Walt Disney World & Your Local Church - Part 2

Walk into your church on an average Sunday morning. Probably there is a wall with many scuff marks that needs to be cleaned. Probably your Sunday School (or Small Group) room has a plain white wall. There is possibly a plumbing problem in the bathroom. Your auditorium is either (depending on your tradition) a gothic type structure that looks and smells like the middle ages or it is a plain functional room with very little to commend it. Hardly anyone knows what your mission is supposed to be. Your church possibly feels like a cold coporation or an out-of-date monument to a not-so-appealing past. Your pastor may give a boring little homily that can only elicit a "that's nice" at best or he goes into a detailed doctrinal explanation that makes you wish you were in someplace more appealing like the local hospital. You feel like you have to hide who you are for danger someone might find out and then there will be consequences!!! Did I mention that a great feeling of disorganization runs through the enterprise. And what about the suits and ties and the rest of the dress code? The only stories that are told there are done very poorly to the children. And gardening is limited to an artificial tree or two in the lobby.

PERHAPS WE ARE OVERSTATING THIS CASE A LITTLE, BUT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU DID FIND YOUR CHURCH DESCRIBED IN AT LEAST ONE OF THOSE STATEMENTS.

Well, it does not have to be that way. There are some things WDW can teach us about church life without compromising the Gospel or good doctrine (After all, a church can't teach that it's OK to be a Pirate of the Carribean). We'll examine what churches can learn from WDW without compromising what a church is and supposed to be about in our next post.

Walt Disney World & Your Local Church - Part 1

This past Saturday I went to a local mall with my wife. I allow myself book money so I won't be bored at the mall when my wife is in "women's stores". This week I bought an extraordinary new guide to Walt Disney World (WDW) I had not previously seen. It is filled with colorful pictures, colorful pages, and helpful information on planning your visit. It reminded me of my emotional connection to this place.

I visited California's Disneyland on my 7th birthday in 1977. I followed that with visits to WDW in Florida in 1980, 1988, 1995, and my honeymoon in 2004. On my honeymoon, after we had visited three of the four theme parks, I commented to my wife that this place gets to me at an emotional core level. You see, I don't just enjoy my trips to WDW, it is an emotional experience for me. Almost, do I dare say it, a religious experience.

Whoah, that started to sound like heresy. A theme park as religious experience for a Christian! How can that be! Well, to say the least, I have pondered this for some time now. Why would a saved person who believes in an inerrant Bible that should be lived view a collection of theme parks with religious significance? Dont' forget these are not "Christian theme parks' owned by Christians. These parks primarily exist to make money not spread God's love. They promote at times an unrealistic view of the world. They are open on Sunday! They even teach evolution at EPCOT!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!!!!!

NOTHING!

That's right. You see what I connect to emotionally at WDW are things like Beauty, Quality, Good Story-telling, Child-like Wonder, Creativity, Smiling, Laughing, and just plain fun. I like the fact that WDW is highly organized and has a good structure. I like the fact that they will do what it takes to fulfill their mission: to provide people happiness. I like the fact that WDW is a place for families to grow closer and bond together. I like the fact that WDW is a place where the troubles of the real world can be left behind for awhile. I like the fact that even though you are busy seeing and doing things, you are essentially resting while you are there. You are taking a Sabbath, so to speak. And it is possible to encounter God there.

What does WDW have to do with the local church? Plenty. And I'll tell you to begin with that most churches provide Very Few or None of the Above things I just mentioned. AND THAT IS A PROBLEM!!!

We'll explore this further in our next post.

"The Office" and Broken Dreams

As mentioned in a previous post, my wife and I have gotten into the show "The Office" (I don't remember if I mentioned my wife was into it too, but she is). We are are now 3/4 of the way through season two. The last episode we saw was "Take Your Daughter To Work Day".

In the middle of the episode, the lead character Michael Scott shows a video of himself on a children's program many years ago. In it he states his life dream is to get married and have a hundred kids so he would have a hundred friends. In reality, he is still single, has no kids, and in truth, very few (if any) friends. In the deleted scenes of the episode, we see where the receptionist Pam realizes she has not realized her dream of being an artist. Once again the dream is not reality at the time.

So many people have found themselves in the land of broken dreams. The marriage that did not happen. The career path we can't seem to find. Sometimes we just have no clue what to do. We start jobs we wanted to do (and even trained in college for) only to find out we hate the job. Sometimes we have a good idea of what we should do but don't know how to realize it. Even the knowledge of a divine call from God to a particular path does not seem to bring the dream about.

