Establishing Monument Moments as Missional Monuments

As I sit in my chair of study early on the morning of Thanksgiving, Jesus begins to get my brain going and draws me back to a passage that He is always showing me stuff from. He is constantly taking me back to the book of Joshua chapters 3&4, to the story of Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan. This is a defining moment in the reign of Joshua as God uses it to show the Isrealites that He is with Joshua in the same way He was with Moses.

Honestly, take this how ever you want to, I'm not expecting God to part a river for me. Why? Well, firstly because I live in a city that has no rivers. Now, if God chose to part traffic occasionally on the 5 or 55 or 57 or 405 and especially the 91 - I would not complain. But, the point of this exploit was not the parting of the river but simply showing the Isrealites that God was with them. That God was up to something big. That they were His people and He was their God. That Joshua was not leading by Himself but through the power of God. The point in this story was the work God was doing, in this case crossing of the Jordan, but not the actual miracle itself.

The question though, is why did God choose to express Himself to the Isrealites and Joshua this way? Well, this is where Joshua chapter 4 comes into play. What I find so remarkable is that even from the very beginning of God's story that He reveals to us, He is constantly showing us that He is a missional God who is about drawing all the world to Himself.

After they have crossed the Jordan and God has displayed His power and His might, He issues a decree for the people to follow, one that if looked at through the Western Churches eyes, might be a little hard to understand. In 4:6-7 they are told to set up 12 stones in the Jordan as memorial. In verses 20-24 it is further explained: "And those 12 stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, 'When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?' then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.; For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for as until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever." This shows us that our God is a missionary God. This is yet again an example in the Old Testament of why Jesus had to come. Jesus came to draw the world to Himself. Jesus came as the second person of the trinity to earth and lived in what is known as the 'incarnation'. He lived incarnationally, as fully God and fully man here on earth to draw the world to Himself and His Father.

But the key to this passage and why I write about it today on Thanksgiving is this. If you notice, in the pasage, God tells the people, after He has completed His work in their lives to set up a monument. This is not a monument for them to worship or pay homage to. No, it is one for them to see and constantly be reminded of the work of God in their midst. This is a monument that every time they see they are supposed to be able to tell their children why the God they worship is the true God. This monument is meant to be a monument that outsiders, sojourners, other nations will see and know that the God of Israel is the true God. This monument that God has them build is meant to be a means for the Isrealites to not forget who their God is, what He has done, and be able to easily and intentionally tell the missionary story of their God.

Which, coincidentally enough brings me back to our present day and even Thanksgiving. See, these 12 stones are a monument that are pointing back to a certain moment in time. While we do not all have a river parted on us, we all should have these moments, these stories of where God has been at move in our life. These are what I like to call "Monument Moments" and where we need to then turn these into "Missional Monuments". Think about it, even Jesus had Missional Monuments and Monument Moments. Read through the Gospels, Acts, and the Pauline epistles. Not to beat a cliched horse, but the cross and ressurection are the two biggest examples of a Monument Moment and Missional Monument, but Jesus had many more.

See, God is up to things in the world. He is calling us, His Church, to be a part of it. By taking part of it, we are to be salt and light to the world. By doing that, we should naturally have these moments where there is no other explanation other than Jesus; just like the Isrealites had no other explanation for crossing the Jordan. It is in these times, where our society has come to a point where we too easily forget them, where we don't stoop and remember. So, I say we must create "Missional Monuments" that force ourselves and the world to peer in, take a look and ask "What happened here?". Maybe the first step is to use Thanksgiving as an opportunity to look back on your year and see what God has been up to in your life. And, then see where your "Monument Moments" are and create a "Missional Monument" for you and your family or church. All so that we can easily point people to Jesus and show the world that God is on the move and here are some snapshots of what He is up to.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What are your "Monument Moments" for the past year? How can you turn these moments into "Missional Monuments"?

