When Steve Jobs first started the Apple Store he did not ask the question, “How will we grow our market share from 5 to 10 percent?” Instead he asked, “How do we enrich people’s lives?” Think about your vision. If you were to examine the business model for most brands and retailers and develop a vision around it, the vision would be to “sell more stuff.” A vision based on selling stuff isn’t very inspiring and leads to a very different experience than the Apple Retail Store created.
Translation: Stop worrying about membership and about whether people will join – the church’s equivalent of selling stuff. Instead, ask people why they’re here, why they’ve come, what they’re looking for, and how this congregation can aid them in their walk with God.
2. Enrich lives. The vision behind the Apple Store is “enrich lives,” the first two words on a wallet-sized credo card employees are encouraged to carry. When you enrich lives magical things start to happen. For example, enriching lives convinced Apple to have a non-commissioned sales floor where employees feel comfortable spending as much time with a customer as the customer desires. Enriching lives led Apple to build play areas (the “family room”) where kids could see, touch and play on computers. Enriching lives led to the creation of a “Genius Bar” where trained experts are focused on “rebuilding relationships” as much as fixing problems.
Translation: Strengthen faith. Set your congregation the vision of imagining that every aspect of their life – worship, education, facilities, newsletter, and all the rest – is intended to help people strengthen their faith and grow in their lives as disciples. What would it mean if before each action, decision, or vote you asked the question, “How will this help strengthen the faith of the people who come here?”
3. Hire for smiles. The soul of the Apple Store is in its people. They are hired, trained, motivated and taught to create magical and memorable moments for their customers. The Apple Store values a magnetic personality as much, if not more so, than technical proficiency. The Apple Store cares less about what you know than it cares about how much you love people.
Translation: Statistics show that visitors to churches make up their minds within the first two minutes whether they’ll be back (way before they hear the sermon!). The most important factor? Whether they feel welcome and believe people are genuinely glad they’re there. Not everyone has the gift of hospitality – of making someone feel incredibly welcome – but lots of people do. Find these people, name their gift (not everyone realizes they have this gift), and get them out front on Sunday morning to welcome everyone who walks in the door.
4. Celebrate diversity. Mohawks, tattoos, piercings are all acceptable among Apple Store employees. Apple hires people who reflect the diversity of their customers. Since they are more interested in how passionate you are, your hairstyle doesn’t matter. Early in the Apple Store history, they also learned that former teachers make the best salespeople because they ask a lot of questions. It’s not uncommon to find former teachers, engineers, and artists at an Apple Store. Apple doesn’t look for someone who fits a mold.
Translation: Just how welcoming can we be? Really. Have we created a place where our kids and their friends feel welcome even if they’re dressing differently than when we were young? Have we created a place where neighbors who may look different, or have different levels of education, or dress differently feel welcome? Look around your congregation this Sunday – does everyone look the same? Then maybe we need to work harder at making room for all kinds of different people to find their place in our congregation.
5. Unleash inner genius. Teach your customers something they never knew they could do before, and they’ll reward you with their loyalty. For example, the Apple Store offers a unique program to help people understand and enjoy their computers: One to One. The $99 one-year membership program is available with the purchase of a Mac. Apple Store instructors called “creatives” offer personalized instruction inside the Apple Store. Customers can learn just about anything: basics about the Mac operating system; how to design a website; enjoying, sharing, and editing photos or movies; creating a presentation; and much more. The One to One program was created to help build customers for life. It was designed on the premise that the more you understand a product, the more you enjoy it, and the more likely you are to build a long-term relationship with the company. Instructors are trained to provide guidance and instruction, but also to inspire customers, giving them the tools to make them more creative than they ever imagined.
Translation: Everyone in your congregation has something of value to offer your congregation. (Now, say this 5x!) Moreover, there is no single factor that contributes more powerfully to someone feeling connected to an organization than feeling that his or her gifts are appreciated and will be used. So when something needs to get done at the church, don’t call any of the first 3 people that come to mind. Call the 4th, 5th, or 6th person, because they can do it too, and, moreover, they need to have their gifts put to use. Imagine if the church was a place where everyone from our youth to our retirees felt that their creative gifts were not just valued but were vital to the health of the congregation.