What shall we do? Well, as one who is in the middle of trying to discern the next step in God's path to the dream, I can only offer limited advice. But here goes.

1) Is this my dream or God's dream He knows us better than we know ourselves. Perhaps we need to review and make sure that our dream is God's dream (or if you prefer, vision) for us or is it one we have made up for ourselves.

2) Trust God's character This may be harder than we realize. But we have to trust that what the Bible says about God is actually true. And if he calls us to a particular path, he knows how to lead us down that path correctly.

3) Remember the Experiences of Bible people God' divine call on Joseph took him on a path through an Egyptian prison. God's divine call on David took him to wandering as a fugitive in the wilderness. God's divine call on Saul of Tarsus took him to 3 years in Arabia and probably 10 years of living at home in his hometown (possibly in his parent's house). In other words, God' s path does not always make human sense.

4) Avoid Good Distractions It's easy to forget your call while on the journey. If you land in a good job on the path to the dream, you can forget the dream and pursue the job instead. One of the hardest steps on my path was probably leaving a secular job I had landed to refocus on God's dream for me.

5) Avoid Bad Distractions This should seem obvious, but when we get discouraged on the path to the dream, the bad distractions can take us out.

6) Enjoy the Journey This is probably the hardest part for me personally. But the journey to the dream should be enjoyed, though it is sometimes hard to do this. Sometimes the hardest part of the vacation to a desired place (such as Walt Disney World) is enjoying the drive to get there. Yet, there can be enjoyable stops enroute (such as Rock City) that while not as good as the destination, can still be great fun.

7) Insert Point Seven Here OK, I have only six points, but leaving it at six just didn't seem right.

The advantage the Christian has over the characters on "The Office" is God. That's good. That's the best!

New Ideas for Where To Propose

We like to be very helpful at times, and we know that any single guy out there who has met that special someone and is ready to propose we want to help. Of course, I am talking about you guys that meet the following requirements:
1) You (the proposer) and the Her (the proposee) actually know each other.
This is more important than you may realize.
2) The Proposee actually has a romantic thing for you. This is also more
important than you may realize.
3) The Proposee is actually open to the idea of marriage. This is, once again,
more important than you may realize.
4) You have some means of getting a decent ring and anything else you might
need for the occassion. This is more important than.......you get the idea.
Once these requirements are met, you may proceed to proposing. You want to do something better than a jumbotron at a sports event or a moonlit gazebo setting. Here are ideas you may not have thought of.

The Barnes & Noble Proposal A used bookstore will not do. Sandwich the ring in the middle of a great book. Be careful with book content. A book on subjects like Monster Trucks, Outhouses, or Divorce will not be a good choice.

The Zamboni Proposal Arrange for a ride on top of the Zamboni at the local ice skating rink. Propose while cleaning the ice. One drawback is you will need to talk very loudly.

The Racing the Amish Proposal Pull up next to an Amish wagon at a stoplight and begin revving the image and when it turns green you blow the wagon off the road. She will be so impressed you can propose when you come to a stop. One drawback is you may spook the horses of the Amish wagon and cause him to have an accident and then get hit with a lawsuit.

The Glacier Proposal Hike up to a glacier and propose on top of it. Wear warm clothing. This is especially useful for a long engagement period, as you can say "we will get married as soon as this thing moves forty feet." The downside with this is you can fall through a crack on the glacier and get killed on the day you propose.

The Rattlesnake Roundup Proposal Find one in Texas (or some other Rattlesnake intensive area). Arrange to have the proposee get trapped inside a rattlesnake pit and then you can come and rescue her. She will be so grateful she will say yes. The downside to this one is that it requires both of you to avoid being bitten. It also requires both of you to be really stupid.

The Academic Lecture Proposal Find a boring academic giving a speech. The more boring the subject and the more boring the academic, the better. Propose during the speech starting off with the phrase "we can leave if.....". The downside is that the proposee may hate you intensively for bringing her here in the first place. She might actually prefer the Rattlesnake Roundup to this.

The Amazing Race Proposal Send the proposee around the world following various clues. Have her do stunts like feeding elephants in India or organizing sand in the Sahara along the way. Propose to her after she crosses the finish line. For extra efffect, hire Phil Koeggan to be standing there at the finish line with a grim look on his face and have him tell her that she came in first place and wins your engagement ring. The downside to this will be her memories of feeding elephants and organizing sand which will possibly make her less likely to accept.

The CSI Proposal You and your proposee tag along with..... Never mind.