PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

July 16, 2023

ADAPT

Francis Ellert was the speaker for Plymouth First United Methodist Men’s breakfast on Saturday, July 8.  Francis is the President of Coca-Cola Bottling Company in Plymouth, Indiana.  The company is a family owned business.  Ellert spoke about the history of the Coca-Cola company and how it has advertised its main product over the years.

In 1856 Atlanta, Georgia, pharmacist John S. Pemberton (1831-88) started selling a tonic for most common ailments.  Two of the original ingredients were Coca beans and Kohla nuts, thus, the name Coca-Cola.  Another Atlanta pharmacist, Asa Griggs Candler (1851-1929) became owner of the company.  The current company was incorporated in 1892 and the traditional “Coca-Cola” trademark was registered with the U.S. Patent Office in 1893.  In 1890 9,000 gallons of syrup were sold.  Currently, 1.9 billion servings of the company’s drink are enjoyed in 200 countries in one day.  When they began Coca-Cola just one product was sold.  Now, they have more than 2,800 products available.  Today, Coca-Cola is one of the largest corporations in the United States.

Francis said that over the years the theme of Coca-Cola’s advertising has remained constant: Coca-Cola creates occasions and brings happiness.  The drink has become a symbol of hospitality and togetherness.  However, in the same time how the theme has been advertised has changed.  We saw a commercial from the 1930’s which was very likely shown at a movie theater.  It reminded me of the early live commercials of television.  One commercial might be better described as a mini infomercial. Several the commercials that Francis showed were from Super Bowls, including the iconic one that featured Mean Joe Green and a boy with the Coca-Cola.  With the decline of the print media and television, Coca-Cola has looked for ways to sell their products on media that people are watching.  The Coca-Cola has remained at the top by adapting to changing conditions.

One of the reasons that the Christian religion has been able to remain relevant is that it has been able to adapt to changing conditions while remaining true to its central beliefs.  Paul’s mission was to bring a primarily Jewish religion to a Gentile population.  To do this he had to identify the central message of the Good News and extract it from the trappings of the Jewish religion.  One of the reasons that John Wesley was so successful is that he was able to make the transition from worship in building to field preaching.  In addition, he brought an organization to those who responded to his preaching.  He organized them in small support groups and small worshipping communities.  Missionaries to Africa were successful when they put drums in the worship services.

Once again the Christian faith is faced with changing conditions.  How will it adapt while keeping its core beliefs?  What forms will it take?  How will it be organized?  What place will traditional denominations have?  How does one do “church” in the new multi-media world?

We live in a rapidly changing world that is in constant change.  To keep up calls for all of us to adapt even when we would much rather have the status quo.  The only thing about the future that is certain is that it will be uncertain.  The trick is to adapt without giving up core values and beliefs that define who we are.  People have successfully adapted in the past and with God’s help we will adapt in the future.