Tryvertising

I came across this article from Trendwatching.com and I found it to be quite interesting. I think if there is a "bottom line" so to speak for those who are Christ followers it is this: we live in a culture that is willing to try just about anything. So the question that must be asked is, "Do we have anything for them to try?" Read on and you will see what I mean.

"Two years ago, we dubbed this growing trend TRYVERTISING: "There's not even a 'relationship' anymore; there's a cold, calculating, experienced, and demanding consumer, and there are humble companies. So introducing yourself and your products by letting people experience and try them out first, is a very civilized and effective way to show some respect.’’

Not surprisingly, an entire TRYVERTISING infrastructure—from 30 second samples on iTunes to firms specializing in relevant product placement—is now in place, enabling consumers to try before they buy.

Here’s a list of (mostly recent) TRYVERTISING spottings that deserve attention if not copying, er….creative replication:

Nike Trial Vans are currently touring the UK/Ireland, France, Italy and Spain, stocking 1,000 pairs of shoes. It’s a free trial, no strings attached. To deliver on the crucial element of TRYVERTISING, total relevance of placement, the vans will pop up in places where people actually run. From athletic events to well-known running spots.

TRYVERTISING and real world product placements work particularly well in environments of 'voluntarily captive audiences' like waiting areas, business lounges, and work spaces. So if hotels, airports, offices, even cruise ships (easyCruise anyone?) are serving as try-before-you-buy alternatives to advertising, who's going to intermediate between venues and manufacturers, brokering placements and audiences? One interesting example in this still pretty uncrowded field is Brand Connections, peddling an organized approach to in-hut, in-room product placement of samples, everywhere from Carnival Cruise Lines to Las Vegas and South Beach hotels, all targeted at vacationers.

In their own words: "Give your target audience your product sample when they are most likely to try it, and associate unforgettable memories with the experience. Your target consumer is greeted with your product sample on the first day of their vacation. At a time when they are without their 'stuff' from home and will have up to 7 days to form a new habit with your brand.“ Absolut is already a client, as are Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft Foods and Unilever Group. Planes, trains and rental cars to follow?"

You can read the rest of the article at Trendwatching.com

What is church?

Snowy days are good for study. For some reason the falling of snow and a hot cup of coffee create the perfect environment to study. If I could have one snowy day a week I could conceivably get more done.

Anyway, I was working on my message for Sunday (40 Days of Community series) and I happened upon some really good stuff written by John William Drane. But before I share that with you just a couple of thoughts.

1. The Greek word for church really has no religious connotations at all. The word "church" was used in everyday life to describe a meeting. The word church means, "a calling out to meet". It was used when people in a community wanted to have a town hall meeting. The key being that those who lived in the community came together to talk about the community and it's purposes.
   
2. Jesus said that upon Peter's statement (Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God) that He (Jesus) would build his church and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it. So in other words Jesus is saying that to those who believe in him as being the Christ the Son of the Living God are "called out" to form this community. A community so powerful that even the Kingdom of Death could not overcome it.
   

Now with that in mind consider the thoughts of Mr. Drane.

" Paul has a dynamic concept of the church, not a static one. He does not think of it as an organization that holds meetings from time to time, but as an outpost of God’s ways of doing things, ‘the kingdom’. This means that Christians do not ‘go to church’, but on the contrary they are the church, wherever they are and whatever they happen to be doing. Their responsibility for the condition of the Christian community does not end while they are at work or at home, for everything that happens to them has its effect on the whole body.

This is true of the human body, of course: an injury to one part will inevitably bring discomfort, or worse, to the whole organism. Paul discovered at his conversion that the church is no different: when one Christian suffers, the whole church is injured. But the opposite is also true: ‘if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness’ (1 Corinthians 12:26). For a Christian to be able to opt out of the church would have been unthinkable for Paul The concept of ‘joining the church’ (or leaving it) only makes sense in a modern church context, where such joining is a matter of enrolling in a particular sort of organization. But for Paul the church was not a club that could be joined or left: it was a commitment to a way of being, and therefore could be thought of as a living organism, in which Christians were inescapably related to and responsible for one another because of their new relationship with God through Christ." ~

Drane, John William: Introducing the New Testament. Completely rev. and updated. Oxford : Lion Publishing plc, 2000, S. 386

So what is the church? Are you a part of one? Are you helping to build one? Are you growing in one? Would your church miss you? Does your church need you?

40 Days of Community

The church I pastor, Iowa City Church of Christ, kicked off the spiritual growth campaign, 40 Days of Community today. It was a great day as we had a wonderful crowd despite the cold weather.

One of the things that I love about IC Church of Christ is how diverse it is. It is truly 31 flavors. We have all ages, many different backgrounds, cultures, and colors. To me it is truly beautiful!

What this all reminds me is how important the word "together" is to God. God wants people to be together. God hates for people to be alone, and for too long the church has been a part of keeping people alone. In a culture where one of the greatest problems is "aloneness" it is time for the church to establish itself as a place where people belong.

Think of it this way, the people who felt the most comfortable next to Jesus were the outcasts: the tax collectors, prostitutes, poor, and outcasts. Why? They found a place of belonging next to Jesus because in the kingdom that he was ushering in was not built upon looks, money, prestige or power. It was going to be built upon the heart, through faith and bound together with love. So different, yet so powerful.

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing highlights from our campaign. In the meantime consider how you are engaged in helping people belong.

"It is not good for man to be alone." ~ God