6. Empower employees. I spent one hour talking to an Apple Store specialist about kids, golf, and my business. We spent about ten minutes talking about the product (a MacBook Air). I asked the employee whether he would be reprimanded for spending so much time with one customer. “Not at all,” he replied. “If you have a great experience, that’s all that matters.” Apple has a non-commissioned sales floor for a reason—employees are not pressured to “make a sale.” Instead they are empowered to do what they believe is the right thing to do.
Translation: If it matters, don’t let the pastors do it! Really. How else will our people be equipped and empowered to read the Bible with confidence, to connect their faith to their daily lives, and to share their faith with others if the only persons who ever do these kinds of things are the pastors. We learn by doing, so if it matters, invite everyone to do it! (Okay, so pastors can do some of this too, but if it matters, don’t let them be the only ones who do it!)
7. Sell the benefit. Apple Store specialists are taught to sell the benefit behind products and to customize those benefits for the customer. For example, I walked to the iPad table with my two young daughters and told the specialist I was considering my first iPad. In a brilliant move, the specialist focused on my two daughters, the ‘secondary’ customer who can influence a purchase. He let the girls play on separate devices. On one device he played the movie, Tangled, and on the other device he brought up a Disney Princess coloring app. My girls were thrilled and, in one memorable moment, my 6-year-old turned me to and said, “I love this store!” It’s easy to see why. Instead of touting “speeds and feeds,” the specialist taught us how the device could improve our lives.
Translation: Practice talking about what we love about this congregation. Many of us may feel uncomfortable with the word “evangelism,” having had too many encounters with someone who wanted to know if we “knew where we’d go after dying.” But can’t we practice talking about what we really enjoy about this congregation, about why we come out on Sunday mornings, about what we receive from our community of faith. If we practice this in church, it may be easier to share outside of church and won’t, I promise you, feel like we’re stuffing our religion down someone else’s face.
8. Follow the steps of service. The Apple Store teaches its employees to follow five steps in each and every interaction. These are called the Apple five steps of service. They are outlined by the acronym A-P-P-L-E. They are: Approach with a customized, warm greeting. Probe politely to understand the customer’s needs. Present a solution the customer can take home today. Listen for and address unresolved questions. End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return.
Translation: Take hospitality seriously. Invite folks to practice welcoming people at church. And then practice inviting people to church. If it’s sincere, and if you always respect the persons with whom you are in conversation, this is does not have to be manipulative. But practice is important because we’re not used to doing this (whether or not you choose an acronym is up to you 🙂).
9. Create multisensory experiences. The brain loves multi-sensory experiences. In other words, people enjoy being able to see, touch, and play with products. Walk into an Apple Store upon opening and you’ll see all the notebook computer screens perfectly positioned slightly beyond 90-degree angles. The position of the computer lets you see the screen (which is on and loaded with content) but forces you to touch the computer in order to adjust it. Every device in the store is working and connected to the Internet. Spend as much time as you’d like playing with the products—nobody will kick you out. Creatives who give One-to-One workshops do not touch the computer without asking for permission. They want you to do it. The sense of touch helps create an emotional connection with a product.
Translation: Are you kidding – church is the original “multi-sensorial experience” – so let’s reclaim that. We’ve got music, and words, and images, and bread and wine, and stained-glass windows, and (lest we forget) actual, physical flesh-and-blood people around us. Let’s keep worship simple, clean, and richly multi-sensorial, inviting a faith that goes deeper than our brains to reach the whole person.
10. Appeal to the buying brain. Clutter forces the brain to consume energy. Create uncluttered environments instead. The Apple Store is spacious, clean, well-lit, and uncluttered. Cables are hidden from view and no posters on placed on the iconic glass entrances. Computer screens are cleaned constantly. Keep the environment clean, open, and uncluttered.
