Conflicted

Last night I watched the Idols Give Back special. In a previous life I have watched way too much of American Idol, so what's two more hours? And this one is supposed to be about Africa, so that's good, right? And Bono will be on, right?

First - the negative.

The show was an interlacing of a usual cheesy elimination show, a concert and clips from charities around the world. Interesting mix.
- In the clips of children it seemed like the kids were coached when to start crying. I was suspicious the first time, but the little girl in LA seriously can't act.
- Also, I thought this was about Africa. Since when are LA, New Orleans and Kentucky in Africa?
- Since when is anywhere in the US considered "extreme poverty" on the level with some of the African conditions?
- Why did Ryan have to follow every clip of the horrors in Africa with a comment about half the money staying in America to help American kids? What's wrong with helping African kids?
- Watching Simon Cowell in an African hut telling the family that their "home" was unacceptable was pretty hard to take. I get that the conditions are deplorable, but it seemed uncomfortable to here a rich Brit say that to the family.
- What exactly are Simon, Ryan, Randy and Paula doing on these issues? When Ryan asked Simon that he quickly deflected the question.
- The Quincy Jones song was awful. In a "this is a horrible song" awful, and also in a "love isn't going to fix everything" awful.
- Having Exxon executives pretending to care about Africa turned my stomach.
- How can you cut from the clips of children in poverty to the AI elimination? It was way too jarring.
- Paula, showing us cleavage within millimeters of getting censored is not what I would consider "Idol gives back". Just sayin.

So, having said all that and having steeled myself for the cheesefest that is AI...
yes, I ended up crying. The brother and sister living in a single room because their parents were dead. The "family" of fourteen children (mostly AIDS orphans) living in a room. Carrie Underwood singing to those kids.

Yes, I went through lots of kleenex. Even I'm not cold enough to stay dry eyed during it.

And, I guess if all the AI watchers gained a greater understanding of the poverty issues in our country and the crisis in Africa, then the sacrifice of two hours of my life is worth is. Kudos to Ellen Degeneres for pledging $100,000 on air and challenging the rich friends she watches AI with to do the same. I hope lots of people are really bothered by the show (in the good way) and follow up by asking lots of questions. I know www.one.org was down most of the night because it's servers were swamped. I also hope those 6 finalists on the show were impacted and when one (or more) of them gets famous they remember what their fame and money can do.

$30 million is nothing to sneeze at. I hope the money makes it's way swiftly to buy malaria medication, nets, ARV medication and all the other things they promised last night.

As much as the cheesy stuff made me snicker and some of the "edge of tasteful" stuff made me wince, mostly the show made me want to go to Africa with suitcases of malaria medication and support those communities torn apart by AIDS however I can.

Bono Sighting

Though it pains me to promote American Idol, according to the press releases (and the emails I've gotten from the ONE Campaign, Bono will be on American Idol tomorrow night. It's supposed to be a relief show for Africa, so he's there to talk to the contestants about the ONE campaign. Though it's sure to be cheesy, it is bringing attention to the issues in Africa. Tune in, but be prepared with the mute or fast forward button for when you hit your limit of cheese!

Keeper of Hearts

I'm continuing to read (and take copious notes on) Ministries of Mercy by Timothy Keller. It's an outstanding book and I can't even tell you how much I've learned from this book.

I came upon this quote last night:

The person should remember that God is the keeper of hearts. If you have a burden, then God put it there; it is not the result of your innate goodness and love.

This really speaks to something that's been bothering me for some time. Is this interest in Africa just a passing thing with me? Is this just something that caught my eye? How do I know that this is just from God and not just a good idea?

Then I read this quote and got hit with some perspective. It's hard to accept that nothing good could be coming just from me. It's just a matter of my motivation in approaching the good things that are from God. God is the keeper of my heart.

Life in the Center

Growing up in Canada I always felt a little outside the center. It was always clear that the US was the center of Western culture. From a global view all of the US, Canada and Western Europe are the center.

I read a great article the other night. I was going through my old magazines as part of spring cleaning and stumbled on this article in a Christianity Today from last summer. It's exactly what I've been looking for.

Rt. Rev. Dr. David Zac Niringiye talks about the dangers of being at the center. He explains that throughout scripture God was always outside the center. Jesus came to earth far out of the center.

As North American Christians he says we are at a disadvantage in understanding Jesus because we don't have that experience of being at the margins. His suggestion is that all North American Christians spend time globally at the margins - not to "fix" the rest of the world or to "bring God" to the rest of the world, but to realize that the margin is where God is and if we want to be with God, that's where we need to be.

I've been trying to explain to my church that sending people to Africa isn't to try to evangelize Africa (the church there is growing much faster than the church in my area), it's to transform our people by stepping outside our comfortable world and seeing God working in other parts of the world.

"One of the gravest threats to the North American church is the deception of power - the deception of power - the deception of being at the center. Those at the center tend to think, 'The future belongs to us. We are the shapers of tomorrow. The process of gospel transmission, the process of mission - all of it is on our terms, because we are powerful, because we are established. We have a track record of success, after all.'"

