Disney and Jesus

Don't worry. Before you quit reading let me just say that I'm not comparing Mickey to Jesus. There...now you can breathe easier. However, my short-lived experiences at Disney World have got me thinking about a few things.

Amy and I got our Disney passes recently, which is awesome!!! We had been saving up for them and the day had finally arrived to cash in our life fortune and get our season passes. Allow me to explain the process. Amy and I pulled off the interstate and drove for several miles, easily finding our way by all of the Disney signs. We arrived at Epcot, were waved to a parking spot, and picked up by a tram that brought us to the entrance. We bought our season passes, entered the park, and jumped in line for our first ride (Spaceship Earth). This entire process took 15 minutes from the time we parked our car. That doesn't seem like a big deal so let me say it again. In 15 minutes, I had parked, ridden a tram, bought tickets, and made it to my first ride. That is absolutely amazing! It was so simple...so easy. In 15 minutes Amy and I had been added to the Disney community and were experiencing the "magic."

As I waited in line for Spaceship Earth, I thought about Jesus. I thought about the passage where Jesus says that the "harvest if plentiful" (Luke 10:2). There are multitudes of people waiting to experience the "magic" of knowing Jesus, but don't ever make it because the process is made so difficult. I know the comparison of coming to know Jesus and obtaining a season pass is a thin one, but hear me out. Starting a relationship with Jesus is simple! How often we want people to talk a certain way, look a certain way, and know all the right things in order to be brought into relationship with Him. That just isn't the case, though. Jesus accepts people instantly right where they are, no strings attached. Isn't that amazing?

P.S. I'm not saying that you can have a relationship with Jesus and live however you want. I am saying, however, that change is gradual and that Jesus is patient. Just like with any growing relationship, it takes time and getting to know the other person.

National New Churches Conference

I went to the National New Churches Conference (April 23-26) and was blown away at how awesome it was! There is so much to say about it, but first I wanted to mention how great it was to see church leaders from so many different denominations come together in one place, like-minded, and to stand and believe for the future of the church. Incredible!! Church has never been about worship styles, spiritual gifts, etc. It's about relationship with Jesus and relationship with people...and that starts with the people God puts right in front of us.

It was great to see Tim and Le'Chelle Johnson, Morgan and Loretta Bates, Joey Bonifacio and of course, my great friends Keith and Jennifer Tower. We are all part of the same ministry, Every Nation Ministries, and are all in the church plant process (I'm not in the photo...don't mistake me for Joey...a common mistake. I was talking to Morgan and Loretta, who aren't in the picture, either). To make a long story short, this conference was a great moment for me to step back and see the magnitude of God's kingdom and appreciate not just my place in it, but that I have even been granted the privilege to be a part of it at all.