Even though I don’t have the money for the new Kindle 2, I was somewhat encouraged by its recent announcement. Even though the original Kindle changed the e-book reader industry entirely, and even though the original Kindle was backordered for a long time after it was released, I saw the Kindle 2 as an acknowledgment that there was still work to be done and improvements to be made. (Whether or not the Kindle 2 is a better device is for someone with cash or access to determine, not me.)
Frankly, I see the iPhone 3G the same way. The original iPhone changed the smartphone industry and set a new standard for cool in the mobile world. Revenue and imitators followed. The great Steve Jobs had done it again. And yet, in a year’s time there was a 2.0 release of the iPhone software and a 2.0 release of the iPhone hardware, the iPhone 3G. As acclaimed and innovative as the original iPhone was, there was still work to be done and improvements to be made (even with Steve Jobs on the case). Even though we’re people, not gadgets, I still like that idea.
I think we need to get comfortable with the tech sector’s mindset that product releases aren’t final products (apart from the fact that nobody is working on building a better laser disc player these days …). There are always versions and upgrades and iterations to follow. What does that mean for us? It means it’s OK to see ourselves, our local churches, and our individual ministries as on the way. What we’ve accomplished so far and who we are at the moment don’t tell the whole story … not even close. It’s who we are becoming that’s important.
Don’t be discouraged if it’s apparent that you have work to do and improvements to make. Worry if you think the opposite is true. Worry if you think you’ve arrived. We could all take a cue from the great Terry Storch, whose personal blog acknowledges that he’s “in beta.”
