Doing Q & A with Jim Naughton

What can the Episcopal Church learn from Kodak's bankruptcy

from The Lead by Jim Naughton

In 1996, Kodak was the fourth most valuable brand in the world behind only Disney, Coca-Cola and McDonald's. Last week it filed for bankruptcy. At this blog Preaching Scarf, Jake Dell contemplates Kodak's fate and wonders if there are lessons in its downfall for the Episcopal Church.

First, examine the church's -- particularly the Episcopal Church's -- core competency. Where do we dominate? Are we at risk of losing that dominance?

Answer: among big city religious liberals.  Unfortunately, pecusa has to share this small group with the Unitarians, the UCC, and liberal Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians.

Second, will a "turnaround" be the answer? Restructuring didn't save Kodak.

Answer: The only turnaround that will help pecusa is repentance for departing from Scripture and the Anglican Communion.

Third, can we identify any areas where we once led or innovated but where we have not realized the benefits of that innovation? In the mid-1970s, Kodak's R&D developed some of the first digital cameras, an innovation that in the end killed the brand. What was our "digital camera", if any?

 Answer: pecusa once led among cultured elites, this is less so today.  pecusa has never been particularly innovative.  One of the great problems in pecusa is the search for the something new that will propel the dying denomination into new life.  pecusa continues to ignore the orthodox Christian theology that has birthed Protestant megachurches and some emerging churches.

Fourth, where is there fear of cannibalizing our existing church models? Is that fear acting as a bottleneck stifling innovation?

 Answer: cannibalizing existing church models?  Is that what is leading to decline in pecusa?  I don't think so.

Finally, what's in our name? Here is another take on Kodak's fall that says it wasn't their failure to adapt to digital, but that it was actually in their name -- a name that screamed "print photography!"
Could our very name be dead?

Answer: if the name pecusa (or the more recent name TEC) is dead, it is because the liberals in charge of the denomination killed it.

Are there lessons in Kodak's failure for us? If so, what are they?

Answer: there may be lessons to learn from Kodak's failure, but I suspect there are lessons closer to hand, like evangelical churches that are prospering in the same neighborhoods where pecusa is dying.