TonyRMoran.com

Here’s what I know:

I know that when I fist ride a ride at an amusement park, if it’s a good one, I am so pumped when the ride is over and all I want to do is ride it again.  But, typically if the ride is that good and it’s a busy part od the year, the line will be too long and I move on to the next attraction.  All the while I can’t get that one ride out of my head.

By now you all know that I love Disney World.  That being said, where I go next shouldn’t surprise you at all.  When I first rode the Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios in Orlando, FL it was like a little piece of greatness was with me for the rest of the trip.  I truly cannot begin to describe to you how much I enjoyed it.  First, it’s important to tell you that we had to wait in line for a very long time.  So the fact that the ride was so good made the wait worth it.  And … we rode it again.  However it was a vacation and we had to move on to other parks and other attractions.  For the next two years from time to time, here ad there I would think about that ride and how great it was.  And then … finally … the time had come.  We had booked our next trip to Disney and then we were able to ride it again and again.

Fast forward approx. 6-7 years and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rode the Tower of Terror.  I lost track at around, oh I don’t know, 50.  Part of that has to do with the fact that we lived in Florida for a while and visited Disney over and over.  The other part is just other vacations.  I know, by now you’re wondering, “Where the heck is he going with all this Disney talk?”  Good question…

If you ever become a nerd and get really in to Disney World you’ll browse the web and find other sites that talk about all things Disney.  One of the most prominent topics that is talked about is the fact that it only gets better the more you go there and the more you ride the rides.  The reason is simple.  Walt Disney has truly thought of everything.  Due to that, you can’t possibly notice all there is to notice in one go around.  The more you visit, the more you’ll come across things and notice details that you didn’t even know existed before.  And, they didn’t add these new things you’re experiencing, there is just so much to see and do you can’t take it all in at once.  The point is simple … it gets better and better each time you visit.

A few days ago I was riding in the backseat of a car on the way to a pizza joint here in Oklahoma City … you may have heard of it … Old Chicago?  Anyways, on the way there the question was posed by one of my co-workers, “What creates spiritual maturity?”  That question was posed to all of us in the vehicle and no one had the answer he was looking for.  All of the answers that were given were great answers, but they didn’t get the gold star.  The gold star was given to the person who said the following: “Spiritual maturity is created by being repetitive.” (see video)

What were the answers that were throw out by others in the car?  Prayer, reading your bible, going to church, having an accountability partner.  You know … all the usual suspects.  Prayer is great, and so is reading your Bible, going to church and all that stuff.  However, if we just do these things once or only here and there we’ll never know the true greatness that they each hold.  We can’t possibly take it all in at once.  God is so big and so complex that in order for us to mature in our faith we must do these things over and over and over and over.  You get the point.

So, how do we accomplish this?  It takes dedication and more importantly it takes discipline.

Let me know what you do to create spiritual maturity in your life…

I can remember when I first became interested in Youth Ministry thinking to myself, “There’s no way I’ll be able to do this and pay my bills.” I’d, now, be willing to bet that if I were hanging out with a large number of Youth Ministers a good number of them would say they felt the same way.  Youth Minister’s pay scales are right up there with public school teachers.  Or is it?

Without talking numbers I can tell you that I feel as though my pay, in numbers, matters not compared to the benefits I receive because of the job I have.  Let me take it a step further.  As a medical doctor, let’s say a surgeon, you get paid very well, in numbers.  However, if you really love your job and you take the time to see what it is you are REALLY doing, you’d see that you’re making someone’s life possible to be truly lived.  Regardless of if the surgery that you’re performing is major or minor, you’re making that person’s life possible.  Let’s take a minute to let that soak in…

Now, for myself I can equate that feeling to when I see a student get it for the first time.  As I see them progress throughout their spiritual life and mature more and more each time we meet I get a raise in pay.  Not literally, but spiritually, I get a raise.  Now, that being said, I believe it is important to note that not all Youth ministers get paid poorly.  In fact I would say that my pay is very fair.  But, above and beyond that, the benefits are incredible.

