Who Am I?

I’m two four six oh one! Ha! I am not actually Jean Valjean although I aspire to his level of discipleship. No, I’m a cattle-ranch kid from New Mexico who went to college in San Diego. I’m a seminary graduate serving as the director of High School ministry at a Presbyterian church in New Jersey. I have a passion for film and art. Over the past several years I’ve come to love web design and that takes up a good amount of my time. I can constantly be found reading one of the several books in my “book garden.” I am continuously humbled and amazed by the God that I make rough and sloppy attempts to follow. Being set free by Christ is a lifelong experience of grace that I can only hope to mirror to those I encounter and live among. I’ve been shaped by the Christian minds of Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster, Stanley Hauerwas, John Howard Yoder, my Mom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, John Wright and Brian McLaren among others. I’m a Nazarene. Nazarenes are Wesleyan, which ideally means that we’re a kind of mix of Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant all rolled into one. At least I hope that describes me. I think that’s why I feel so at home in the Presbyterian church I’m currently serving in - it has a very evangelical spirit while retaining a strong focus on justice in this world.

I’m also an artist. I began drawing before I could walk and have continued to develop artistically ever since. In recent years this has been through print and web design. The demand for that kind of work has expanded, so I created Red Coyote Studio in February of 2007.

I’m married to the beautiful and brilliant Kara Lyons who I met at the end of my first year at Seminary. She is my willing movie-watching companion (seriously, I think I’ve made her watch over 4 zombie movies and no complaints yet), we love watching a few tv shows these days, namely LOST and the Office. We’re looking forward to traveling the world together and making each other laugh for a long time to come. Kara is currently studying at Princeton Theological Seminary where she is pursuing a PhD in New Testament. She has a special interest in the book of Mark and Theological Hermeneutics. We were married June 2nd, 2007 in Kansas City, MO.

email: charlie [at] chuckp3.com

AIM: PoMoCowboy