Translation: What are we doing – in our meetings, in Sunday School, in worship – that we don’t need to do? How can our space and our activities be simplified? Another question to ask before each decision: Is there a simpler way to do this?
The three pillars of enchantment are likability, trustworthiness, and quality. Apple’s engineers take care of quality, and the Apple Store experience personifies likability and trustworthiness. I’ve never left an Apple store without being enchanted—in fact, I seldom leave the Apple Store on University Avenue in Palo Alto without being enchanted and buying something too! Resisting Carmine’s book, like resisting an Apple Store, is futile, so just get it here: The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty
Read more: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2012/04/10-things-you-can-learn-from-the-apple-store.html#ixzz1vEGuITSd
From DJL: You can find a follow-up to this article here: The Church is Not Apple, But… 1 More Thing to Learn.
Great goals for Churches, profesions & businesses!
Reminds me of the parable of the shrewd employee. He’s about to be fired and makes nice with the pople who owe his boss money to secure his own future. There was nothing about what the man in the parable did that was unseemly or wrong within the context of the time.
The church needs to think and talk in a way the people of today can understand. This isn’t a compromise of our beliefs at all. It is finding a way for people to hear the Gospel.
Unsaid, but implied, and indicative of my Apple experiences: “Be personally available to everyone who walks in the door.” meaning, have a human greeter approach everyone, known and unknown.
Brilliant. This is a point well-taken.
Love it and believe it…unfortunately I had two bad experiences at Apple and a general disinterest in this dinosaur..Hopethis an exception but not sure older folk are treated so nicely.
Not me personally but my wife’s 75 year old aunt had a great experience at her local apple store and now she is hooked. She didn’t even own a computer or even have an email address. Went to the apple store to buy an ipad. I was with her to start with. When asked where could they email her receipt? She told the young clerk well son I don’t have email. The clerk went to google and we set her up one. She proceeded to flirt with him, he blushed a lot and she had her ipad. She came back two days later for a friendly apple i training session and has been hooked ever since. So if anything they went the extra step for her.
I’m 69 and in the Apple store a lot. They are always friendly and helpful. And they are impressed that I owned one of the first 128k Macs in 1984!
Apple is a business, The church is not. Apple’s goal (as in any business) is to be as profitable as possible. That certainly is not the goal of a spiritually based organization. Although they are trying to change, Apple has a long history of supporting manufacturing that pays employees starvation wages in unacceptable working conditions. Don’t be so fast to try to pick up on the latest “thing” and to run after it . I am an Apple consumer and enjoy their products but they do some terrible things in pursuit of their business and most of us are aware of them. I’m a bit tired of the “10 Things We Can Learn From …” philosophy that is continually regurgitated every few years. I’m sure there is some bright young thing out there right now thinking about “Ten Things We Can Learn From Facebook”. Thanks, but I think I’ll skip it.
Thanks for your comment. I agree that there are cautions about transferring principles of businesses on a one-to-one basis to our life in congregations. And I think you’re right that Apple is far, far from perfect. But I’m curious that you say because of these things we have nothing to learn from them. I think there are a lot of people out there doing and learning interesting things who we can learn from, even if we need to approach applying what we learn with some care.
Ok so let’s just along with eyes and minds closed to how the Spirit and The Word can teach us, rather let us continue to be insipid not pertinent to needs of people and become dinosaurs.
Having been a mega Apple fan for many years I really liked this piece. And I think we have a lot to learn from it. If you have read Steve Jobs biography or listened to the commencement speech he gave at Stanford in 2005, I think you might see Apple differently. Every truly great business has a vision. Jobs had a vision that far transcended simply making money. The 1984 Superbowl Apple ad was one expression of that vision. He wanted computers that would be easy to use and which would empower people. At the time, IBM”S vision for future computer use was that we would all have terminals and hook into one central computer. He not unique in having a vision. Walt Disney had a vision. Henry Ford had a vision. A few great business people have visions and often make the changes that enrich our lives.What Kawasaki is saying is that if you focus on implementing a vision for improving society and improving people’s lives, you will be successful.