I love music and I get to play music because of my job.  I love video games and I get to play video games because of my job.  I love seeing new faces walk into a church and because of my job, I get to see that happen.  I love leading people to Christ and because of my job I have so many opportunties to do that.  I could go on and on about the things I love about my job.  The reaility is this:

If you ask me, “Why would anyone want to be a youth minister?” My answer would be simple. “The benefits are great!”

My assumption here is that others that are in ministries, maybe not even youth ministry, but others feel the same way.  Maybe some don’t.  Comment below if you feel the need to express what you love or dislike about ministry, paid or volunteer I’d love to hear from you.

So, this post is certainly different from my others thus far.  However, I want people to know there’s more to me and my family than just church leadership and deep thoughts.  That being said, prepare yourself.  My passion for Disney World runs deep, and who knows, my thoughts may run deeper than you’d think also. Let’s start with a top ten countdown, if you will.  Ten reasons everyone should visit Disney World during their life (many times).

10- Everybody needs to see the “Real” Mickey Mouse at least once during their lifetime and certainly many times.  My 19 month old son sees Mickey on TV and all he can get out is a, “Mouse… Mouse … Mouse…”  I can only imagine the joy he’ll have on his face when he sees the “Real” Mickey for the first time … or maybe he’ll just freak out.  Either way it’ll be fun for me!

9- Dreams really do come true.  The attention to detail that the Walt Disney company gives to each and every thing they do at their parks, resorts, restaurants and really everywhere is incredible.

8 – Everyone that works for Disney (cast members) are flat out the friendliest people I’ve ever come across when frequenting theme parks.  YOU really are their first priority from the moment you step on the property until the moment you leave.  They are excited that YOU are there. (and it really seems genuine)

7 – No matter where you are in the world (most) people will know who/what Disney is.  Anything that BIG should be visited.  Don’t cha think?

6 – Dole Whip.  Probably the neatest tasting ice cream type treat one could imagine.  Visit the Magic Kingdom and give it a whirl.  It’s located near Pirates of the Carribean.

5 – Expedition Everest.  A roller coaster thrill ride located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  You’ll walk into a theme park that is “not a zoo” but you’ll end up being chased through Mount Everest by a Yetti. Watch out, the tracks have been ripped up and there’s nowhere to go but back and down and all around.

4 – The Rockin’ Roller Coaster.  This one is located at Disney’s Hollywood studios.  Aerosmith is playing tonight and you don’t wanna miss the show.  You’re already late but don’t worry, the guys have hooked you up with a stretch limo that goes faster than the average limo.  It’ll get you there but you may have to make some sharp turns.

3 – The Tower of Terror.  You’ll find this gem right next to the Rockin’ roller Coaster at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  You gotta take the maintenance elevator to get to your room, the only problem is, this elevator travels to places unknown.  That … and the cables have snapped.

2- There’s something for everybody.  It doesn’t matter if you’re taking your 22 month old in September (me and my wife) or if you’re chronologically superior.  You will find something that appeals to you.  I promise.  If you don’t believe me test it out for yourself.

1 – Night of Joy.  This is the only “belief-based” event that Disney themselves sponsor.  Well, this and the reading of the Christmas story every night throughout the Christmas season at EPCOT.  Night of Joy is a Christian music festival, if you will, that happens every September, currently happening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2009. Many folks believe that Disney sponsors other events, not to be named because this post is not about that, but you may or may not know what I’m talking about.  However, Disney does not sponsor those events.  That’s to say, it’s not “put on” by Disney themselves. Night of Joy, however, is “put on” by Disney.  And it’s just as great as anything else Disney does.  All throughout the park for two nights you’ll find various well known Christian music artists/praise & worship leaders doing what God has blessed them with the capability of doing.  It’s incredible to see a magical place like that have the presence of God … EVERYWHERE.

So … what can we learn?  Churches can stand to learn a lot from many different companies.  Disney just happens to be one of my favorite and so I write from this stand point.  Up front I’ll say the following: Churches should not be a business.  They do have a need to run similar to a successful business from time to time.  Good leadership, great visions, a thought process that is so focused its unbelievable and the talent to pull it off is all needed to accomplish the goals that God sets before us. So, let’s back track.  I’ll number these as I did the top ten but note that these are in no order, they coincide with the above but are all equally as important as the one before and after each.

