Rather than posting a generic or dry "about us" on our website, we asked Steven Barr, the Founding Leader and self-described "Creative Paradox" of Cast Member Church, to answer a few questions that would enable him to share our story, including nuances and personal observations that many of us never knew.
Our Story
First of all, what is a "creative paradox?"
I borrowed the concept from Gordon MacKenzie, who coined the term while head of the creative department at Hallmark (the greeting card company). He authored a book that a Disney Imagineer friend recommended to me. It's titled "Orbiting the Giant Hairball," and it rarely leaves my desk. This book inspired me to break free from the "hairball" – a complex and rigid system of traditions and processes rooted in "how it's always been done before." Being a creative paradox means inspiring others to continuously explore new ideas, experiment with them, and fearlessly express them despite any opposition from the keepers of those yester-ways," aka, the hairball.
How has Disney influenced your life?
I used to be a Cast Member at Walt Disney World a long, long, long, long time ago. During my time at Disney, I absorbed every experience, and it became a part of me. After Disney, I spent 25 years in vocational ministry. My Disney experience allowed me to bring a more vivid imagination and whimsical attitude to every church I served.
Why did you choose Disney.
I have a deep connection with Disney Cast Members. They never cease to inspire me. We all have something in common that I call "mouseblood." We share the qualities of being dreamers and doers, often seeing the world with a childlike wonder. But outside of Disney, we can feel like misfits. Many Cast Members are still searching for something Disney can't provide. I know that Jesus is the answer to their search, and Cast Member Church is a way for them to meet Him up close and personal. That's what gets me out of bed every day.
How did you conclude that Disney was strategic to your missional calling?
The Apostle Paul's desire to go to Rome was very strategic. Rome was the cultural crossroads of his day, and he knew that introducing the Gospel in Rome would mean the message of Jesus would travel to every corner of the world.
The Walt Disney Company is a modern-day equivalent of Rome. It's a catalytic hub for entertainment, sports, business, design, and countless other influential cultures and sub-cultures. Those who work in the Disney Parks are the artists, singers, dancers, actors, business leaders, designers, creative technologists, and others who will one day greatly influence our world.
Introducing Cast Members to Jesus and discipling them while they work for Disney will empower them to be His Kingdom Expressions and disciple-makers as they go into the future.
What is the most valuable lesson you have personally learned on your journey?
I'm learning that in my weakness, God's strength is made perfect. I've always believed this, but the older I grow, the more real and freeing it becomes every day.
Any fruit in my life has grown out of the cracks and crevices of my weaknesses, not what I consider to be my talents and strengths. I have a long way to go before I live this out daily, but at least I'm moving forward.
And what is the most valuable lesson you have learned as a church?
Every relationship is a sacred work; therefore, it matters immensely to Jesus.
What do you mean by sacred work?
Every relationship we have is a gift from God. Whether it's a long-time friendship with a co-worker or a one-time conversation with a cashier at Walmart, every interaction matters to God. The sacred work of relationship is about valuing others, accepting them in their brokenness, and loving them, all in the same way that Jesus does.
How has this sacred work shaped Cast Member Church?
When we first started at Disney, all I knew how to do was a typical weekend service-centric church. It didn't take long to realize a church like that would never really connect with those with no faith background and would probably never enter the doors of a church building. Jesus was calling us to something different.
We realized that if we wanted to reveal Jesus to those who weren't looking for Him, it was imperative to earn their trust. To earn their trust, we needed to prove that we sincerely valued them as individual human beings. We wanted to be driven by something other than a formulaic agenda.
How did you avoid a formulaic agenda?
We ran in the opposite direction. Had we been the least bit formulaic, those who were already suspicious of our faith would've smelled it from miles away.
You won’t believe the number of stories we have heard about their encounters with Christians who have an agenda. Because of those encounters, Christians are viewed as insincere. It’s one of the biggest reasons they are skeptical of anything related to our faith in Jesus.
How do you keep from becoming formulaic when sharing Jesus with others?
That's a great question. We follow Jesus' example. We see each Cast Member as a unique individual, not a project. We're constantly reminded that Jesus moves at the speed of relationship. We're not in a hurry to save someone and seal the deal.
Why don't you have a sense of urgency to share the Gospel?
In the West, we love convenience. We know what we want, and we want it now. So, we invent systems and processes to speed things up. This has crept into the Church, but it's not the way of Jesus.
Every person is different, and Jesus connects with them in a unique way. The Good News is the same for everyone, but how He reveals it to them is as creative as He is.
Also, the Good News of Jesus is not just a one-time sharing of how and why He lived, died, and rose again. It is a daily modeling of a forever life of purpose, peace, and promise. We may share the Gospel with our words, but we must back it up in our relationships with those who have yet to meet Him.
We call this "the value of the one.” Every human being is designed in God's image and deserves to be treated as such. It’s the threshold to forming sincere and vulnerable relationships.
What led you to this "value of the one?”
True relationship is everything. There are no shortcuts around it, over it, or under it.
Jesus came to earth to demonstrate the extent to which God was willing to establish a permanent relationship with us. Why do we ever think we could take a shortcut around it?
For a follower of Jesus, there will never be any [shortcuts]. He won't allow it. The Kingdom runs directly through the heart of genuine, vulnerable, and messy relationships.
How have you seen this "sacred work of relationship" multiplied?
98% of our global network consists of Disney Cast Members with no previous expression of faith. The vast majority had never read or even touched a Bible before knowing us. The sacred work of relationship has been and always will remain vital to our vision for multiplication.
If your focus is on those with no faith background, how do you appeal to Christian Cast Members?
We don't appeal to most Christians, and we don't try to.
Early on, we knew that Cast Member Church would be formed from those who weren't even looking for Jesus—especially those who were skeptical and suspicious of anything related to faith. We sensed that Jesus wanted to do something different from the traditional ways of thinking–a new wine/new wineskins kind of thing.
Across the span of Cast Member Church, what are you most passionate about at the moment?
I have the gift of A.D.D., which means my passions change several times a day, sometimes several times an hour. They may even change while we're talking.
We're establishing physical Cast Member Church hubs in Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland.
We have Cast Members in Europe and Asia who've moved on from their roles in Disney but want to remain part of our Cast Member Church family. They want to continue to be an extension of who we are in their spheres of influence beyond Disney.
Orlando has been our primary hub for Cast Member Church equipping and expansion. But now, we've realized a need to establish a physical leadership presence in these regions to be more intentional.
What do you think the future holds for Cast Member Church?
I stopped asking myself that question a long time ago. Every time I've made plans for the future based on my understanding of God's will, He's taken us in a completely different direction.
Our vision has always been to have a vibrant and fruitful disciple-multiplying presence worldwide in every Disney Park location. Our goal isn't to be big. We simply want to matter wherever we are.
Do you envision Cast Member Church expanding into other areas of Disney beyond the parks?
Sure! We've already seen our movement beginning to seep into places like The Walt Disney Studios. But before we get too excited, we want to be sure that Jesus is guiding us into these opportunities rather than jumping ahead of Him and forcing something.
Keeping our hands off the steering wheel is hard, but it takes a lot of pressure and disappointment off of our shoulders. Besides, Jesus knows exactly what He's doing. He has brought us this far. I know we can trust Him to lead us wherever He wants to go.