Urban Onramps

I’m trying to hammer out a thought. It’s tough to put together, cuz it’s (drumroll)

nuanced

Nuance doesn’t play well in today’s world. You are either for or against someone. A side is good and the other side, evil. But some things take nuance to explain.

For example, when it comes to solutions to poverty coming from the political right or the political left, it’s one thing to advocate an idea, but a totally different thing to “put your shoulder to plow” (to use an out-of-context farming metaphor). There are things you learn when you are committed to working on a challenge, when you don’t give up, when you devote years of your life to a resolution. Right and Left start to blur. Then right and left lose meaning, because finding solutions to centuries-old challenges nearly always involves “inventing” solutions. You make the road as you walk, indeed.

(I’m still hashing this out…)

(I’m thinking out loud here…)

There’s this quote I’m looking for as it relates to war. Something about how, “Every battle plan goes out the window, or is outdated, the moment the first shot is fired.” I think that’s an appropriate way to look at people, discipleship, ministry, church, poverty-fighting. You have to constantly evaluate what is going on around you. THE MINUTE you stop evaluating, well, you begin to get off track.

John Perkins has this phrase about, “Justice is eternal vigilance.” I don’t know where he got that; maybe he came up with it; but I worked with him for years, he’s a humble listener who will take any good idea from anywhere and make it work for him. But Justice is eternal vigilance; I like it. Right and Left don’t tell us what we need to know when it comes to fighting for justice.

This is very sad:

Afghanistan, July 25, 2006—The bodies of two World Vision Afghanistan employees shot and killed on Saturday, July 22, have been returned to their families for burial.

Afghanistan driver Naqibullah (one word, full name) had worked with a World Vision program for two years. His passenger, Abdul Zaher, a pharmacy stock keeper, joined World Vision 22 months ago.

The two Afghani nationals were returning to the city of Chagcharan, the capital of Ghowr province, from a World Vision health clinic in the village of Charsada when they were attacked by a group of unknown men. The pair radioed their travel location to the base at Chagcharan at 6 p.m. local time. Two hours later they were found shot to death outside their World Vision vehicle.

A witness told authorities that approximately eight men with guns attacked the vehicle. One bullet pierced the windshield and another went through the door. When the two men inside got out to surrender they were shot dead and the vehicle was destroyed with continued rounds of gunfire.

The incident has prompted World Vision to close some programs in the area and impose strict guidelines on travel. World Vision has also sent trained staff to provide critical incident debriefings with Afghanistan staff and the families of the deceased. All staff have returned from the field to the safety of Chagcharan. The Afghanistan Ministry of Health has shut down health clinics in the area while World Vision Afghanistan and local authorities investigate the incident. The motive for the killings is unknown at this time.

It’s my first day back at my Harambee desk. All sorts of neighborhood intrigue swirled about me, but I felt calm. Peaceful. Ran into some old heads. Plotted while driving around the hood. Came home. Worked out. Ate a little lunch. More plotting. Scheming. Now I’m going to pick up Micah from Aunt Shirley’s.

Catblogging! Wait, Flickr is not working. Will have to upload photo later.

I wrote this article for Youthworker. I just got a copy of it in the mail. Yeah.

Turned in an article for Outreach magazine last week. Yeah Yeah.

I’ve been wanting to write an op-ed for my local newspaper. I used to be a columnist for the Pasadena Star News, all the way back at the end of the 20th Century.

Tonight we host small group bible study at my house. Our church, Pasadena Church of God, has a buncha these groups. Good times.

Did I say it’s still hot?

“El Chavo del Ocho” is:

(a) Un narcosatánico
(b) The Mexican Benny Hill
(c) A famous cholo
(d) On Tuesdays

More questions over at Rate Your Pochismo.

Related: Abner has thoughts on Chicano Studies.

The Carrascos are back home. At midnight, when we arrived at LAX, it was 82 degrees. LAX is near the ocean. For the temperature to be 82 at midnight near the ocean in LA means something is wrong, or highly unusual to say the least. It’s cooking, baking, with no end in sight. Yet and still, that’s just a minor thought. We slept in our beds last night, and now we are just glad to be here.

Sort of - Tim Colson, who runs Veneration Coffee House in Virginia and is an emerging church blogger, has been called to active duty by the U.S. Navy. He will be gone for a year in an undisclosed location, which could be the Tahitian South Pacific or the Middle East, no one knows. My prayers are with you, bro. I will wait patiently for that fresh roasted coffee ya’ll have planned. Prayers for your wife and kids while you are away, too. Here’s Tim’s blog: Coffee House Church.

