It Is a Small World

I recently returned home from Florida where I helped chaperon 320 high school musicians on a six day trip to Disney. On the third day of that trip I found myself wandering the streets of the Magic Kingdom on a Sunday morning instead of leading worship in my congregation. We had turned the clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time in the middle of the night so there were relatively few people in the park when it opened. It was the best way for me to experience the Magic Kingdom but Disney’s nightmare: A individual walking the park alone without any lines to wait in and with no desire to buy a souvenir.

The first attraction that caught my eye was the infamous “It’s a Small World” ride. I hadn't been on that ride since the first time I visited the park in 1976. I don’t know why it called out to me that morning but I jokingly thought to myself that this would be penance for missing worship on a Sunday morning.  So I walked through the maze of metal guardrails and climbed aboard the aqua-colored plastic boat and began floating down the twisting canal of this world-famous ride.

Now, if you've never been on this ride the basic premise is to introduce people to the variety of cultures around the world while showing that we aren't so different after all. As you float past vignettes of various countries, small, animatronic children dressed in native garb sing “It’s A Small World” over and over in different languages.

By the time my floating chariot rounded the third corner I was regretting my decision. Halfway through I thought, “How long is this going to last?” A creepy feeling began to grow in the pit of my stomach as I continued to float past panorama after panorama of 1960’s cultural stereotypes. When the ride finally ended and I emerged into the beautiful, warm sunshine I had that song stuck in my head. Some might say that was a fair trade for missing worship.

What started a joke in my mind pulled me into deeper reflection about the church and what we offer to the world. Certainly I believe there is more to what we offer in the church than a 15 minute ride at Disney.  But then I can also see that what was offered to the public in the 1960’s with great sincerity can now seem stereotypical and cliché. What was once meant to open people’s eyes to a deeper and wider reality can seem a bit creepy and out of date. And yet, someone on the trip told me that Disney once announced that it was planning to dismantle the ride and build something else but the outcry from park patrons was so strong they decided to keep it.

I can only imagine the cost of maintaining that old ride at Disney. I wonder how much of it is original and how much has been replaced with identical parts over time. I can picture the Disney Imagineers, itching to use that space for a new ride that will draw more people to the park, frustrated by a lack of vision for the future.

I spent the rest of the day looking at the similarities of the Magic Kingdom and the church. I saw a lot of similarities and some significant differences. I saw the way both are influenced by culture and, in turn, influence the culture. In a weird way I came to see some things about the church that I hadn't expected to see by spending a day away from it and looking at something else.

But those will have to wait until my next post.