A few weeks ago I went and saw The Soloist, a film I had been eagerly waiting to see since this fall when I saw the trailer for it in theaters.  I cried watching the trailer.  So I was really looking forward to this film.  The day before I went to see it I happened to catch Terri Gross’ interview with Steve Lopez, the LA Times journalist played by Robert Downey Jr.  Her interview added another layer of depth to the story for me, and helped fill out some of the story that gets lost in this two hour film.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, The Soloist is based on the true story of a friendship between Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man with amazing musical ability and Steve Lopez, a journalist for the LA Times.  Originally from Cleveland, Mr. Ayers learned the cello as a young boy and was later accepted into Juilliard.  By the time columnist Steve Lopez meets Nathaniel his life is on a very different path.  Homeless and suffering from schizophrenia, Nathaniel was living on the streets of Skid Row in the heart of LA.  Mr. Lopez came across Nathaniel playing the violin in the street and was taken with his skill.  Over the course of the next several years Lopez would write about Nathaniel for the LA Times, telling his compelling story and bringing awareness to the reality of life on Skid Row in a city that likes to ignore such things.

There are a few departures from the truth in the film version of the story.  This is always the case with true stories.  The medium of film often demands tweaking some story elements for the sake of the medium, but Mike King makes a good case for why these particular points of departure were unnecessary over at his blog.  One element of the story that they got spot-on was the portrayal of Skid Row.  Back in college a group of guys from our dorm spent a few weekends working at Central City Community Church in the heart of Skid Row and the poverty we encountered there was just as stark and shocking as it is portrayed in The Soloist.  The later it is in the month the more people line the streets until it becomes a tent city of homeless refugees in the heart of LA.  The actors portraying the homeless in The Soloist are playing themselves and I really appreciated that the filmmakers included the homeless in telling this story.

This film is powerful.  It’s moving.  And yet it left me with one really huge lingering question… is it a beautiful story because Nathaniel Ayers is such an amazing musician or is it beautiful because Nathaniel Ayers is a child of God?  Can we come to embrace the homeless in the way that Steve Lopez embraced Nathaniel, even if there is nothing extraordinary about them?

My prayer is that we will.

If you’d like to see the real Mr. Lopez and Mr. Ayers check out the following videos.

I just read this report on CNN.com which found that the more Americans attended church, the more likely we are to support torture.  What a terrible witness to this world we have become.  Rather than being an appetizer for the Kingdom of God we support the violence of this world more than it does itself!  I believe this is more evidence that as Christians we have become a people of “the means justify the ends” rather than a people willing to suffer as we follow the way of Christ.

What part of “your will be done, on earth, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” do we not understand?

My best friend and cousin, Chad, recently asked me if I would baptize him while our family is together this Christmas season.  Being asked to be a part of such an incredible chapter in his journey with Christ has been one of the greatest honors of my life.  Chad and I are going through some spiritual practices together as we both prepare for this sacred moment.  Perhaps my favorite of these has been to begin each day by saying the Apostle’s Creed.  It has become my pledge of allegiance and starting each day by audibly declaring the one in whom I put my trust and belief has been something I hope to continue for the rest of my life.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.

This Christmas I’m joining a movement with Christianity called Advent Conspiracy.  Advent Conspiracy is a new way to engage the season of Advent and Christmas itself.  Rather than getting caught up in a consumer-driven mindset for Christmas that is fueled by captialism Christians all over the world are rethinking Christmas and the way we celebrate it.  We are choosing to honor the birth of Jesus by spending less money on gifts (and asking for less in return) and instead of buying motorized tie-racks that will quickly be forgotten we are putting money into clean water projects throughout the world.

Just under 4,000 people die every single day because they do not have access to clean drinking water.  Experts say that it would take 10 billion dollars to solve this crisis and make sure that everyone had access to clean safe drinking water.  And every year Americans spend 450 billion dollars on Christmas.  We feel like there’s something just not right about that.

So I encourage you to spend less on Christmas this year, give more money to clean water projects (like Living Water International), and give more presence to your loved ones this year.  Celebrate the birth of Jesus by saving someone’s life this year.

A student in youth group sent me this video that I thought I’d pass along I thought it was so beautiful.

Tonight as a nation we elected Barack Obama to the highest office in our country.  I am grateful for the opportunity our country has been given at this time.  An opportunity to practice a new kind of politics that is about finding common ground and working towards a more just society rather than the politics of polarization whose goal is simply to win no matter the cost.  I am grateful for the opportunity we have to become good stewards of God’s creation.  I am grateful for the opportunity our country has to cooperate with and work alongside other nations for peace.  I am grateful for the opportunity we may have to ensure that no citizen is denied health care or is denied coverage.  I am grateful for the opportunity we have to turn the page on trickle-down economics that do not honor the “least of these” among us.  I am grateful for much tonight.

But while I am grateful for the unique opportunities I think Barack Obama presents in this time, I am not breathing a sigh of relief, as if somehow President Obama would steer history towards the Kingdom of God, as if the fate of the world lies in the hands of people as unimportant as Presidents and Senators.

