St. Timothy Lutheran Church

I just finished watching Serenity, which, by the way, is a really fun movie.  If you like sci-fi, westerns, and action, with a little comedy thrown in, go rent it.  Anyway, after I watched it, I watched some of the special features on the DVD.  Serenity is a movie based on a TV show called Firefly, which was canceled after just over 10 episodes, but during those few episodes it had managed to create a rabid and loyal fanbase.  The fans became so vocal about the show, and director Joss Whedon, in his relentless nagging of the studios out of loyalty to those fans, finally managed to talk the studios into filming a movie.  Serenity didn't do well in the box office, but after its release on DVD, like Firefly, it became a cult classic, with passionate fans.

In the special features, we get to see some of the fans at a convention called Comic Con - 5,000 of them.  The excitement is contagious, even on a DVD.  You can see that these fans absolutely loved Firefly, and that their beloved canceled show is being made into a movie is their wildest dream coming to fruition.  Interviews of the cast members show that they too loved the show, and are equally thrilled about the movie, and to be a part of it.  Adam Baldwin, one of the cast, says (paraphrased) "I love this universe that we've created, and I can't wait for the rest of the world to get on board this ship and see it too."

It occurred to me as I watched this that those fans, and those cast members are missionaries.  They have seen and believe that they are a part of something Great, something they don't deserve to be a part of.  It fills them with excitement, passion, and joy, and they want the rest of the world to know about it and to see its greatness. 

That's what missions is - or rather, what it should be.  But as I watched those cast members and as I watched those fans, it was a stark contrast to the excitement that the American Church has for God.  Especially here in the Lutheran church, we barely show any level of excitement for God when we gather together, let alone when we're out in the world.  Sadly, for many of us, missions feels more like an obligation, one that we would much rather not fulfill.  We seek the easy way out.  We avoid the subject.  Or, we delegate that task to other people who are "more gifted." 

When did God become so small and so boring that we (myself included) dread having to talk to someone about Him?  When did telling people about Him become something we feel like we have to do instead of something we get to do?  Adam Baldwin was so excited about a fictitious universe that he wanted to rest of the world to know about it.  Is the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus said "is coming and has come," which we are a part of, which Jesus handed to us so that we could advance it, less real or less exciting?  Seriously: What's wrong with this picture?