Church and Disney World.

One week from today we will be on our way to Orlando, Fl. for a week of all things Disney. I was thinking this morning that so much has changed since Disney world opened, but they have still remained a family vacation "must experience." My wife has great memories of going to the original park over thirty years ago and my four year old is beside herself with excitement to see "Cinderellas Castle".

How have they stayed "relevant" to culture for all these years? How do they keep attracting record crowds? How have they kept "the magic" for all these years?

Here's some observations I have now and I will keep my eyes open for more as we visit the parks.

1. Disney went multi-cite. They have launched 3 new parks MGM, Animal Kingdom, and Epcot to provide more options for visitors.
2. They stuck with their "brand". Even though they have launched into many different areas of entertainment they have been true to their initial "vision" and relentlessly promoted their brand.

3. Creativity! Disney "imagineers" have had their failures over the years but they are consistently ahead of the curve in all things creative!

4. They have embraced all new media.

When Disney was founded home movie viewing and the Internet didn't exist, but they have embraced and dominated those media venues.
5. Disney understands it's about serving people! I am always amazed how well Disney "cast members" welcome and serve their guests...nobody does it better!

I think all of these concepts are very important tools in keeping our churches relevant-and full! It amazes me that the most exciting good news (Gift!) the world has ever received is consistently presented in the most boring and unflattering package! I am frankly sick to death of hearing complaints that "people just won't come to church" when so little effort is put into actually making it worth their time if they did show up! We could learn a lot from a "mouse"!