Recently I spent a day at Disney's EPCOT Center in Orlando. But it wasn't a vacation day. A friend and fellow innovator, Dave Raley, founder of Imago Consulting, organized a special day for innovators called "Prototyping the Future." We spent the day with two executives from Plain Joe, a studio focused on helping organizations create powerful experiences that advance their mission. Phil Taylor, Executive Producer and an amateur Disney historian, Matt Ferguson, Chief Innovation Officer and a former Disney staff member, and Dave Raley were our guides for the day.
The first thing to highlight from this day is the intentionality of Walt Disney and the company he created. The number of intricate details that bring you into a place or a theme and carry you along is amazing. Disney's experiences really do amaze, educate and help you to reimagine things you think you already know. Disney has billions to be intentional and most of us have only pennies in comparison. But it is important to remember that intentionality doesn't have to cost millions of dollars. Creating immersive experiences requires thoughtfulness and understanding of the journey you are striving to lead your audience through. Designing spaces makes a difference!
As an example, I hosted an event in Atlanta last week for innovators as part of the InnovATL2023 month organized by the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce. We picked the Atlanta Tech Village for our venue and it provided an environment that modeled the message of innovation and creativity that we were focused on highlighting. Simply the selection of the venue can make a big difference in creating an experience that will be remembered.
The second insight I want to focus on has to do with perspective. This was the first lesson that the team highlighted and it quickly became my main takeaway. I took the picture at the top of this post standing in Paris; part of the EPCOT World Showcase. The team talked about how Disney designed the size of the Eiffel Tower so that wherever you are on the streets of Paris in EPCOT, the tower will look like it is the right size and will fit in the scene. Disney actually didn't build the full tower. It sits on top of other buildings and there is only as much of it as is needed to bring you into the scene and help you experience Paris in the middle of Florida.
My takeaway from this insight is that anytime we are invited into a story in a dynamic way perspective is an important part of making that possible. The stories worth telling are rich, multi-layered and complicated. They offer nuance that requires us to use perspective wisely to create understanding. Perspective allows others to enter the story and make it their own. It is only when someone takes ownership of a story that it can actually be internalized and truly understood.
One example of this is the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Jesus' head is tilted down and his arms are outstretched with open palms. From whatever angle you look, you see Jesus stretching out his arms as he looks down on the people of the city and you have a sense that Jesus is not far from that very place and every person within his gaze. The sculptors used perspective to create a powerful message that is a global icon; immediately recognizable.
Both of these insights highlight for me something that Kingdom workers need to hear. Many of our Christian traditions minimize presentation, experience and perspective. We want the words of Jesus to stand on their own without any distraction. We also want things to be contextual locally in ways that don't become out of reach for local budgets. Another concern is that experiential efforts will only distract from the real message and lead to entertainment over discipleship. But what if our attempts at simple and low cost experiences become a barrier in themselves? What if we have lost sight of the sense of wonder and imagination that leads us to God's throne in worship and transformation?
How might you design culturally sensitive, imaginative and on-message experiences as part of your Kingdom service? How can you think about those innovative approaches with your global partners so that they can be done on any budget but still bring people into the story of Jesus' love?
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