You're bumping through the crowds at the County Fair when you notice a booth you have never seen before. It looks like a small circus tent with a flap for a door. The sign says "The Integration Experience," and the strange man standing out front is saying, "Come in. Come in. We're about to start!"
Do you
1) Say [["Sure, why not?"]] and go in
2) [[Keep walking past]]
You slump down in your seat, unsure about the safety of this device, and skeptical of this so-called "doctor-whatever" guy. You try to hide behind the man in front of you.
"Someone has to come forward," he says, insistently. It seems everyone else has the same apprehensions as you.
Dr. Hinkle walks your direction and looks right at you. "What about you?" he asks. "You were the last one in; how about being the first to try?"
Everyone else looked relieved. You glance around. Everyone's eyes are on you.
"Okay," you say reluctantly. You take your time standing up, hoping it's all a joke.
[[Walk Forward]]
Your eyes dart through the room. No one is volunteering, so you raise your hand.
The tension in the air released like a balloon popping. Everyone else relaxed as you stand up.
[[Walk Forward]]
Dr. Hinkle pulls you by the arm and says, "Good! Right this way. Now, The Integration Experiment is my own version of the old Christmas movie: It's a Wonderful Life. Only, instead of REMOVING you from your world, we're INSERTING you into another."
You ask, "Have you ever done this before?"
"Sure, sure," he replies. "Right this way."
You are still not convinced, but you walk toward the open metal canister, not much bigger than a water heater. The interior is padded, and there are a few buttons on a panel inside.
"Step inside, please," says Dr. Hinkle. "I'll be INSERTING you into the RENCH family. In my testing, I've found that ONE YEAR of memories is enough to integrate you fully. Are you ready?"
"No," you mumble.
"Good! Watch your step!"
Not wanting to let down the crowd, and curious about what might take place, you lean back as he latches the door. Good thing you are not clostrophobic.
The sounds of the county fair disappear and a screen appears near your head. Dr. Hinkle appears and asks, "Are you comfortable? Can you reach the panel?"
"Yes, I am," you reply. "It seems bigger on the inside. I can reach everything easily."
"Okay, okay! Just as I designed it! Now... Push a button!"
"Any ol' button?" you ask.
"Follow the instructions," he replies, sounding almost offended that you could not figure out his invention.
You see a dime-sized red button near your knees. On the screen appears a round green "Start" button at the bottom of the video call. "Will the red button take me out?" you ask.
"Yes. Push that at any time to exit," he says. "The green button will start your Integration Experiment."
"Experience, you mean."
"Right. Of course. Now... push a button!"
Do you:
1) Get nervous about the whole thing and [[Exit]]
2) Push the [[Start]] button?
You hesitate about the not-so-good Doctor's experiment, and would hate to get deep fried along with the turkey legs in the next booth over.
You reach down and push the red button.
The canister immediately releases its seal with a PSSHH sound, and as it hinges open, you see Dr. Hinkle shaking his head and murmuring, hardly acknowleding your presence.
He seems upset.
"Sorry, Doc," you say as you exit the tent.
You walk away healthy, but a slice of the adventurer inside you dies as you do.
You tap the green START button and Dr. Hinkle's video call disappears. You are immersed in a new deep virtual environment in which you can walk, talk and think, but are still somehow within the canister. You see a floating hologram near your head where the screen was, with messages from Dr. Hinkle appearing periodically.
You hear a pleasant robotic voice saying, "Welcome to the Integration Experience. The family experience you will be integrating into is the -- RENCH -- family."
The computer processed the files and continued. "The Ryan Rench family integration includes church ministry and family memories from the past year. Please choose a starting option."
The hologram says:
[[Family Integration]]
[[Ministry Integration]]
Inside is a large machine with gears, levers and electrical wires running through the top and under the tent walls. You feel uneasy, like you stepped inside a chemist's version of the interior of Big Ben, but you take a seat in the third row--the back row--on a rickety folding chair.
