Brain Bombs Archive

In June I attended a workshop on "Managing Creativity" sponsored by Leadership Network and the Disney Institute in Orlando. Although I didn't get to see much of Disney during the day and half I attended the workshop, I was introduced to enough of it to have some interesting thoughts. Here are some of them.

After less than two hours at Disney I thought "Wouldn't it be exciting if our churches cared enough about welcoming strangers as does Disney?" Every Disney employee I met welcomed me as if they really were glad to see me. Of course I knew why they were glad to see me....I was paying their salary. Perhaps it is time to regularly train our staffs and the leaders of congregations to welcome the stranger.

After a few hours, it was apparent that everyone who works at Disney knows the Disney story... how it got started, what Walt dreamed of creating, and what role they play in creating the Disney drama each day. Every person understood that they were a cast member of a giant play. What would change in your church if every leader understood that they were a cast member in the great drama of divine intervention into this world?

It was also soon apparent that Disney had a code of conduct such as not smoking or chewing gum on the premises, saying "Good Morning," "Good Evening," "Good Afternoon" instead of "Hello," or upon seeing someone taking a picture of their family asking if they could take it for them so the family member could be in the picture. Simple things, but things that showed the people of Disney were prepared to make anyone's trip to Disney an experience they would not forget. What if our church leaders were prepared to make Sunday morning an unforgettable experience?

It also occurred to me that the code of conduct gave Disney the appearance of direction. Church Mission Statements are comparable to the Disney code of conduct. They help guests understand what your church is all about and where it is going, not to mention they give direction to how your church makes decisions. Consider how it would change the stranger's view of your church if every person they asked, "What is this church all about?" was able to give them the same response?

I experienced the power of direction while visiting Trinity Church in Chicago (pastor Jeremiah Wright). Every person I asked to describe the mission of church, including a six-year-old, gave me the same answer: "We are unashamed black and unapologetically Christian." Anyone who visits that church has no trouble discovering its mission.

Disney also confirmed the ancient/future thing that many of us futurists talk about. The old and the future exist side by side at Disney, from pavilions to visit to old bricks running into new forms of pavement. It's not unusual to see postmodern churches that are experimenting with blending the old and the new. I don't mean that they throw a few praise choruses in with the hymns. Far more than that. I mean candles, creeds, art, stained glass, video clips, projection systems, surround sound, hymns, Pearl Jam, Gregorian chant, etc. all mixed throughout a service.

The Disney presenters referred to the importance of leaders letting the "inner child" out. In the context of "Managing Creativity" that means that creativity is often a product of getting in touch with the child within us and exploring the meaning of things around us. What if your leaders constantly asked "why".... "Why isn't this working?" or "Why can't we try that?" So much of the creativity at Disney comes from people who have a playful attitude. Could the same be true for our churches?

One more thing about the inner child. The ability to let the "inner child" out is one of the main things that separates most people born after 1945 from most people born before 1945. Consider this response from one of the young pastors on my Listserve: "This (the inner child comment) hits me right where God has led me over the last 6 years since seminary. I struggle with how to do this in the context of leadership - I know when to be serious and when to goof, but because I have been set so free to be the kid I am and God is creating me to be, it seems that for others it is difficult for them to accept me as a leader. (I may be projecting my fear of failure onto them, but I don't think so.) Are there any 'kid leaders' who would be good mentors/encouragers who have seminars, books, videos, whatever?"

Over and over, the Disney presenters focused us on the phrase "Yes, and...." instead of "Yes, but...." Their emphasis was on providing an atmosphere in which teams are encouraged to expand on one another's idea, adding a creative touch to the original idea. Idea strings (one good thought often leads to another in the right environment) are one of the primary benefits of teams that say "Yes, and..." instead of "Yes, but..."

"What happens in your church when someone comes up with a new idea? What systems do you have in place to encourage new ideas? Is your church a permission-giving or permission-withholding environment?"

Disney demonstrates that the experience begins in the parking lot. All along the pathway from the parking lot to the entrance, speakers played the Disney music, helping guests get in the mood. The parking lot was immaculate. Everything played to a theme. The landscaping was incredible.

I had my beliefs-in paying people to make mistakes, promoting staff horizontally and letting them choose different ministries every year or so, and doing away with job descriptions-reinforced and confirmed at the Institute. Many of the people at Disney have had multiple jobs over long-term tenures. One of the persons who trained us had been with Disney for twenty-five years and had held numerous jobs including starting out driving a tram.

Why not do away with job descriptions and free people up to make mistakes from which they can learn instead of asking them to fulfill a predescribed set of tasks? We are discovering that Gen Xers rarely will not do the same job over and over for years. Six months to a year is tops for most of those with talent. So if they excel, let them have "roaming" jobs and cross-train them for many ministries and let them flow in and out of them over time.

One of the ideas that was generated in our group discussions was the possibility of using "touch" video walls in the church lobby. All people have to do is touch the part of the screen that they wish to know more about and it instantly displays the information. Of course, we must remember that if you use high tech you must be sure to give high touch.

I walked away from my Disney experience quietly praying - "God, what will it take for your people to care as much about sharing Jesus with strangers?"