The Wondrous Ride

We have a bin of movies that sit beneath our television, and my children plumage through them, and yes it is necessary to them to take every single one of them out and line them out on the floor. On one of these occasions, they decided that they wanted to watch Polar Express.

There is one scene that I really enjoy watching. The children are on a magical train, they are given a free ticket (but they have to keep up with it), and they are traveling to a wondrous place. At one point the conductor asks over the intercom system, “Is anyone in need of refreshment!” All the children’s hands shot up, and at that moment stewards run down the aisles and begin to dance, sing, serving, and the children (and the viewers) are spellbound. They dance on the tables, and they shoot hot chocolate with sharp shooter precision. Everyone has fun, they are refreshed, and train moves on towards its magical destination.

What if church were like that? If we ask people, “Who is in need of refreshment?” their hands will shoot up. But often times what we give them is bitter stale coffee, which was brewed back in 50’s sometime. It’s not sweet hot chocolate, it’s moldy and irrelevant. The display before them is not energetic or served with precision; it is an entrenched, old school, boring routine.

So, Drew, you want church to be Cirque du Soleil? Yeah, sort of. What if church could be a place where people would be swept up in a wondrous movement? What if people could leave refreshed and excited about the journey. The person we are journeying to see is far better than Santa, and the place is far better the North Pole. Can we dance for the king? Can we sing with all our hearts? Can we present His mighty Word with creativity?

Who is in need of refreshment?

About the author

Drew Boswell wrote 813 articles on this blog.

Dr. Drew Boswell has been in ministry for over twenty years, is a husband, father, pastor, and friend.

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