No.  I firmly believe that the fate of the world lies in the hands of a poor Jewish carpenter born to a teenage mother in the Middle East.  A carpenter who followed God – not to a position of power and honor – but to his own unjust execution by people who held power and honor.  I believe in a God whose Kingdom is like a mustard seed, a small annoying virus that works from the grassroots until it takes over.  And this is why I am grateful for tonight, but I am not overjoyed, I am not elated, I do not think “THIS is the moment we’ve been waiting for.”  Nor do I despair, like some of my Christian brothers and sisters who opposed Obama.  I do not despair, as if the fate of the world rests on Barack’s shoulders, as if God’s hands are tied by people as unimportant as Presidents.

I, like many of my Christian brothers and sisters, do not agree with President Obama’s stance on abortion.  But I am praying that despite our opinions on the matter that we will be able to work with him towards a more just society where abortions are fewer and fewer.  That is common ground I believe I share with Barack.  We should not demonize him for the next four years, and waste an opportunity to work with him towards a common goal, just so we can elect a “pro-life” candidate in 2012.  By all means vote for a pro-life candidate in 2012.  But right now Barack is the President, so let’s make our voices heard, not waste time tearing down a fellow believer.  Let’s pray that Barack is a good and decent and wise leader, no matter how you feel about his politics.  I’ve been praying for George W. Bush these past eight years, though most of those years I was very opposed to his policies.  I hope you will join me in praying for Barack Obama no matter how you feel about his politics.

In some ways I am sad for Barack.  I think that he geniunely wants the best for this country and for the world.  But I also believe that few positions in this world corrupt a human being like that of the President of the United States.  I think it’s an office that takes good people and chews them up and that few people have what it takes to escape with their integrity (especially as Christians).  I hope that doesn’t happen to Barack… but I’m afraid that it will.  I’ve often thought in the past that the kind of people who want to become President deserve what it does to them, but I don’t feel that way about Barack.  So while I’m praying that God gives him wisdom and integrity I will also pray that the power he has does not corrupt him as it certianly would me.  And I’ll also be praying that when Barack’s agenda and the agenda of Jesus collide (as it does in all our lives) that Jesus would prevail against Barack and against me… for the good of us both.

If you are feeling confident about who to vote for then get out there and vote today!

But, if your conscience is bothering you… if you feel like you can’t give either candidate your “YES,” then feel free to abstain.  There’s nothing in scripture that says it’s your duty to vote.

Derek Webb put it this way, “Voting is a legal right, like carrying a gun or having an abortion. And I can abstain from doing anything that I have a legal right to if it violates my conscience.”  For more check out his essay titled, How Then Shall We Vote?

For years I’ve wanted to travel to Africa.  It probably began towards the end of high school and beginning of college.  That was right around the time that I began to open up to God’s call for me to the ministry.  It was also about the time that my cousin Tiffani graduated from college and promptly moved from Chicago to Nairobi, Kenya to work as a librarian.  Her stories over the years of life in Africa, the adventures she had and the closeness to God she experienced there all deepened my desire to go to Africa.

In college I began to read books like Richard J. Foster’s Freedom of Simplicity and a number of Henri Nouwen’s books that were challenging the culture of busyness and consumption that I was (and remain) immersed in.  For some reason Africa became the place in my mind where a Christian could finally be free of the over-scheduled life of busyness and by necessity would have to live simply rather than by greed and consumerism.  Both then and now I longed for more stillness in my life, for a life of sustainability rather than one full of cool stuff.  Africa was a beacon, it was there I thought, that I would finally learn these lessons and following Jesus in these radical ways would just become easier.

In my later years in college I began to discover Jesus’ heart for the poor, and God’s call for his people to stand for justice in this world.  This compounded the mythical power of Africa in my imagination.  Africa was a place where God would be more present simply because of the poverty and injustice there.  And so I longed to visit Africa so that I might meet God in a new and more powerful way than is possible for a privileged kid with a Masters degree in America.

But when I went to Africa God was the same.

And that made me think.  It made me think that instead of internalizing God’s heart for the poor, I might have used it as justification for feeling distant from God.  And if that was the case then feeling distant from God probably had a lot more to do with me not paying attention and not spending enough time in prayer than it did with my surroundings.  I still wish I could embrace a life with more simplicity, I still long for more silence and prayer in my life and less scheduling and busyness.  But right now I’m thankful that God helped me to deconstruct yet another mythical place where being a Christian is somehow easier and reminded me that it’s not about where you are, it’s about who you’re becoming, whose voice you’re listening to.  Because even in Africa, God still speaks in the still small whisper and even in Africa following Jesus still takes a lot of faith.

Dear Friends and Family,

As some of you know, I will be joining a team from our church on a two-week mission trip to Malawi, Africa to provide assistance to poor and needy people in that country. Our goal is to develop a long-term partnership between the Allentown community (where I am a youth pastor) and a village/community in Malawi, where we would focus on comprehensive, sustainable development in an effort to raise the village out of poverty. I’m reaching out to my friends, family and blog readers to see if you would be willing to help support our efforts.