How often do we the US as shaping the world? How often do we say things like "the future belongs to us"?

If God is working far from the center, let's go be with Him.

A New Voice on Africa

Living in my little Protestant bubble, I had no idea Pope Benedict was interested in the development issues of Africa. Evidently he has a new book coming out April 16th that includes the following quote on the application of the parable of the Good Samaritan to the issues of Africa:

"If we apply [the story] to the dimensions of globalised society we see how the peoples of Africa, who have been plundered and sacked, see us from close-up," he wrote. "Our style of life [and] the history in which we are involved has stripped them and continues to strip them."

The Pope wrote that the damage was not just material. "We have wounded them spiritually too," he said. "Instead of giving them God - and thereby welcoming in from their traditions all that is precious and great - we have brought them the cynicism of a world without God in which only power and profit count."

In the book he also discusses human trafficking, sex tourism and consumerism. Good to see these issues being discussed openly.

White Almost Pink

Whatever you think of Bono's methods, you can't help but be inspired by the last minute of his speech at the NAACP last month. Clearly he was born to preach.

His truth IS marching on.

More Thoughts on AIDS

I'm reading a great new book called "The Hope Factor: Engaging the Church in the HIV/AIDS Crisis". I'm preparing for a fundraising dinner tomorrow night and trying to figure out what to say.

John Piper has an article in book. He's given me a lot to think about.

"The fact that any of us is healthy after sinning is owing to Christ's mercy. Therefore, the fact that some are sick after sinning should bring out Christian mercy. And there is need for extraordinary mercy. Christians should pray and work toward research into cures, medical and hospice care, orphan ministries, education, moral challenges for abstinence and recovery, and above all, the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

It's something I don't think a lot of us consider. It's not a matter of some people deserving to have a disease because of their sin. We all deserve reserve consequences of sin. Some of us just don't get it. Rather than looking down at those who have a disease, we need to be thankful for God's mercy in our own lives and extend that mercy to others.

Justice Part I

Since last November I've had justice on my mind. It's taken different forms - the Caregiver Kit project, researching fair trade with my small group, reading whatever I can get my hands on to get a better grasp on how to balance social justice within all that I've been learning on prayer and holiness, and learning more about Africa and the many layered crisis there.

The first book I read was Pete Greig's "Awakening Cry". The book traces the historical patterns of revival and ties it in with what we know of God's character and intent for our relationship with Him. The book was amazing for that, and then I got to the chapter on social justice. I have always had a heart for social justice, but I never really understood exactly why. Greig ties together revival and social justice as inseparable. He says that if you're praying and preparing for revival, you can't separate that from working for social justice. Revolutionary.

I feel like there's a whole library of materials I still need to read. Where to turn next?

My current crisis is just being overwhelmed. The Caregiver Kit project is a nice start to mobilize and educate the church, but it's a really short term project. The more I read about the crisis in Africa, the more overwhelmed I feel. Like this article. How can I read this stuff without screaming? And watching the movie Amazing Grace didn't help much. How did Wilberforce do it? And I'm no Wilberforce. How do you take on the huge issues of our world?

I'm praying for guidance, vision and next steps. I'm also praying for what I'm going to say to my church on Sunday to build on the momentum on the AIDS/Africa issue.

Any advice?

Get Involved

Ever wondered how ONE person could do something to help with the issues of AIDS and Africa (besides putting together a Caregiver Kit, of course)? The ONE campaign is organizing people to meet with their Federal representatives while they're in their districts on recess. They're organizing the whole thing, you just let them know you want to be involved. Never underestimate the power of a personal visit! It's worth many many emails!

The Project

If you're a regular reader you know I think a lot of Bono. I've always thought he was interesting, but in the summer of 2004 I read the book Bono In Conversation. I thought I was just going to learn more about the band, but I ended up with a lot more than I bargained for. Finishing the book I couldn't look at Africa the same way again and I couldn't get the AIDS crisis out of my head.

The burning question was, what could one person do about it?

Flash forward to the Perspectives class last year. Got a whole new perspective (no pun intended) on being a global Christian. Still didn't see how this worked in with the other issues I was concerned about. Meantime, I'm reading up on DATA and some other organizations. One of the key things I got out of the course (in regard to social justice issues) is that I'm called to be a mobilizer. Not that I shouldn't do things too, but I'm good at putting things together that will get people to examine what their call might be.

Flash forward to my trip to England and my time at the Northumbria Community. One night at dinner I was sitting with a man named Roy who's involved with End Poverty Now. So, I ask him "what can one person or a small band of people do to make a difference?" So glad I asked. Roy talked about the people in Birmingham who had prayed about how to impact global poverty issues. They received an answer that seemed small in human understanding, but they were faithful in executing it and it led to big impacts. He talked about doing things, that the impact of small things is often much bigger than we know.

