Alright, I’m one of those “Mac” people, I admit it.  To Windows users, we look like a cult—fiercely loyal to our brand and smugly suspicious that Bill Gates might in fact be the “Big Brother” of Orwell’s 1984, but you’ve got to believe me: it can’t be reduced to mere, materialistic product loyalty or otherwise misplaced enthusiasm.  At the heart of it all is vision—great vision—that should have come from the Church, even FPCB.

It was Steve Jobs who approached John Scully (then-Vice-President of PepsiCo) to offer him the leading position at Apple Computer. Scully said no.  Jobs, who tends to be peevish about getting his own way, stood nose-to-nose with Scully and delivered what have become immortal words in the annals of computer lore:

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar-water or do you want to change the world?”

Scully relented, and the world has been changed.

What should strike the nerve—the unmitigated chutzpah—of Jobs. When was the last time you heard a churchgoer—or even a preacher—with that kind of belief and energy for the Gospel?

We are here to change the world and should settle for nothing less.

Even Apple’s slogan, Think Different, has more beneath the hood than you’d catch at first glance.  Initially an affront to IBM’s “THINK” motto, Think Different can easily be applied to the mission of the Gospel as well. The Greek word meaning both “convert” and “repent” is metanoia.  This word, metanoia, can literally be interpreted as “think different.”

We can now hear John the Baptist saying: “Think Different, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” Matthew 3: 1-6

Jesus says: “Think Different, and believe in the Good News.” Mark 1:15b

Peter says: “Think Different, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”  Acts 2:38

To repent, to be converted, is to have our minds remade by the Holy Spirit as we walk in faith with Jesus Christ.  

21st Century Christians must be willing to Think Different in every year about every area of ministry lest the shape and scope of their vision become as irrelevant and obsolete as a typewriter (I was going to say a PC running Windows 95, but you never know who’s listening).

Bottom line:  we need  spark, energy, passion, imagination and a love for innovation if we are to meet a changing world with the unchanging good news of Jesus Christ.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be Think Different by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2

We are called to a different way of life in following Jesus. It is a movement meant to change the world. None of us—indeed, no Christian anywhere—should ever be content with the sugar-water versions of Christianity or its life-changing mission.