We too have inherited a vision and need to make sure we are implementing it every day by the way we treat people and how we make them feel.
The first of these principles worked brilliantly for our youth group when I was younger. We had a faltering membership and we were trying all sorts of things to attact others. Then we decided we’d concentrate on doing the things that the people who *did* come valued (they really liked bible study, for example) and we nearly doubled our attendance because the irregular attenders started coming more regularly and people started inviting their friends to attend activities that were meaningful for them.
1,7 and 10 are contradictary
I don’t think so. Reread them. 1 is “stop selling STUFF”, 7 is to “sell” or EMPHASIZE the BENEFITS. The difference is the emphasis, so you could actually say 1 makes 7 a little redundant, or at least a different angle on the same idea. Then, 10 is about creating a welcoming, safe, attractive and happy atmosphere–the whole idea is that this atmosphere exist, regardless of whether a customer buys an iPad or the visitor returns to the church. The atmosphere is still important in and of itself.
In response to Michael, I don’t think 1, 7, and 10 are contradictions at all. #1 says stop selling “stuff.” “Instead, ask people why they’re here, why they’ve come, what they’re looking for, and how this congregation can aid them in their walk with God,” as in “what can we do for you vrs. how can you benefit us (or our bottom line)?” #7 affirms that what you as a Christian are “selling” is the “main thing” the benefit of a life in God’s kingdom, your belief that that life will be beneficially enhanced by becoming involved in a church community. Still in agreement with the premise of “keeping the main thing the main thing,” #10 appeals to the ‘buying brain’ asking how can we simplify, declutter and focus the “buyer’s” attention? What we’re really called to do is listen to the needs and win the hearts and minds of our potential “customers” with the “enchantment” of the gospel.
I feel too old to walk into an Apple store! In my eyes Apple is for impressionable young people who feel they are rebelling against older generations by using computers and Operating Systems that are ‘different’ to those their parents use – even though the software is all written by Micro$oft!
Apple is also highly exclusive. For example; only Apple is allowed to build an Apple computer (unlike a PC, which anybody can build); Apple software cannot be used on other computers, and Apple deliberately boycotts some types of file and code that it doesn’t like (Flash being a prime example) because they want us to believe their version is better, but they don’t believe in giving their customers that choice. Apple products are also extortionately expensive compared with other, almost identical products, and we know are built using child labour in developing countries.
If the church wants to attract and retain new members it needs to become much more open to everybody, and not to be run like an exclusive and expensive clique that nobody feels they can afford to join. So in other words, more like a Windows PC than an Apple computer!
In particular, longstanding church members need to lose their fears and inhibitions that new members will upset the status quo by unseating those who have held posts for too many years. Those of us in the church need to use our BEST talents to do things the best way we can; not to continue doing things badly because those who have been on the PCC and the organ bench for the past 80 years won’t allow anything to change until they pop their clogs!
Finally, good music is essential to the church, and it must be done well! Much of the music in recent hymn books is cringeworthy in my view, and does nothing to enhance worship or encourage membership. I have seen from the organ bench, and from the choir stalls, how congregations respond to music. Trendy vicars might think that guitars and synthesisers attract the young; but they don’t. They have their place, but most congregations, young and old, would far rather lift the roof with hymns from the New English Hymnal than clapping along to a bunch of middle aged guitar strumming beardies who like to massage their egos by indulging in a second adolescence in front of a congregation.
I am sure many will disagree with this view; but consider this: Congregations in English cathedrals, where traditional music is done exceptionally well, are growing year on year. Meanwhile, parish churches are steadily emptying and closing; none more so than those where the music is of poor quality.
Nigel, I agree with some of the things you’re said though my 70 year old dad is a Mac enthusiast and I first used an Apple in school back when you had to know how to program in BASIC to get any use out of them.
I think Christianity has a lot in common with Apple: we are an exclusive club, all are welcome but to join you have to agree on a few basic things beginning with Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Crucified One who died so that all could live.