The man walks past you to the front and says to the crowd, "Welcome, welcome! I'm so glad you're here! I am Dr. Hinkle, and this is my new invention: 'The Integration Experiment!'"
Someone a few chairs over says, "Don't you mean 'Experience?' That's what the sign outside says."
"Oh, yes," said Dr. Hinkle, "--Experience. That's what I meant."
Nervous laughter ripples through the crowd. You feel uneasy.
"I need a volunteer," says Dr. Hinkle, looking around.
Do you:
1) [[Slink down]] in your seat and avoid eye contact, hoping he doesn't call on you
2) Accept the adventure and [[Raise your hand]]
You're not so sure about a guy that looks like a cross between Albert Einstein and Dr. Frankenstein, so you walk past.
He seems to take a special interest in you, though, and insists. "You, YOU, please, please come in! You'll be the first to see this revolutionary experiment."
"What is it?" you ask.
"It's a sort of time travel," he says with a gleam in his eye.
"Well, why not," you say, and [[Enter the tent]].
The man looks like a cross between Albert Einstein and Dr. Frankenstein, but The Experience seems more interesting than deep fried apple pies, so you say, "Why not?" and enter.
[[Enter the tent]]
You want to integrate fully, so you opt for some family memories. The background swirls around you and the voice says, "Welcome to the Rench family. It is the year 2016. What would you like to experience?"
The hologram offers a few options:
[[DO THINGS]]
[[GET TO KNOW THE FAMILY]]
[[CHECK OUT STUFF]]
[[GET ON THE INTERNETS]]
A full family integration of a ministry family requires that you get to know their ministry, so you choose that option. The background transports you to Temecula, California, just outside Calvary Baptist Church.
The hologram offers several inegration choices for the past year:
[[GO ON CHURCH ACTIVITIES]]
[[DO MISC. CHURCH STUFF]]
[[MEET SOME PEOPLE]]
A whirlwind of activity begins as soon as you push the DO THINGS button. One minute, you are at the park, running through the grass, sliding down slides, or playing disc golf; the next, you are at the beach, playing in the waves.
With San Diego Zoo passes, you visit a couple times per month, sometimes all day in San Diego, and sometimes just for an evening at the Safari Park, which is closer to your house.
On family vacations, you spend a few days in Anaheim, CA, and a couple weeks in Indiana visiting family, touring the Creation Museum, playing at the Indianapolis Children's Museum and experiencing the Ark Encounter.
With so much doing, you are wondering about other aspects, so the hologram appears with other choices:
[[GET TO KNOW THE FAMILY]]
[[CHECK OUT STUFF]]
[[GET ON THE INTERNETS]]
I'm done with family integration. Take me to [[Ministry Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
You choose the FAMILY button and you are immediately introduced to the newest member: Gwen Olivia. It is February 18, and two days later, you present her like Simba to a crowd of 400 teens at the Preaching Rally. She changes weekly and hits milestones sooner than the other kids: talking sooner, rolling over sooner and pulling up sooner. You anticipate she will be a social bug.
You notice the other kids--Abe (4) and Charlotte (2)--changing, too. You see Abe teaching himself to read, write and do basic math; and Charlotte learning and practicing new words daily. "Oh, look at those curls! She looks like Shirley Temple," says everyone, everywhere--family reunions, grocery stores and church alike.
You tag along for family gatherings and love to watch all the little cousins growing together. They share everything with each other, including the flu.
You are glad you got to see the family, but you move on to the other choices on the hologram:
[[DO THINGS]]
[[CHECK OUT STUFF]]
[[GET ON THE INTERNETS]]
I'm done with family integration. Take me to [[Ministry Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
"Hm. I wonder what stuff is new around there," you think as you push the CHECK OUT STUFF button. You are standing outside a home next to a pearl white 2011 Ford Flex, upgraded from a previous black 2009 model. The powered hatch and leather seats are luxurious (and the seats are easy to clean, too!) It is your solo car now that you sold the red flatbed truck.
You walk through the house as it is being prepared for yet another party, and you see a new 120 square foot shed in the back that is slowly being converted to a new mini-bedroom.