The Need: Malawi is located in the southeast quadrant of Africa, and is a country of breath-taking beauty, and back-breaking poverty. Malawi is considered to be one of the four poorest countries in the world, with unemployment estimated at 60% or more, nearly half the population surviving on less than $1/day, and more than 65% of the population living below the poverty line. The statistics about medical conditions are hard to fathom: the average life expectancy in Malawi is less than 40 years old, more than 13% of the children do not make it to the age of 5, and with HIV/AIDS rampant, there are a staggering number of orphans and child-led households. Throughout Africa, 3,000 people die from malaria every day (one every 30 seconds). These severe medical issues combined with the malnutrition and food insecurity caused by the severe economic conditions make it extremely difficult for Malawians to pull themselves out of poverty on their own.

Our Vision: As I mentioned, our vision is to partner with and adopt a village in Malawi and provide broad-based assistance designed to enable the village to lift itself out of poverty. We will be partnering with the Development Office of the Presbyterian Church in Malawi, and with them have identified a rural village an hour outside of the city of Blantyre, near the town of Zomba, which is currently not receiving outside assistance. Our intentions are to provide a variety of forms of aid, including (1) constructing a simple building as a mission center that will serve a preschool/feeding center for the youngest and most vulnerable orphans in the community and a training center for agricultural and other programs to enhance the food supply for the village; (2) purchasing and distributing mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of malaria, which is especially prevalent in the region; (3) providing funding for fertilizer and seed to enhance next year’s harvest, (4) purchasing needed materials and supplies for orphanages and the preschool; and (5) establishing programs for providing sustainable sources of food, such as the construction of fish ponds and providing livestock that will reproduce.

How You Can Help: I’ve agreed to the crazy idea of joining a couple of other members of the team in spending up to 72 hours on a raft in the middle of the Allentown Lake, as a way to raise awareness of and interest in the plight of those we seek to help. We are asking people to support our efforts by making a pledge to sponsor our time on the raft. Each of us has agreed to spend an hour on the raft for every $10 we individually raise, up to 72 hours. So, if I’m able to raise $720 or more, I will have to spend the full 72 hours on the raft. 100% of the funds raised will go directly to providing assistance to the people of Malawi. We have a competition amongst ourselves to see who can raise the most pledges (and thus be stuck on the raft for the longest!). The following gives you an idea of what your pledge would buy:

Item/Cost

Buy mosquito net/$10
Stock pond with fish to support 1 family/$10
Stock pond with fish to support 5 families/$50
Construct 20m x 10m fish pond/$200
Materials needed to build mission center/$4,000

If you feel moved to sponsor some of my time on the raft and make a pledge, or otherwise support our efforts, please let me know — we will be launching the raft on the evening of Thursday, June 26. You can either give me the funds or a check (made out to “Allentown Presbyterian Church” with the notation “Africa mission” in the memo section) directly to me, or you can send it to me at home (101 Farber Rd 7B, Princeton, NJ 08540). I’ve never used the blog as a format to raise money before, but doing whatever I can to help our brothers and sisters in Malawi is something that I feel very passionate about. Any support you can provide — even if it’s only your thoughts and prayers for a safe and fruitful trip — will be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions or want to learn more about our vision, please don’t hesitate to ask.

For a peek into life in Malawi, be sure to check out the blog where our pastor and his family have been writing about their experiences during their year in Malawi at apcmalawi.blogspot.com.

Sincerely yours,

Charlie Lyons-Pardue

Brian McLaren was in town last night speaking about his new book Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope. It was an excellent presentation, one of those “big idea” kinds of presentations that just build and build. I thought he did a great job of packing all of these concepts into a 1 1/2 hour presentation. While I felt like I was keeping up with him, tracking with where he was going, I still left with my head spinning. There was just so much that he covered and the implications are innumerable.

Later in the evening Brian joined us at the Princeton Emergent Cohort and we were also joined by the North Jersey Emergent Cohort. We packed 20+ people into a small corner of the Yankee Doodle Tap Room. It was a great time of informal conversation and we picked Brian’s brain about Narrative Theology, Stanley Hauerwas, Radical Orthodoxy, global economies and local economic practices, Wendell Barry, Plato, eschatology, N.T. Wright, Andrew Perriman, terrorism, the presidential election, pastoral care, dealing with conflict in the local church and the writing process. It was a great conversation with a great thinker.

I’ve loved all of Brian’s books that I’ve read so far but I had Everything Must Change on the backburner. No more. After last night I want to dig deeper into what Brian’s getting at in this book because I think it’s going to be incredibly important for the church as we quit playing “intramural games” as he put it, and start addressing how the Gospel frames and narrates our lives in such a way that we are sent into the world in a posture of serving, reconciling, compassion and healing.

If this stuff excites you like it does me, be sure to check out the Deep Shift tour. Brian will be in the Bronx May 2-3rd. If you can’t make it to the tour be sure to check out everythingmustchange.org where people are contributing and dreaming of ways to change the world one act at a time.