09/06/2026
Alaskan Cannery
A young couple decided to start their own business. He was an engineer, and she was an advertising copywriter. They moved to Alaska and bought a small salmon cannery. They soon discovered they had a problem. Customers opening cans of their salmon found the fish gray. Sales sagged. An investigation revealed that the problem stemmed from how they processed the fish. "This is a technical problem," said the wife. "You're an engineer. You have to find a way to fix this."
A month later, the husband announced they would need to replace some machinery and make other changes. It would take at least 10 months and cost a lot of money. "We have to do something sooner than that," said the wife, "or we're going to go under." For the next two days, she pondered the problem and came up with this solution: There was nothing wrong with the salmon--it tasted fine. The problem lay in its appearance. So she changed the label on the can. In bold letters, right under the brand name, the label thereafter read, "The only salmon guaranteed not to turn pink in the can." The fish remained the same; the only change was the branding.
Branding seems to be how the world operates, and now the 21st century church. Staged productions and light shows have taken the place of the traditional church service. Proverbs 11:30 says, “… he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity].” These methods appear to effectively lure people in by appealing to their five senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. However, once inside, it is essential that they receive the same uncompromising Gospel of Jesus Christ that transforms lives. Yes, 21st century methods of ministry do change, but the principles found in the Word (the meat) should never change.
Bishop George McCree II
Pastor, Author, and Servant Leader