10 – Everyone needs to see the “real” Jesus everywhere they go.  It is our job as Christians to show people the “real” Jesus, not the one that some like to paint a picture of.  Jesus does not hate you, He is not waiting for you to fail, He wants to see you succeed and He loves you.

9 & 8 – Churches should give great detailed attention to everything they do.  We should give our best.  Anyone who walks in the doors should know that we do what we do because we love the Lord and we love them … they are welcome and we are here for them.

7 – No matter where you go, wouldn’t it be neat if people knew who Jesus was?  Not, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of Him…” Wouldn’t it be neat if they really “KNEW” Jesus?  I think so.

6 – Dole Whip is placed in a location where if you make one BIG circle around the park throughout the day, you’ll hit this little hut right before you’re about to enter back into the front of the park in order to exit the park.  It meets a need.  We’re tired, a nice cold treat would be great right about now, and then, there it is.  People make BIG circles throughout life and no matter where they are they have different needs.  Some may think I’m stretching this one, but I think not.  Disney takes time to evaluate where people are, when they’re there and how often a certain need is present.  Some churches could stand to do the same.  The question here is, how do we identify a need and how do we identify how to meet that need and when do we execute? (hmmm I smell another Blog post)

5, 4 & 3 – The rides listed above under these numbers all have a few things in common.  They’re tons of fun, very detailed, and very big.  This one is simple, I won’t go into great detail here because I want you to think about it.  How detailed is your church?  How big is your church? Not in size or numbers, but in the impact that it’s making.  And … how much fun is your church?  because it sure should be fun.  Jesus … is not boring.

2 – Most churches do indeed have something for everybody.  However, this one isn’t always a definite.  Some churches may feel led to appeal to only a certain group of people, a certain age range, or just there own unique blend.  Whatever it is, it needs to be “you.”  Though Disney may have something for everybody, it’s because that’s who they are.  What kind of leader are you, and what kind of church is God calling you to be?  Find it and run for it.

1 – One might think that Disney would be hurting itself by closing it’s park off to only Christians for 2 nights (Night of Joy).  First, they don’t say you have to be Christian to come.  Many of the people who walk in the park on those 2 nights are Christian, but some aren’t, and some of those who aren’t may just be impacted by what happens and that may lead to a changed life.  Is that Disney’s goal?  Maybe not.  But it happens.  Churches, we know this one already to be true, but we should exist to transform lives.  That’s it.  Plain and simple … we need to be transforming lives and those people need to feel that it is so contagious that they go out and lead others to do the same thing.

Well, there you have it.  Some may feel as though I stretched my way through a few of those points.  Again, I say no … I love Disney so maybe for me these things make perfect sense.  If you agree great, I’d love to hear from you.  If you don’t, great, I’d love to hear from you as well.  If you’re interested in knowing more about Disney’s leadership you should check out the Disney Institute.  You can follow the link and get all the info they have to offer.  It truly is an incredible company that has lived, learned and is tried and true.

Have a nice day!

Immediately as I look at the very title of this post I can’t help but think of those that won’t even read it because of their mind block.  Then on the other hand I think of those that will read it due to the interest they have and the arguments they are already making inside their heads.  Well, regardless of where you fall, welcome to this blog post:

About 5 years ago I was hanging with some friends at a 24 hour breakfast joint.  The conversation was spiritual in matter but hardly theological.  Then, it turned.  One of the guys we were hanging with, whom I believed to be a fairly strong follower of Christ, said the following statement, “Christianity isn’t about having a relationship with Christ.  If all it is about is that relationship that churches preach about all the time it turns into something that’s all about us.  Christianity isn’t all about us and we’re not as important as we think we are.  If we’re not as important as we think we are then why would Jesus want to have a relationship with us?” (a few of those words were recalled and may not be exactly what was said, but the main point was stated).

