A lesson from Kodak’s demise

It was in the news this week that the Eastman Kodak Company, a name associated with photography for more than a hundred years, has filed for bankruptcy protection.  My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic.  I remember getting the camera, and putting a 126 film cartridge in, and snapping away (with a flash bar, when indoors; remember those?).  It was easy to use, and that appealed to more folks than just little kids like me.  I still don’t know an f stop from a hole in the ground, as far as that goes, so if I were still using a film camera, my 126 Instamatic would probably be it.

For decades, Kodak held the top position among point-and-shoot camera users.  But then, digital cameras came into vogue.  They were just as easy to use, but didn’t require film (or the subsequent cost of developing every picture you took).  Within a relatively short period of time, the resolution of digital cameras had improved to the point that none but the most trained photographer’s eye could tell the difference between a picture shot with a film camera and one shot with a digital camera.  Suddenly, only purists, and retro-types, were using film cameras and film.  And the cost of digital cameras has come down dramatically in the past few years, as tends to happen with new forms of technology as they become more popular.  These newfangled cameras have gotten better, smaller, and cheaper.  (Remember the size, and the cost, of your first cell phone?  You know what I mean.)

Anytime a major company takes this step is a sad time, but in Kodak’s case, it’s not only sad, it’s ironic.  Why?

Kodak not only pioneered the use of film in cameras; Kodak actually invented digital photography.  Yep, it’s own invention caused what appears to be its ultimate demise.  The company chose not to commercialize its big invention.  Pundits suggest it is because film was Kodak’s ‘cash cow’, and it didn’t see the value in slaughtering the cash cow!

To a point, this is understandable, but imagine if it had become the leader in its digital innovation the way it was in its analogue counterpart?  Had Kodak maximized its potential with digital technology, it wouldn’t be in the pickle it’s in today.

There is a lesson for God’s people in this sad story.  The company’s philosophical decision to stick with the old approach to helping people capture memories hurt it badly.  Too often, the church has been in exactly the same position, and has made exactly the same decision, and reaped exactly the same results.  And that’s a sad story, too.

Whether it’s in the adoption of Bible translations in the common language, or the use of projection technology to make worship gatherings easier to follow for guests and newcomers to the church, or the use of contemporary instrumentation in the accompaniment of congregational song, too often, the church has been among the “late adopters” – and sometimes, when the notion to adopt has come, it has been too late, and the doors have been locked permanently.

What we sometimes fail to see with innovation is that it is not throwing out the proverbial baby with the bath water; it’s just changing the water so it’s not so dirty and murky.  At least in the western world, we have surpassed the time when the entire family needs to take a bath in the same water, because of a shortage.  Why don’t we do that anymore?  Because we realize that we will likely be cleaner if we use fresh water in the bath for each bather

Using modern Scripture translations, projection technology, and contemporary instrumentation doesn’t change the truth of what is proclaimed; it merely makes it easier to grasp.  The gospel doesn’t change when we employ these things; it only becomes clearer to the modern participant.

Many of us are naturally resistant to change.  (Just ask me about my adjustment to my Mac computer.)  But, as Cardinal Newman once said, “To live is to change, and to live well is to change often.”  The church cannot look and worship exactly like it did a hundred years ago, even though it proclaims the same truth it did a hundred years ago.  Does your kitchen look the same as it did when you were a kid?  Probably not.  Does it still serve in the preparation of food that nourishes you?  Of course it does.

When the leadership of your congregation makes a decision to bring about some sort of change, examine it carefully.  If the change will make it easier for more people to grasp the amazing love of God in Jesus Christ, don’t resist it.  Embrace it, for the sake of growing God’s kingdom.  You won’t be disappointed.

 

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