John “Doc” Pemberton is a name we probably don’t recognize. However, we’ve all imbibed of his concoction, a “miracle elixir” that would “soothe your stomach, rid you of your headache, and calm your nerves.” He also claimed that you could live between 120 and 150 years by taking his new elixir.”1
Developed in 1885, the drink was a revision of French chemist, Angelo Marini’s “French Wine of Coco”. This remedy was made with Bordeaux wine mixed with coca leaves and contained 6mg of cocaine. The American version had alcohol and extract from coca leaves. However, since the Temperance Movement was so strong in the south, Pemberton had to reinvent his drink once again, coming out with a new mix in 1886 that contained syrup, coca leaves, and cola nuts. His drink was originally called My Temperance Drink. Not real catchy, is it? It was quickly rebranded to what we know today: Coca Cola.
For 99 years, Pemberton’s recipe was a guarded secret. Coca Cola remained the top soda choice of consumers. Challenging that top spot was Pepsi and they were gaining ground, sometimes surpassing Coca Cola’s position. A marketing expert decided that something needed to be done and that the old Coca Cola need to reinvent itself. On this day in 1985, New Coke was introduced – and it was a colossal flop.
“The company was flooded with up to 8,000 calls a day from dissatisfied consumers and received some 40,000 complaint letters. CEO Roberto Goizueta got a letter addressed to “Chief Dodo, The Coca-Cola Company…
“On July 11, 1985, 79 days after the release of New Coke, Coke’s original formula returned to market, rebranded as Coca-Cola Classic. It quickly regained its status as the dominant cola.”2 In fact, Coke Classic has held the top sales position for a number of years, making up nearly one-fifth of all soda sales. The next closest is Dr. Pepper making up 8.7% of sales, followed by Sprite (8%), Pepsi (8%), Diet Coke ( 7.8%), and Mountain Dew (6.1%). For those who love 7-Up or Root Beer, those drinks don’t even make the cut, being beat out by Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, Fanta, and Canada Dry Ginger Ale (2.3%).3
New and Improved. This is a sales gimmick used for just about everything, including church and the things of the Lord. We’re not your parent’s/grandparent’s church. Such a statement is insulting to previous generations as well as indicative of an attitude that’s been around for centuries. Acts 17:21 says, “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”
For the past few decades, it would seem that “religion” has experimented with a variety of ways to draw people through the doors of the church. We have to admit that for a while, it worked. Humanity is always attracted to a big show and has a curiosity that wants to see what’s under the “Big Top.” But the novelty eventually wears off. Those who stayed through each performance under the Big Top were nourished on spiritual cotton candy, Cracker Jacks, popcorn, hotdogs, and soda. It didn’t take long before the malnourishment began to become evident, but the addictive nature of “sweets” became a hard habit to break.
Thankfully, there are those who have broken free!
Barna reported a resurgence back to church being led by Gen Z (12-27 year olds).4 The 
Washington Examiner answers the question, “Why Gen Z has swung back toward traditional Christianity.”5 To put it in terms from the opening paragraphs, New Coke only lasted a short time before people began wanting Classic Coke.
Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls…”
God’s way is always the best way. Yes, it’s an old path but it’s a tried-and-true path. Never stray from it because it is a path created by God who declares in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the LORD, I change not…”
1https://www.moas.org/John–Doc–Pemberton-and-His-Amazing-Medicine-1-17.html
2https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-23/new-coke-debuts-one-of-the-biggest-product-flops-in-history
3https://www.livenowfox.com/news/coca-cola-pepsi-best-selling-soda-pop-soft-drink-beverage-digest
4https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/
5https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/3763344/why-gen-z-swung-back-toward-traditional-christianity/
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