Inside my head, I flipped out!  No joke.  Mainly because I thought highly of this person… You can imagine there were some words exchanged across the table and although it never turned violent I sure thought it could at any moment.  People are passionate about what they believe and he truly believed what he had said was a factual statement.  Now, from here I could proceed by talking to you about how wrong I think he was and probably still is or I can go a different route.  I think I’ll go that other route … if you will…

Is a relationship with Christ important?  You bet it is.  But…

If someone you believed in, someone you thought highly of, someone who held a position of some sort of power said to you that it really wasn’t that important to have a relationship with Christ and that there were other ways to seek Christianity, you’d most likely think there were some validity to what this person was saying to you.  That’s exactly what happened with this friend of mine.  He was “fooled” by a spiritual leader in his life into thinking that a relationship with Christ wasn’t the end all solution to christianity.  Now, although I do believe a relationship with Christ should be something we seek, I’d also say there’s more to it than just that.  But, what are some pastors thinking?  I’ve been in church services before were a pastor has said some things that made me go, “Hmmm?!?!”

I think we have to begin to understand how important and how fragile our role as leaders are. Obviously, here, I’m speaking to church leaders, but not just paid staff.  Many of us are leaders in the church but don’t get paid to be there. A leader’s role in the church is more important than some treat it.  Some of us walk around, becoming more egotistical, and saying what we think should be held true as opposed to what is true. Just as we should understand how fragile our role as a church leader is we also need to realize how fragile those that we are leading can be.  When we hold a position of power, we influence people and although some may see right through our plot to grow our own church as opposed to growing God’s church, others will believe every word we say.  Those that are new Christians or are just discovering church are more likely the “most” fragile ones, but it can happen to anybody.

If we’re honest we’d say we like it when people follow us.  It makes us feel good.  That’s where we have to begin to fight that human instinct to puff up our chest, enjoy it a little too much and then fall into Satan’s trap of preaching a self inspired message as opposed to a God breathed message.  My guess is that whoever told my friend that a relationship with Christ wasn’t as important as he had once thought was probably struggling in his relationship with Christ.  This person had probably come to a compromise in his life to make himself feel better because of his shortcomings in his walk with God.  We all have those shortcomings.  None of us are perfect.  That doesn’t give us the right to compromise our Christianity with a compromise.  Better yet, that doesn’t give us the right to compromise some else’s walk with God because of our own compromise that we’ve made.

That compromise can be very dangerous. For example: Let’s say we’re on vacation.  Let’s say we’re in Europe.  As soon as we get settled in to our hotel room we find that we’ve brought no converter with us for our electronics. However we truly have a need to use that electric razor and we need to blow dry our hair and charge our phones, etc.  We really need these things. So we decide to compromise. We push and shove our devices plugs into an outlet that isn’t made for them even though we know it’s a bad idea.  But, we really need these things to work for us.  Eventually we begin to see sparks.  After a little more pushing and shoving we realize we’ve started a fire.  Before we know it the alarms are sounding, people are scrambling and mass chaos has taken over.  All of this because we needed something.  What has been caused is a direct result of our own selfish need and desire for our “something” to work the way we want it to.  So we compromised.

A burning building is far less valuable than the lives of the people we are leading.

So I ask the following questions: What message do you preach?  It doesn’t matter if you’re a pastor, paid, not paid, volunteer, or simply a believer.  We all speak a message.  Is it God’s message? or … Is it your message?  Have you compromised?  If so, is your compromise influencing your message?  In your message is a relationship with Christ important or not?

I know what I believe, but I’d love to hear from you…

Up front I want to say that my inspiration for this post came from the following web-site: tuaw.com. The article isn’t necessarily an inspirational piece by any means but the comments below the article struck something inside of me.  One user posted that it doesn’t matter to him how much the new iPhone costs, he just wants it…no matter what. (paraphrase)

My question on this one is simple: Do you want happiness or do you want more technology?  It seems as though we have entered into a world that allows us to “feel” happy even when we’re not.  How does it foster this type of environment?  Good question.  Allow me to elaborate.

