Reagan's blog

       I love Disney World.  Really, I do.  Many years when I was growing up, my family bought seasonal passes to the Disney theme parks in Orlando.  My sister and I almost grew up there.  We really did enjoy it, and so much so that we went 30 times in one year.  That should give you an idea.
 
       As I venture into the world of becoming a "grown up", Disney is still one of my favorite places.  I received the funds for a Disney annual pass as a graduation gift, so I bought the pass.  Now, when I'm on business in the Orlando area (within 100 miles - just kidding), I will sometimes drop by Disney's MGM Studios and Epcot after a day's work.  It can be a nice escape and a way to wind down and simply soak in the Disney atmospheres.  Or, if I'm feeling like it - and I often am - I ride the Hollywood Tower of Terror at MGM Studios.  Don't ask me why I enjoy free falling in a dark elevator shaft.  After dozens of rides over the years, I now relish the experience.
 
       Something that I enjoy about visiting the parks is observing and conversing with the internationals.  It seems that many British families vacation to Disney in Orlando.  The other night, I was about to board a monorail to Epcot from the Magic Kingdom ticket center area.  A man speaking with a British accent was standing near me, so I asked him where he was from in the U.K.  He replied that he was actaully Australian.  I apologized, claiming that I usually can discern between a British and an Australian accent.  He didn't seem to have hard feelings, and we struck up a conversation.
 
       As it turns out, he, his wife, and his sons were on a grand family vacation to America.  They flew into LAX (Los Angeles, CA) and missed their connection to Washington, D.C. by ten minutes.  After a several hour delay, they finally boarded their flight.  They ended up spending around five days in Washington D.C., topped off with some time in New York city.  They "did some shows" as I recall.  They had just arrived in Orlando, checked into their hotel at Disney, and were taking the monorail to catch some last minute theme park action before the gates closed.
 
       We continued our conversation, and he eventually formally introduced himself as Ray.  We spoke briefly about each other's professions.  Ray is in IT, and lives in Brisbane, Australia with his family.  After learning that I have a degree in finance, Ray inquired about my experience of studying finance during the recent financial crisis.  This led to a brief discussion about whether stimulus spending or tax cuts was the best method for stimulating an economy and pulling a nation's economy out of recession.  After a break in our dialogue, Ray asked for tourism advice.  Ray and his family were planning on visiting the Kennedy Space Center / Cape Canaveral area.  I offered to give him advice on things to do, so he gave me his email address.  Within a couple of days, I had spoken with a family friend who works at the Kennedy Space Center and emailed Ray with advice.  He responded quickly with a nice email thanking me for my help and complementing the welcoming nature of the Americans he has encountered.  I suppose I served as a sort of ambassador for America in my own small way!
 
Looking Forward to More Cool Conversations with Internationals at Disney,
Reagan

The annual church youth group’s mission trip is fast approaching! Everywhere, both on church grounds and in the community, desperate (and lacadazical) students troll for fundraising dollars at the behest of their parents. Church staff announce opportunities to support the students during announcements at church services, and just in time, students turn in the last of their required fundraising dollars, cementing their attendance on the grand adventure that is Mission Trip.

Perhaps the destination will be a foreign country, or maybe a different state in the U.S.A. Either way, on most mission trips, certain activities are commonplace for the youth, their youth pastor, and the adult leaders: Back yard Bible clubs for neighborhood children, construction repairs on houses and churches, (conducting) worship services at local churches, and evangelism (either with locals with whom relationships were built throughout the trip, or by spontaneous / street evangelism).

Before I begin elaborating on my main points , please allow me to clarify something ahead of time. All of the above listed activities are good things. I could go on about the merits of service projects and evangelism, but I will accomplish that later in this entry.

Now to the main event. Why bring students on a mission trip to evangelize the lost when these same students never evangelize anyone throughout the course of their everyday lives? One can say that mission trips can spark the fire of evangelism in students that lack it, through real world experience and by opening eyes to how much lost people need Jesus. I believe this can happen, but I would pose a question: Do most students who never evangelize really choose to go on a mission trip so that their hearts will be changed and their feet spurred on to evangelistic action? I doubt it, but even if they do choose to attend for that very reason, I would posit that one does not need a mission trip in order to attain a burden for the lost. Look around. Lost people are everywhere. Their number is plenty large enough in America, in our own towns, our own neighborhoods, and in some of our own homes. So the point is, a burden for the lost is not dependent on traveling on a mission trip.

Something else also comes to mind. What is the differentiating factor between a church mission trip (usually / hopefully) and a humanitarian trip conducted by a non-religious charitable organization? After all, both Christian and non-Christian groups conduct service projects such as fighting hunger, assisting with constructing repairs, and meeting the basic needs of local populaces. The difference maker is evangelism. Non-religious groups can feed the hungry and provide medical care, but who will bring the good news of Jesus to those who haven’t heard, or to those who have not yet chosen to become followers of Christ? It should be noted that service projects are worthy endeavors that Christians should certainly undertake. They are especially useful in developing meaningful relationships with persons who otherwise might not be receptive to even talking about ordinary topics, much less spiritual matters. In other words, meeting basic needs create opportunities for Christians to offer answers for spiritual needs.

So, it makes some sense to take only Christians who regularly witness on a mission trip which possesses an evangelistic component. These individuals have logged miles on their evangelistic speedometers and hopefully have the right heart for reaching the lost. Is this strategy practical though? From one perspective, it might be proper and correct, but is it realistic? Why not settle? Unfortunately, I feel that ideal “ways of doing things” are too often discarded because of so-called pragmatism and realism. I say, send those people on mission trips to evangelize who care enough in the first place to do it in their hometown. Is this so unreasonable?

A professor of mine from my former community college invited me to serve as a guest speaker in one of his classes - World Religions. Which topic? Christianity!

I gave the presentation to both sections of his course, and it was an excellent opportunity to share my faith with so many fellow college students. Those in attendance learned some basics about the Bible and its historical / third-party supporting evidence, church history, and best of all, the story and message of Christianity - Jesus' message.

Check out this link to the video of my presentation! http://reaganswall.com/christianity_presentation_09 It is my hope that you will learn something new and insightful!

Hey Everybody!

Be sure to check out the "Published Articles" section on the left menu bar. I have posted my three articles that were published in 2007 in a local college newspaper. I give a background for each piece before posting their respective links. I hope that you will find each of them insightful and engaging. Come on, take a look.

Excited About This Website,
Reagan

Hello,

My name is Reagan. In the semi-near future, I will post various writings of mine pertaining to random thoughts, politics, religion, etc. Also, expect videos of my impersonations of a certain boss on a certain TV show.

To conclude this lengthy post, realize that there is much to which you should be looking forward.

Until Next Time,
Reagan