While at Disney World a couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I rode the "Tower of Terror." The ride itself was not the greatest (especially for my 8 year-old), but something happened on the ride that made a memory.
The ride is basically a replica of a 1930's hotel that has sat vacant for 70 years - complete with cobwebs and old couches and chairs. As you get to your turn, you and a group of 12-15 people enter a library where a bell hop asks you to watch a short video. It is the Twilight zone. Apparently a group of people boarded the elevator you are about to ride and slipped into the...The Twilight Zone.
While that was great and neat, here's where the day got memorable.
As the lights came back on two Disney Cast Members were standing by the door. They asked for every one's attention and announced that since this was the year of a million dreams, they were giving away stuff all the time and everyone in this room is a winner! We all won a fast pass to every ride at Hollywood Studios! We cheered, we high-fived. We were elated.
Now, I could make this post about how we need to figure out how to exceed expectations as a church or community. We need to surprise people with good stuff. We need to build anticipation every week so people are excited to come back. I could do that, but the cynic in me won't let me (for a variety of reasons).
Here's where our prize got interesting. We finished the ride and gathered our thoughts to decide where we would use this new treasure. The first place we went wasn't going to open for another 2 hours (and we would be gone by then). The second place informed us that they didn't use the Fast Pass anymore. The next ride we had already ridden and didn't want to ride again. The fourth ride was too little for my daughter (and my 5 year-old had already ridden it). The fifth ride was too scary for my 8 year-old. And so we rode the only ride that we could. The regular line was not any longer than the Fast Pass. We gained nothing by winning! And they took the tab off the Fast Pass for that ride so we couldn't even use it again.
Here's my point. How often do we think we are offering something great when in reality what we are giving people they really can't use? We need to think through how great we really think we are (as a church, as a business, as a ministry, etc). Maybe the dreams we are giving away aren't all that dreamy.
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