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Sebastian Kresge started a five and dime in 1899 and it grew – people came to his store for good prices on decent products – his idea of a “blue-light” special reinvigorated the retail industry…at it height thousands upon thousands of stores serving millions and millions of people…
But then, something happened…something happened. Some claim it was do to increased competition – another company started by a young man named Sam Walton was giving Kresge’s stores a run for their money. Still some claim Kresge’s stores just built too much too fast…by over-expanding they found themselves deep in debt.
But today, I’ll tell you why the once mighty Kmart, the eventual product of Kresge’s five and dime, is in bankruptcy today, and its actually a simple reason…they forgot what they were known for.
Instead of continuing to offer great prices on decent products…they began to compete with the Targets and the Meijers in quality merchandise beyond their customers reach, while on the other end facing the low-pricing of Sam Walton’s creation, Walmart, at every turn. (When Kmart announced they were bringing back the blue-light special and lowering prices throughout the store, then I knew they were doomed. If Kmart has too announce that they have lowered prices, then they’ve lost their identity.)
Soon, being pulled at both ends, Kmart finds itself with the agony of closing stores and firing workers because instead of continuing as they were “known” they tried to change…and failed.
Why do I tell you this story?…because we are “known” too! God knows us. But often we try to be someone different than the way we are known. And if we continue to be something that God knows we aren’t, we are going to end up in a spiritual bankruptcy where God has planned so much more.
What Happened To Sunday School? New Barna Group research has identified several significant changes affecting children’s programs: (1) A declining percentage of pastors viewing Sunday School as their top priority. (2) Fewer churches offering Sunday School for children under age 6 or for junior high or high schoolers. (3) More customization of curriculum by churches. (4) Fewer churches offering VBS. (5) A decline in midweek programming for children. Yet, every weekend more than 300,000 churches offer some type of systematic religious instruction in a classroom setting attended by nearly 45 million adults and 22 million youth and children. “The changes facing Sunday School seem to be more about the form—not the function—of Sunday School,” says Barna VP David Kinnaman. It seems churches are moving toward a ‘label-less’ future, e.g. summertime programs, but not necessarily VBS, and Christian education, but not necessarily Sunday School. The most significant part of the changing landscape, however, is the new identity being carved out by Buster pastors and those relatively new in ministry. Although many Buster pastors currently deploy Sunday School programs, they seem open to new methods and approaches and less driven by tradition or program loyalty. Many Buster pastors possess a means-to-an-end perspective about Sunday School and VBS, which suggests the churches they lead, will be more apt to adopt innovations in spiritual training. (Barna Online 7/11/05)
Identity theft complaints nearly doubled in ’02 making it the FTC’s most widely reported consumer crime. (Foster Letter 1/25/03)
91% of all Americans confessed that they regularly lied.
79% had given out false phone numbers or invented new identities when meeting strangers on airplanes.
20% said they couldn’t get through even one day without going along with a previously manufactured lie.
Now here’s what I found most intriguing about the study: People no longer seem to care about lying.
We accept it. It doesn’t bother us. We don’t get upset anymore when someone exaggerates, falsifies, fabricates, or misrepresents the truth. We live in a day when we’ve been bombarded with erased tapes, tampered evidence, illicit cover-ups, padded resumes, and exaggerated ads, to the point that we’ve pretty much given up on truth being a via...
Identity Theft: About 3.3 million American consumers had their personal information stolen and used to open fraudulent bank, credit card or utility accounts, or to commit other crimes, according to the FTC. These cases collectively cost businesses $32.9 billion and consumers $3.8 billion. On average, losses to businesses and financial institutions in were $10,200 a case, and the average cost to consumers was $1,180, in addition to 60 hours spent repairing their credit history. In contrast, theft involving a victim’s established accounts cost businesses $2,100 a case, and consumers $160 plus the average of 15 hours clearing up history. (NY Times 9/4/03)
Religion Switch 72% of Americans have maintained the same religious preference throughout their life. 15% have changed from one religious preference to another. 10% moved away from religion altogether. American’s have a relatively stable religious identity. Yet, the most common reasons for changing a religious preference are (1) Disagreement with teachings of original religion, (2) Found a new one more fulfilling, (3) Grew dissatisfied with local church, (4) Leaders struggled with each other to control the direction of the religion, (5) Married someone from another religion, (6) Moved and couldn’t find a church of preferred religion they liked. (Gallup Alert 6/23/06)
Religion Switch 72% of Americans have maintained the same religious preference throughout their life. 15% have changed from one religious preference to another. 10% moved away from religion altogether. American’s have a relatively stable religious identity. Yet, the most common reasons for changing a religious preference are (1) Disagreement with teachings of original religion, (2) Found a new one more fulfilling, (3) Grew dissatisfied with local church, (4) Leaders struggled with each other to control the direction of the religion, (5) Married someone from another religion, (6) Moved and couldn’t find a church of preferred religion they liked. (Gallup Alert 6/23/06)
Bill McKibben, in his Harper’s magazine essay, "The Christian Paradox" talks about how America is the most professing Christian of all nations in the world. 85% of Americans identify themselves as Christian. “Israel, by way of comparison, is 77 percent Jewish. It is true that a smaller number of Americans - about 75 percent - claim they actually pray to God on a daily basis, and only 33 percent say they manage to get to church every week. “Still, even if that 85 percent overstates actual practice, it clearly represents aspiration. In fact, there is nothing else that unites more than four fifths of America. Every other statistic one can cite about American behavior is essentially also a measure of the behavior of professed Christians. That’s what America is: a place saturated in Christian identity.”
He goes on from there to ask the question “But is it Christian? …Christ was pretty specific about what he had in mind for his followers. What if we chose some simple criterion - say, giving aid to the poorest people - as a reas...
In a 1998 USA Weekend exclusive survey of more than a quarter million teens -- one of the most extensive ever -- teens responded honestly about tackling their identity crisis.
An unprecedented 272,400 students wrote in and confessed their short-comings and exposed their passion to improve themselves. It is the number one issue still today among our kids: to carve out their identity and fit in with their peers remains paramount for teens. Some of the primary issues are as follows:
(1) Looks are key (only 4 in 10 youth said they feel attractive.)
(2) Faith is central (of the influences of their everyday lives, faith was second only to parents.)
(3) Depression is common (more than half said they occasionally feel “really depressed.”)
(4) Families don’t talk enough (one in five said they don’t talk to their parents more than 15 minutes a day.)
(2) www.usaweekend.com/98. (1998 USA Weekend Survey-Teens & Self Image-May 1-3)
A small but growing number of parents are getting domain names for their young kids, some before taking their newborn home from the hospital. It’s not known exactly how many, but the practice is no longer limited to “tekky” parents. They worry that the name of choice might not be available by the time their babies become teens or adults. The trend hints at the potential importance of domain names in establishing one’s future digital identity. Think of how much a typical teen’s online life now revolves around Facebook or MySpace. (USA Today 8/22/07)