Studying Culture Through the Picture of Dane Cook

One of the greatest things about being on campus all the time is that I get the chance to see and study culture at one of the many places where culture is injected into the rest of the world - a secular university. Being on campus means that one must look at this place through Missiological lenses (studying culture through the eyes of a missionary). This is a discipline that can never stop, nor should it. But that means digging beneath the surface of what you see and figuring out how and where they need the gospel; figuring out what their functional saviors are; figuring out their idols; figuring out what/who shapes their world view. So one of the things that is prevalent is how much Dane Cook is idolized by the college community (students, not professors).

Now, let me pause here for a moment, pop culture is not the best or only way to learn about your culture - there are many ways, this is just one aspect to look at. For instance, Dane Cook is a celebrity who affects cultures. So we want to see how he is affecting culture and what that is doing. Make sense? Alright moving on...

Dane Cook, is a comedian. It was very tough for me to write that sentence, because I really don't know if he can be called that. Honestly, up until about a week ago I had never heard any of Dane Cook's material - hadn't had the chance. But I've heard him talked about so much and I didn't understand him, all I knew was that college students are in love with him - especially college guys. So one night, I turned on Comedy Central and they were playing one of his live performances he gave. It turned out to teach me quite a lot.

I watched his entire 1 hour performance. I maybe only laughed several times, honestly I didn't think he was funny, maybe not my type of humor I'll admit. But, what stuck out to me was his candor and how he was not telling jokes but merely having a one hour monologue with his audience about the life he lived. For the majority of the show he was basically bragging about how crappy of a person he is. I was shocked and then came to this realization.

He is not a comedian. He is a preacher. He doesn't tell jokes he propagates a way of life. He evangelizes people to his way of life. He makes being a douche-bag acceptable and popular. He tells tales of his one nights stands and how he treats women and other people with total disregard and he gets huge laughter. Why? Because he is catering to the culture that has been established in America - a me first, consumeristic, disregard for other people. He is preaching his (false) gospel of humanistic hedonism (pleasure).

For instance, here is what he says about when he is on stage "You have to learn the crowd. I just pay attention to them so I can make sure I can make them laugh." One draws several points from this: 1) he's smart, no denying that. 2) he knows how to read culture and people - he is giving them what they want. 3) He is preaching to his followers, his converts and inviting them in to his way of life.

Now, I'm not saying he's starting a religion or anything. But, just illustrating how he is magnetizing and preaching a gospel that is contrary to that of the true Gospel, that of Jesus. One more quote, one that I feel that helps illustrate my point (and one of his more tame examples) "Three weeks ago one of my dreams came true. I finally got to see something I always wanted to witness live. I finally saw someone get hit by a car... Nailed!" He is a humanistic, hedonist preacher.

With all this said, what does he teach us about culture? Well, let's look at it specifically for college students. They love Dane Cook. They sell out his arenas and flock to his movies, Cd's, etc. Why? Because the life he is living is what they all want. He is living a life that is in the moment and about giving him glory and pleasure. He is worshiping himself. That is the American Dream, that is our culture, that is what college students think (at large).

Let me take this one step further, he is the fantasy of every college guy:
1) He makes millions without actually working.
2) He gets to work while dressing while he just got out of bed.
3) He gets to talk crudely and vulgarly and is dubbed the cool guy.
4) He gets to tell of his "chick banging" exploits without regard as to what it has done to the women.

The List could go on. But I'll end it there. What I'm getting at simply is this - Dane Cook is popular culture. No doubting it, young people love him (myself not included). If you like Dane Cook I'm not telling you to stop. In fact, as long as he's popular, I'll be listening and trying to understand him and his impact on culture and trying to glean as much info about the college mind and American society as I can.