Personally, I feel good when I get a new toy.  So you need to know that as I write this post on my beautiful MacBook with my wireless aluminum keyboard and utilize my wireless famed “Mighty Mouse” it just feels great! Hold on a sec … I’m getting a phone call……..

Ahhh, that felt great to pick up my iPhone 3G, answer it and then talk on it.  Hopefully you sense the sarcasm and understand that while I do enjoy those things, they don’t truly make me happy.  Happiness is something deeper than what man made objects can brings us.  For myself I believe that if we seek happiness from these man made toys we will fail each time miserably.  See, what happens is inevitable.  Eventually my iPhone 3G will be out of date.  The moment I walked out of the Apple Store with my MacBook it became out of date.  Tomorrow my wireless keyboard will be a thing of the past as will it’s partner in crime the “Mighty Mouse.”  So, in order to continue my happiness I must spend more money, possibly fall deeper into debt, and then repeat the cycle all over again within a year or less.  Have I been guilty of this vicious circle?  Absolutely!  Have I realized the error of those ways?  You bet!  I don’t need to spend money to find happiness, or do I?

Joy is what we really want.  Even if we don’t know that fact to be true, we seek joy without even realizing it.

Luke 2:10 “I bring you good tidings of great JOY.”

John 14:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that my JOY may remain in you, and that your JOY may be full.”

John 16:23 ” And in that day you will ask me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive, that your JOY may be full.”

It doesn’t appear as though this “JOY” … this “happiness” … if you will, can be purchased.  In fact it’s almost as if “JOY” is something we already have but sometimes runs low.  Jesus is clear to remind us that if we seek Him and ask of Him, in His name he will fill our “JOY” to the top.  Scripture is also clear that what Jesus brings is forever.  One day you and I will no longer be on this earth.  We will be in eternity with the Lord or in eternity seperated from the Lord.  Either way we will no longer have the “things” of this world with us.  Picture a cup of water that eventually runs dry after we drink it.  We drink the water because we thirst.  The water quenches our thirst and gives us strength and nutrients our body needs to continue on throughout life.  Eventually that cup will be empty and we must refill it so that we can drink again. That cup of water takes care of the physical side of our life.  But, what about the spiritual side?  Even people who don’t believe in God are usually, in some sense, spiritual.  Well, according to scripture, Jesus fills that “spiritual cup” like no one else can, or better yet, like nothing else can.

So I pose the following questions: Do you agree?  And it’s okay if you don’t, I want to hear from you. What is happiness?  What is joy?  Where do we find it?  What fills your “JOY”? And last but not least: As of right now, what makes YOU happy?

I have my thoughts, but I’d love to hear what you think.

So, for my first official post on this web-site I’ve chosen to briefly discuss a question that has been on my mind for some time.  It seems as though the churches I have been a part of all have some things in common.  First, they are all full of people that are passionate about Jesus Christ.  Second, they each have very good programs that are in place.  Third, the people that are in the church are hungry for more.  Last, and I’m sure there are more similarities, they each seem to be asking the questions, “What’s next?’ and “How do we move forward?”

My mind goes in the direction of, “Why do we need to move forward?” and, “What do you mean what’s next?”

That being said I do believe it’s a good question to ask.  For myself I can remember reading Craig Groeschel’s book, “IT: How to get IT and keep IT” (http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/).  I couple that with what I’ve learned from Thom S. Rainer & Eric Geiger’s book, “Simple Church” (http://twitter.com/thomrainer). The fact is simple: Church needs to always be moving forward no matter where you currently are and each individual church needs to be looking for their “IT”.  Craig is very careful in his book to say that what his church has isn’t always the “IT” that every other church needs.  What each church needs is their own “IT”.  Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger make it a complex task to find that “IT” by saying, “Make church simpler, take away some of the things you’re doing, lessen your schedule, do less, but do those things very well.” (paraphrase)

There lies the question I pose.  If in order to find the “IT”, we need to simplify, and in order to simplify we have to see where we need to cut back, and when we cut back we know it will be painful for some of our people and leaders … How does a church move forward?

I have my thoughts, but I’d love to hear what you think.