Reliving the Dream

Proverbs 29:18a "Where there is no vision, the people perish..."

Our family just got back from a trip to California where I got to live out a childhood dream of going to Disneyland. Disneyland officially opened on July 18, 1955. On Sunday, July 17, 1955, Disneyland hosted a live TV preview, among the thousands of people in attendance were Ronald Reagan, Bob Cummings and Art Linkletter, who shared cohosting duties, as well as the mayor of Anaheim. My fondest memories from childhood were the black and white days of Disney and the Mickey Mouse Club. Never missed a single program.

While in Disneyland I watched and saw a video again of it's planning stages and grand opening. I heard Walt Disney give the following dedication day speech which triggers some very fond memories. He said:
"To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

What a thought and vision. Walt Disney's dreams have had an influence on the world even since his death in 1966. Almost 50 years later his influence is still affecting the world.

As much as the Disney story still inspires me, I regretfully feel that the institution that once "turned the world upside down" has lost it's way in 2011. The church should be a place where memories of good things are created and where the dreams and hopes of the future in heaven inspire us to do greater things than Jesus did to touch the world. Yet alas, somewhere we have lost our way.

It was never God's intention for the church just to become an institution. In fact, when it seemed it was going to become one He sent a wave of Pentecost upon people hungry for God and once again shook up the church. Whether it was in the mountains of North Carolina, the plains of Kansas, the streets of LA, or even recently in the Gulf Coast region of Florida, God has always sent the Holy Spirit when the church began to broach the form of an institution.

Let me break it down this way:
-God intended for the church to be a happy place-a place where people that where lost could find their way and receive a life-changing experience.

-God wanted the church to be the focal point of ministry here on earth to the world and it's needs, not just a place that was inclusive of a small handful that ignored the needs of the poor, lost, and hurting.

-God wanted the church to be a place of worship, joy, inspiration, dedication, and never ending faith. His plans were not just for mega-campuses and high tech ministries, but to simply be a gathering place of praise and communion with Him.

Through highs and lows the dream of Walt Disney still touches millions around the world daily. Can we truthfully say that about us in and through the church?

Acts 4:31 "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."

God, please help us to relive our dreams and see visions of what we are supposed to be and can be if we trust in You. Amen!