WOW now?

I was reading a favorite blog of mine by Seth Godin, a marketing guru, and came across the above picture from an article in The New York Times.

This article is written about the unveiling of Microsoft's new operating system, Vista. It has been a long time coming and has has many setbacks. It was expected to be released some time ago. Nonetheless, it is out! The marketers have created a curiosity in the computer world. “Will I like it? Will it make my life easier? Will it crash? How much will it cost?”

There are all kinds of ways to build excitement in marketing and Microsoft has the resources to create a massive splash across America. In fact, if you look at the article mentioned above, you will also see a picture of acrobats hanging off the side of a building in Manhattan to unveil Vista. WOW! The words on the presentation screen in the picture above state: “The Wow starts now.”

Seth's words were: “Not one smile in the bunch, never mind ebullience, mania or even pleasant anticipation. Just because a marketer says something is amazing, exciting or just plain wow doesn't mean it is.”

His comment struck a chord in my spirit. Take a look at the guys in the photo. They are from left, Kevin B. Rollins of Dell, Sean Maloney of Intel, Steven A. Ballmer of Microsoft, Hisatsugu Nonaka of Toshiba, Hector Ruiz of Advanced Micro Devices and Todd Bradley of Hewlett-Packard. These guys are the ones who are there to share the good news!

While the marketers are dangling people in mid-air to create excitement, the guys who really know what this is all about cannot muster a smile or at least a look of anticipation? I understand that they are not actors, but they shouldn't have to put on an act if this product is really supposed to give new life to machines across America and to their businesses! It should show. It makes you wonder if Vista is all that the marketers are saying that it is.

As the ones who have experienced God and His good news of a new life for us, we should never forget that we cannot lose the excitement of His presence. What do we look like when we stand before people to express our praise and worship to the King of Kings? Do they leave asking the question, “What's the big deal?” No, we are not actors, but we shouldn't have to be. When we really think of the life-changing “product” that we have in our midst, it will show in our enthusiasm. (This thought was also mentioned in Ronda's blog a couple of days ago about musicians and singers.)

While we are marketing our churches and promoting the ministries that we offer, we must remember that our expressions at church must mirror the promotion. When our flyer says “Exciting praise and worship,” we must make sure that we are excited about our God in each service. When we promote “Dynamic preaching,” we must make sure that our preaching is more than a warmed-over, lack-luster sermon. We must practice what we promote!

The great thing is that we can accurately describe the moving of the Spirit as awesome and it WILL be if we cultivate it! God always comes through. We are not promoting something that doesn’t produce. This new life experience is real! Let there be no question in the minds of the lost that we believe in it. Let us not lose the “Wow” as we share the good news.