Dane Cook is a preacher of the gospel of America. We need to be preachers of the Gospel of Jesus. A gospel of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:20-21). Because one thing is clear from him people are open to be preached to. People are looking for a way of life to live, one that will provide meaning and satisfaction - but its so much wrapped around their own personal satisfaction, which is something that we can never have our full of. Listen to Dane Cook and even though he has fame, money and women - there's something missing. Listen to college students - there is something missing. That thing missing is the Gospel of Reconciliation, the Gospel of Jesus. They need Jesus. I implore you look at your tribe, your culture and see how it needs the Gospel of Jesus to reconcile and redeem it.

Rethinking the End Goal of Church Membership

As a student, I get plenty of opportunities to sit in class and daydream. Now, mind you, my daydreams are not that of your average college student, especially those at a secular university. I do not sit in class and gawk at the girl in front of me and daydream about asking her out (like those seeking their MRS degrees would be)- instead, one daydreams about the Church and the Kingdom. In fact, on Monday, Jesus and I had our own little conversation and think session about Church Membership.

Let me state this. I love the Church (global) and the church (local). I believe you cannot have a church without the Church and vise versa. They go hand in hand and as a future pastor, future church botanist, I spend lots of time dreaming about what the church could be and the expression it could take in a local environment. Most of the time I have these think sessions it is usually big picture stuff about how the church and the Church can better reach it's community - it's city. But this time, it was being inquisitive about a part of the church, I've never fully understood and that is church "membership".

Again, I love the church. I do. But, correct me if I'm wrong - are we not all members of the Church once we encounter Jesus? Not only that, I agree that we are all commanded to be a part of the Church - and the church. Now, one of the ways that previous generations before me have did that is by allowing one to become a church "member". There is nothing wrong with that - but from past experience of being a "member" - what's the point? One spends at least a month of their life sitting inside a church building learning what this church is all about and where it stands (all good things to know) and then from there they want to make sure one knows Jesus (an important thing as well. After this one gets voted in, and is allowed the "privileges" of a church member (i.e. voting, discipline, etc), one almost becomes a share holder of the church (a good thing yet again). And that's it. You can vote at business meetings. You show up on Sundays, maybe one other time a week - you are a member, a super-Christian and thus can now be officially allowed to lead in one's church.

Now don't get me wrong, I've gone through the membership process - it's valuable, but its end goal needs some help. Now, the church one is currently at - does not have membership. They tried it, no one did it. So, they rethought things. They just want one to be connected. If one wants to be a leader, one has to go through training. Heck,now one feels far more like a member of this current church then he ever did at the one where he was a "member". This non-member church doesn't have business meetings - instead, during the main services they have "family conversations" were they incorporate it into the main portion for all to hear...

Here's what I'm getting at - why does the American Church feel the need to have members if all it does is just help us put boundaries on our attendees?

Membership is a tricky thing. I believe in having membership - but it is extra-biblical (not a bad heretical thing, but not a mandatory, have it or you are a heretic kind of thing). So, if I believe in membership, what is the point? There are lots: I agree that it is a good way to make sure your leaders are equipped - so it is training. I believe it is a good way to talk to your people about what the vision for your church is all about and what God has uniquely called you to express for the Kingdom. But, really, membership? We are all already members of the Church and a class won't make me any more or less of a member of the Church. Which lead me to this conclusion.

As with everything in the Church and church - it is about Mission. So, leadership training is about the mission (equipping leaders to fulfill the mission); casting the vision of your church is about mission (because your church is about mission and that is the vision). With the lens of the gospel and vision, what if membership was no longer about a class and being able to call yourself a member, now being able to lead, being able to vote, etc - but what if it was about mission?

What if instead of voting them in as members, after the membership class is over they now become sanctioned as missionaries to their communities? What if membership classes are now about missionary commission? What if by the time one is through the membership class, they are now official "insert church name here" missionaries to "insert name of city here". Therefore, membership classes are there to emphasize to your people that being a member of both the Church and the church is about mission, about being missionaries. Thus by the time one is commissioned they are not a "member" but a "missionary", an "ambassador" of the Church by the church for the Kingdom to the world - starting with their community.