DISNEY MAGIC – Story (Part 3)

There are not too many other companies in the world who can tell a story like Disney. Walt Disney was the king of telling stories when he was alive. In fact, he personally never created a sequel because he believed in originality and creating good stories. If you know anything about Disney, you know they lost their way for quite a few years until the purchase of PIXAR, which in my opinion had far eclipsed Disney in the storytelling category. Now that Disney owns PIXAR—Disney is back on top!

Storytelling is why Disneyland never grows old. It’s why I go at least twice a month. There rides are not as thrilling as Six Flags or Cedar Point, but their ability to tell a story and tell it well resonates inside most people. Disney captures your imagination and brings you to a place of awe. They tap into your imagination and bring characters to life.

The church has the greatest story to tell. In fact, there are tons of true stories in the Bible leading and preparing the way for The Story—Jesus Christ. It bums me out sometimes to see that we don’t capitalize on this story. We don’t tell Him well or present Him well to those who don’t know Him. Because of that people are free to come up with assumptions about Christ that simply isn’t true.

How are you presenting Christ in your ministry? I know you don’t have the millions of dollars that Disney has to bring stories to life, but there are things that don’t cost a lot:

1. Plan ahead. Get ahead of the game. Put some thought behind what and how you teach.
2. Practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter how simple your ministry is or how you do it. Practice it and do it with excellence.
3. Do the best you can with what you have. Tap into your pool of talented people. Find the artists, designers, carpenters and dream up the possibilities.

I’m a firm believer that if we are faithful and to the best with what we have now, God will provide a way for us to have more. More tools, more talent, more kids, more opportunities, etc…

PJ

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jsmith@churchleaders.com'
Justyn Smith is married to an amazing wife and is a father to five children. He is the children's pastor at South Hills Church in Corona, CA and has a passion to help other children’s pastors become great leaders in their local church and ministry. He consults, writes, and is a frequent conference speaker. Justyn is the host of Celera Kidmin (click http://www.celeragroup.org/network-coaching/kidmin.aspx for more info) and has recently been named one of "Children's Ministry Magazine's" Top 20 to Watch. Twitter: pastorjustyn Facebook: facebook.com/pastorjustyn