• Finally, after 15 years of coming to New York, I went to the Museum of Natural History yesterday. You can take the C train up to 81st Street, and you don’t even have to leave the Subway station - you can enter the museum right off the train. It was me, Kafi, Sam, Micah, and Muslimah (Kafi’s mom, for those of you who don’t know). It’s a big old museum. No way we tried to see everything, or even a little bit of everything (how can you, with kids in tow?) We saw a lot of summer day camp children from church-run day camps - in fact, ALL of the day campers I saw were from Christian programs. Interesting. We went to the ocean life exhibit and the two big dinosaur rooms. They’ve got this sweet Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil display that will give you the chills if you imagine yourself in the clutches of its jaws.

• My wife is one of nine siblings. At last count, they have 18 university degrees among them. I married up.

• Right wingers have been making fun of this site for a few days now. They are currently calculating the results.

• Today we went to Coney Island today with both of Kafi’s parents and the kids. I scarfed down two Nathan’s hot dogs. Sam and I rode the bumper cars. Everything - everything - costs at least $2 to ride.

• I understand the logic of the legislators, but this just doesn’t seem right: Feeding homeless outlawed in Las Vegas.

• Commentator Cal Thomas says that “World Trade Center” is a world class movie. I did not expect this, since Oliver Stone is the director. According to the press packet about the movie, “…Oliver Stone is quoted as saying: “Although my politics and John and Will’s may be different, it didn’t matter; we all got along. I can make a movie about them and their experiences because they went through something that I can understand. Politics does not enter into it - it’s about courage and survival.” Thomas recommends both World Trade Center and United 93, a movie I did not see.

• Tonight Kafi and I watched “Super Size Me” by that Morlan Spurloch guy, the first time for both of us. We both liked it. The guy has a knack for film-making and story-telling.

• For about the 739th day in a row, my son Samuel received chemotherapy. Tonight I woke him at midnight (the posting time remains on West Coast time; I’m currently three hours ahead) to give him 1 1/2 tablets of 6mp. I mixed it witih grape juice. I also took him to the bathroom, in case he needed to go. Somehow Micah woke up and is clinging, with eyes wide open, to her mother’s bosom. I came back and washed out Sam’s plastic chemo syringe, making sure it’s ready for next time.

• I’ve been reading through 1 Samuel. First I loved the story of the Lord calling Samuel for the first time. Then I was interested in how Saul came to be anointed the king. Among his kingly details: he was tall! A head taller than others!. Then I tracked his relationship with David. The biblical narrative gets a bit disjointed at that point, or at least the chronology is off. But what impressed me was the number of times the writer(s) note that the Spirit of God was on someone, or not on someone, or sending evil spirits to oppress Saul. The Spirit is very active in the Old Testament.

• I did not know this: Evidently Salem Publishing now owns Youthworker Journal. I just wrote an article for YWJ, it’s in the current issue, which I guess I’ll see soon. Wow, Salem has evidently bought up a bunch of domains: Christianity.com, Crosswalk.com, CCMmagazine.com, and XulonPress???

• Note to self: Lower your expectations for your birthday (July 28, if you must know). You have already received your Father’s Day, birthday, wedding anniversary exchange, and Christmas gift, that sweet video ipod you are lugging around…

• OK, I’ve delayed on this one, but I gotta say something: What The Heck Happened To That Cruise Ship That Rolled Over? The Washington Post says the ship will be back in circulation in a minute, despite the fact that they still don’t know what caused the ship to tip 15-20 degrees. And I just got off a Carnival cruise ship! Here’s what I think happened: (you be the judge as to whether I’ve watched too many movies), but I think someone up in the steering area did something stupid or accidental or reckless to cause the problem, like in some slapstick comedy where someone pushes the wrong button (think Bean).

• top 50 emerging church blogs: including “Doogie Howser did it, so why not me?”

• The president aces his NAACP speech: in center-left Slate.com. Things are apparently looking up for Bush ever since he was caught on tape using the s-word to describe Hezbollah’s provocations - all sorts of folks who typically hold Bush’s feet to the fire (like this guy) have expressed appreciation that he’s doing what he’s doing right now.

• Booking in advance: I just said yes to an invitation to speak at the Fresno Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast - in March 2007.

• Here’s Sam with one of his uncles, Amen:

This is the same uncle Amen who is one of Essence magazine’s 50 “Do Right Men,” tagline, “Who says a good single Black man is hard to find?” CHECK IT OUT. Amen is in great company. Others on the Essence list include Cory Booker, Harold Ford Jr., Jamie Foxx, Kevin Johnson, Tyler Perry - and Amen Ra Mashariki. Congratulations, Amen.