You are afraid to even wash your hands in the drought, lest your water bill bankrupts your family, but you let your grass die outside, instead.
The hologram reappears and shows you these options:
[[DO THINGS]]
[[GET TO KNOW THE FAMILY]]
[[GET ON THE INTERNETS]]
I'm done with family integration. Take me to [[Ministry Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
Feeling high-tech, you choose THE INTERNETS button and are immediately strapped to a phone and computer. You activate Facebook (Jamie Rench) and Twitter (@RyanARench) and enjoy making long-lost connections with friends.
You blog more at RyanRench.com and help launch an alumni blog at TheHeartlandConnect.com. It is fun making connections virtually, but there's more to life than the internets, so you choose from the other options on the hologram:
[[DO THINGS]]
[[GET TO KNOW THE FAMILY]]
[[CHECK OUT STUFF]]
I'm done with family integration. Take me to [[Ministry Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
You go through the Integration Checklist one item at a time.
Check.
Check.
Check.
Check.
"All done," you say to yourself. "I believe I've seen enough to be fully integrated. Now what?"
As if the machine was listening to you, it responds audibly, "Congratulations! You are now an official Rench. Please press the red button to exit the simulation."
You had not paid much attention before, but all the while, the red button was glowing down near your knees.
Do you:
1) [[Push the red button]] to return to the County Fair and Dr. Hinkle, or
2) [[Stay]] in the machine
You want some fun, so you choose the ACTIVITIES button.
Immediately, the scene changes to a mystery dinner activity where church members dress up, offering clues to groups of teens who are running through the church building.
You run along until the backdrop changes to the outdoors. You're standing at the top of a 50-foot cliff with a rope around your waist. The rapelling instructor, Sergeant Major Si Rangel, is backing you down the mountain, and your heart is racing as you bounce down the rock.
Your adrenaline is pumping now, but you have no time to process the emotion before you are wisked off to an airplane ride in Camp Snoopy at Knott's Berry Farm amusement part. You ride up, down, up and down as Abe pilots the plane through a WWII dog fight. You ride swings, hot air balloons, and roller coasters all day and fall asleep on the bus ride home.
You wake up on an airplane to Okahoma City. You are flying to attend the Youth Conference (YouthCon.net) hosted by Southwest Baptist Church and Heartland Baptist Bible College. When you arrive, you're given the royal treatment, but you are not sure why until the next morning. When you arrive at the conference, the sound man approaches you and asks, "Are you ready?" as he starts hooking up your lapel microphone.
"Wait, what?!" you ask, shocked.
"Yes, you're speaking today."
Uh oh.
Just as you walk up the steps to the platform, the audience changes from teenagers to homeless men, and you are no longer in OKC but Los Angeles at the Rescue Mission on Skid Row. You and a group of teens sing a song for their nightly Gospel service, and afterwards, you drive past rats, tents and aimless men crossing the street in front of you, muttering to themselves. Your heart breaks as you spread hundreds of invitations through the streets of Los Angeles and West Covina, but is encouraged by the souls that received the Word you helped spread. You stay in Los Angeles for five days doing outreach and seeing sights like Griffith Observatory and the Greystone Mansion.
As you reflect on the Los Angeles trip, you are transported to the desert where you once again host the California Baptist Youth Camp at Ironwood, where Tyler Prater is preaching the week. You discuss upcoming preachers with him and settle on inviting Park Sutton to preach next year.
You realize ministry life is more than fun and games, though, and you reflect on what you have seen.
The hologram shows four options:
[[DO MISC. CHURCH STUFF]]
[[MEET SOME PEOPLE]]
I'm done with ministry integration. Take me to [[Family Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
You want to see what type of things a ministry family does through the year, so you choose the CHURCH STUFF button. You are voted in as the host church for the Winter 2017 GIBF meetings, so you get right to work designing graphics, planning meals, working on music and scheduling services. You coordinate the "GROW UP" Preaching Rally for the same weekend as the GIBF, since Bro. Sam Davison and Bro. Tyler Prater will be in town to preach, and you help write a "You-Choose-Your-Path" book for the event.