As Chritians I believe that we are only programmed to take some code – code that rejects judgement and small-mindedness, code that invites joy and peace, code written in GRACE. (For the record, Apple PCs and laptops allow Flash it’s just the IPads that won’t.)
Christianity done well is expensive, it taxes us in the most incredible ways as we do our best, not so much to avoid sin, but to live up to the example of our savior – to love God with every part of ourselves, to love and forgive our neighbors as we would want to be loved and forgiven and to treat the least among us as we would treat the greatest.
I think the article actually agrees with you about how we should care for those already in the pews as we work to gather others to us. As to music, I am an Anglo-Catholic who hates big, professional choirs. Why? Because congregations often stop singing when there is someonelse to do it for them. When I was a kid I learned plain song and chant (not necessarily well, mind you) because it was expected that the congregation would chant the psalms. We learned many hymns by heart and would sing lustily, if not well. I find it sad that this tradition has not continued. Were I in charge, I would issue a ten year moritorium on professional choirs and teach folks to worship God, once again, with song. When congregational singing was once again a part of how we do liturgy I’d bring back the choirs.
Blessings
I AGREE. SINGING IS PART OF OUR WORSHIP SERVICE AND WE ARE THE WORSHIPERS. I TOO LOVE THE ANGLICAN CHANTS AND THE PLAIN SONGS. WE DON’T HAVE A CHOIR IN OUR CHURCH (TOO SMALL) BUT WE ALL SING LUSTILY (IF NOT PERFECTLY) ON SUNDAY MORNING.
FYI. My 69th birthday is rapidly approaching. I have been using Macs longer than my niece is old. And she is 23. Apple had personal computers before Microsoft did. They made their first computer in about 1977. The Macintosh (which was not Apple’s first computer) was the first non experimental computer to use a graphical user interface. The first version of Microsoft Word and Excel were written for the Mac, not for IBM. IBM didn’t come out with any personal computer that was competitive until AFTER the Mac was selling. Windows came out several years after the MAC. I know. I was there. (i. e. buying and using and shopping for computers. When I bought my first MAC there was no Compaq, Dell or IBM personal computer.
OK Susan; so you have read the Gospel according to Steve Jobs, you are a born again Apple owner, and you believe every word that Apple and Siri says. I am sure that Apple loves foot soldiers like you, but that doesn’t mean that your views are necessarily correct or objective.
It really doesn’t matter who built the first computer, or who copied who, any more than it matters which Christian denomination we choose to follow. This isn’t about idolising Apple, Mammon, or the late Steve Jobs; it is about following God and encouraging others to do the same.
Apple is, by far, the wealthiest business on the planet. It has only achieved this wealth by being exclusive, by good marketing, and by charging premium prices for it’s [admittedly good] products. Apple has also increased it’s wealth by employing child labour in developing countries. You may be happy to be an acolyte for that kind of enterprise, but I am not.
Apple could, if it wanted, solve many of the word’s problems by spending a mere fraction of it’s wealth on human aid projects, (as Bill Gates has been doing of some time), but Apple chooses not to.
In short, you have completely missed the point that I was making yesterday. I agree that Steve Jobs was a great visionary, but he was also known to be a control freak, in charge of a company which sells expensive products into an exclusive and niche market. I for one do not believe that the Apple Empire provides a good template for today’s church.
in #1 for the church he talks about “walk with God”. I wish it would be something more along the line of “lifting up Jesus”. Just like an Apple store is not a generic computer store, churches are not generic places to worship God, but rather worship God because of Jesus Christ.
Ps.34:8O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Romans 5: 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that , while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5: 1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Seems to me the point here is not whether or not we endorse Apple and all its ways. Of course the church isn’t a business like Apple. But there is a new language here for us to learn, or relearn. The language is that people matter, relationships matter, more than our weary old arguments about what music, rituals, traditions and interpretations of Scripture are superior.
You said it, PJ. We worship God who is love. We are our best when our lives reflect that reality.
While it is without question Apple has some bathwater, there is a great deal of baby within its methods.
