- 1966. Philips created the “Radiorecorder”–better known as the boombox and Holland started to dance.
- 1975. Boom boxes were booming in the U.S.–big time.
- 1980. The first personal computer was introduced.
- 1983. Cassette tapes outsold vinyl records for the first time…and boomboxes were as big as suitcases.
- 1990. Boomboxes lost serious ground to the Sony Walkman.
- 1993. The internet went public.
- 1996. Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound were introduced to our home theaters. Boomboxes were fading.
- 1997. Windows first incorporated support for mp3 audio into their Media Player.
- 2001. The DVD was introduced.
- 2006 Blu-ray players were introduced globally.
- 2014. HDTV became the broadcast television standard…as 4k TVs started to roll out.
- 2016. What's a boombox?
Truthfully, I still have a boombox in my garage. The radio still has a great sound—but I must confess the biggest reason I keep it is for sentimental value. That's probably okay when it comes to a boombox.
But that's NOT okay when it comes to the way we think and do ministry. Or personal evangelism. I wonder. Are we guilty of boombox living in a Bluetooth world? Do we speak and preach and share Christ using the same moldy old methods?
Of course the gospel message cannot and must not change. The Bible is still the Bible. But are we just offering what we've always done in the ways that we've always done it?
This is not your father's America. If this very pagan nation will be reached, it will take much more than boombox living in a Bluetooth world.