You plan other writing adventures and reflect on others, cataloguing them on a new church website (cbctemecula.com) and a new publications website (CalvaryBaptist.pub). After launching two new books last year, you have found the writing process enjoyable and work on more ideas for the future.
Most of the time, you are working with the teenagers--teaching lessons, writing curriculum, setting up fundraisers (you raise over `$4k` at your yard sale), and planning activities. At other times, you are fixing brake lines on your new school bus, changing tires on it, or getting a new commercial driver's license to drive it. Or, you are digging fence posts with the pastor and interns and installing fencing around the church property.
You quickly get a sense that ministry life is more than a Sunday-morning-only job, and you are feeling more and more integrated, after all.
Out of nowhere, the hologram reappears with more choices:
[[GO ON CHURCH ACTIVITIES]]
[[MEET SOME PEOPLE]]
I'm done with ministry integration. Take me to [[Family Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
You wonder what people have integrated into the Rench life in the past year, so you choose the PEOPLE option. In a split second, the surrounding virtual environment begins swirling with faces and names, all of which you meet for the first time. In short bursts on conversations with church guests, new friends at Heartland, family in Indiana and next door neighbors, you settle on spending extra time with a few old friends and a few new ones.
Of particular interest to you is a mentor from college, the president of your alma mater who came to preach a revival, Bro. Sam Davison and his wife, Sandy. You host them at your home and enjoy meals and conversations with them over the course of a week.
They are gone, but new faces take their place. Two young men join you every day for two months, connecting themselves like leeches to you and your family. They work at the church daily, constructing masterful fountains, hosting youth activites, organizing church events and investing in people. They are the interns: Ben and Michael. You are immediately attached to them, enjoying their kind spirit and heart for God.
More young men their age come to your church for a weekend, singing beautiful Gospel music and representing your alma mater, Heartland Baptist Bible College--the GloryBound Quartet. These men pour themselves into your church teens at the after-church fellowship, and they genuinely invest in trying to bless you any way they can. They are encouraging and a fresh breath of air to you.
As quickly as they appeared, the interns and quartet fade away and you are left without your minions, er, helpers. You sit on the John Deere tractor to mow the church lawns when you hear a voice behind you, "Want me to get that for you?" You turn to find Philip Thompson, hired as a temporary staff intern to maintain the facilities in exchange for rent and utilities at the church's staff house.
"Sure!" you reply, and Philip takes that responsibility and more.
Other people come and go until gradually the choices reappear on the hologram near your face:
[[GO ON CHURCH ACTIVITIES]]
[[DO MISC. CHURCH STUFF]]
I'm done with ministry integration. Take me to [[Family Integration]] experiences
[[I'm DONE]] with family AND ministry
You reach down and press the red button and the surrounding screen fades to white, then grey, then black. You are back inside the canister.
You hear a "PSSH" sound as Dr. Hinkle releases the latch. The door swings open and the crowd is there as before. It feels like you have been away for a year, but all at once, people begin asking you, "Why didn't you stay in there?" and "Why'd you quit?" Even Dr. Hinkle seems surprised that you are back.
As you answer questions, you realize that no time had passed at all. In the tent, it was as if Dr. Hinkle had just sent you off, and he was unlatching the door again.
To you, it was a year. To them, it was less than 10 seconds.
Your life is profoundly impacted from that day forward. You exit the tent in a daze, stunned at what you just experienced.
Or, maybe that was just the sleep deprivation and newborn baby diapers you had changed all year.
"You know," you think, "I rather like it in here."
You ignore the red button and look for loopholes in the system. Some kind of time warp or eternal link. Some sort of fountain of life.
You live in the system for years without aging, never needing food yet still getting to enjoy its pleasures. Never needing sleep yet enjoying the feeling of a good nap, when the occasion warranted.
The Integration Experience is more than you could have ever dreamed possible. The problem in here is, no one really knows who you are.