Apple concentrates on the purpose — the product follows.
The one comment that struck me while reading them was about being tired of the “Top 10 Things We Can Learn From _________” trend that is going on. I’m simply reminded that Jesus would pull that trick and with some measure of success. Top 10 Things We Can Learn From the birds of the air, the lillies of the field, the Gentiles… Jesus was pulling things from them that we all could stand to learn. I don’t get from this blog that the church should be like a business or be like Apple. The church is still the church, but there are things that we can learn from Apple that we should already know but can learn again.
As a believer who greatly values the tradition of Francis of Assisi, I heartily agree with your point and appreciate the simplicity with which you made it. Thank you.
I heard Guy Kawasaki interviewed on Public Radio about his book and I ran right out and bought it! It’s not about Apple, its title says it all: Enchantment, The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions. Is that not a description of church as well? Thank you for translating his 10 ideas into church language so we can use it.
I shared this blog post with my Dialogue at St. Arbucks small group and we’re incorporating it into an upcoming discussion. Good stuff to plant in our heads. Thanks!
PS 127:1 EXCEPT THE LORD BUILD THE HOUSE, THEY LABOR IN VAIN THAT BUILD IT: EXCEPT THE LORD KEEP THE CITY, THE WATCHMAN WAKETH BUT IN VAIN.
THERE IS A SAYING, THE MAIN THING IS TO KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING. THE MAIN THING IS TO PREACH THE GOSPEL (GOOD NEWS).
MANY HAVE NEVER HEARD IT. MANY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IT IS. SOME STUMBLE AT ITS SIMPLICITY. WE ALL HAVE ADAM’S NATURE. THIS NATURE CANNOT NEVER PLEASE GOD. GOD SENT HIS ONE AND ONLY SIN TO BE OUR SAVIOUR. THE SOUL THAT SINNETH IT SHALL DIE. CHRIST JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO DIE IN OUR PLACE. BUT HE ROSE FROM THAT DEAD AND SAVES AND JUSTIFIES ALL WHO PUT THEIR FAITH IN HIS REDEEMING WORK. WE MUST REALIZE THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO SAVE OURSELVES AND LOOK TO GOD FOR SALVATION. WE FIND IT IN THE SAVING WORK OF OUR LORD. WE REALIZE THEN HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US EVEN WHEN WE ARE DEAD IN SIN AND REBELS AGAINST HIM. INVITING HIM INTO OUR HEARTS AND LIFES CHANGES US. IT CAUSES US TO LOVE OTHERS GENUINELY, NOT PUT ON. WHEN WE ACCEPT HIM INTO OUR HEARTS AND LIVES HE GIVES US A NEW NATURE. THIS NEW NATURE CAN PLEASE GOD AND WE CAN TRULY LOVE OTHERS. THIS IS WHEN WE CAN SHOW REAL LOVE TO THOSE WHO ENTER OUR CHURCH. 1CORINTHIANS 2:2 FOR I DETERMINED NOT TO KNOW ANY THING AMONG YOU, SAVE JESUS CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED. WORDS OF ST. PAUL. THE MOST WONDERFUL THING WE CAN DO FOR THOSE WHO ENTER OUR CHURCH IS TO SHARE CHRIST JESUS WITH THEM.
SORRY, I DIDN’T EDIT MY COMMENT AND I SEE A LOT OF ERRORS IN IT NOW. PLEASE FORGIVE ME GOD SENT HIS SON (NOT SIN)
I have been an avid user of Apple products for 2 1/2 years (MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, iPod Shuffle, etc.). They do many things right and their products are generally quite good but not always original. I read Steve Jobs biography; he is no role model. Many who worked closely with him said Jobs was a jerk. A genius, yes, but not a very nice man a good bit of the time. He was not very generous either. Furthermore, as a fifty-something year old male, I’ve had a mixed experience with their stores. They can be rather condescending toward gray-haired customers. We could find better examples of virtue and creativity for the church if we looked a bit harder, and they might be closer to home and certainly more authentic–spiritually-speaking.