So I prayed about it.

In late November I was preparing for Night Watch and my section on World AIDS Day. I was reading through statistics, the latest news and key issues we should be addressing. One of the sites I visited was World Vision. In the midst of lots of great information, cool projects and initiatives I found something small. It was the Caregiver Kits project. Nothing fancy. Won't cure AIDS or change the face of the world.

And I couldn't forget about it. For days. Then a week. Couldn't get to a month because I had to do something about it.

Continued next with The Plan....

Yesterday

Watched an amazing movie tonight called Yesterday. It's about a woman in rural South Africa with HIV. Definitely took me out of my white middle class American mindset. I highly recommend it. Bring kleenex.

How We Help

Last year I took the Perspectives course, a intro to missions study. It was really good overall, but the week that stuck with me the most was the discussion of dependency. It was not something I had thought of before, but it makes a lot of sense. We, as North Americans, have a very messed up view of poverty. What? You do not have a new car and three televisions? How do you survive? We also tend to throw money at problems to try to solve them.

When you take that combo of issues and mix it with good intentions it can be very detrimental to other areas of the world. We may go into an African village and see them living in huts and feel moved to build something (new housing, etc) for them. But we can not tell them what they need. Nor should we rob them of the opportunity to build their own resources. We should not tell them they are too poor to build their own resources or try to transfer North American culture and values to other areas of the world. Dependency also becomes a problem when villages see a need and reach out a hand immediately to their rich American friends.

Lesson over.

I thought of the topic this morning while I was reading the Boston Globe. There is a great article on the school Oprah built in South Africa on how South African community leaders are angry that she moved in and built what SHE wanted to build and not what the community needs. Great points and nice to see it discussed in a mainstream publication. One of the organizations mentioned in the article is the Firelight Foundation and they mentioned their guide for faith based organizations who feel called to help children in sub-Saharan Africa. How awesome is that? In The Boston Globe?? I haven't read it all yet, but it looks great.

Join Red

When I first saw the announcement of RED I was a little skeptical. The message that just going shopping was enough to change the world seemed a little weak. I went through the website and wondered at how Armani, Converse, Gap, Apple and American Express were going to save the world with some t-shirts. I also wondered whether I should buy a pair of Converse just to be supportive of the project. And I thought, and I read more, and I thought some more.

Here's why I'm supportive of the RED project.

1. It's Bono. Don't laugh. Bono is really visionary and has an ability to think out of the box that I don't have. He's able to see a level of connection that I don't see and I trust that even if this doesn't look that substantial to me, there's something deeper going on that I'm not aware of yet. I've gone through the process before of being sceptical of his ideas (like ONE) when they first came out and later realized how brilliant they are.

2. This project is much bigger in England and has raised a high level of public awareness. I'm not a fan of tokenism or slacktivism, but if it helps people be drawn into the movement, then I'm willing to give it some leeway. Also, England tends to be ahead of the US on social justice issues, so watching what works there can be a good barometer of what can work here.

3. (and related to two) One of the kick off events in the US was a televised shopping trip by Bono and Oprah. Initially this turned me off the project until I realized how many people who had no previous exposure and would never look at ONE mentioned this event to me. They would never have listened to the more political message of ONE, but they were willing to listen to RED.

4. When I talked to a friend who has a strong background in social justice and social activism about it, he raised the point that this is providing a new model of corporate engagement in social activitivism. I wouldn't underestimate the importance of this point. If this is successful it will just be the start. Years ago people were laughing at the concept of "Fair Trade" goods.

I firmly believe that RED is just a small step in a bigger plan on this issue. If this step is successful, I think more companies will become involved and more layers of it will be revealed.

I don't think RED is the be all and end all. I think it's one small piece of a much larger puzzle of solving the problem of AIDS in Africa. It's not the most substantial piece and it's not the most aggressive piece, but I think it's the most populist piece. Solving the problem is going to take a multi-layered approach. I think this is just one of those layers. Seeing this roll out at the same time as Bono has been working with American churches on more faith-based initiatives to address the same issue tells me that Bono only sees this as one piece as well.

I totally respect the decision to support ONE and not RED, but I think it deserves more consideration than just as a shopping trip. Sometimes it takes a little while to understand and catch the vision. I'm willing to make the jump now.

Take a watch of the (RED) Manifesto below. I've got RED on my links so you can take a closer look.

(RED) Manifesto

World AIDS Day

Last year on World AIDS Day I took a few minutes to look around the DATA site (www.DATA.org) and saw some statistics that blew me out of the water.

In Botswana, 38.8% of the population is HIV infected or has AIDS (here's an interactive map at DATA that lets you look at the percentages in the various countries) . Think about that for a minute. What if 40% of the people around you had AIDS. If you were in an elevator with 2 other people, at least one of them has AIDS. In your family, chances are at least one person has AIDS. And these numbers aren't the result of the success of anti-viral drugs in keeping people alive. The death tolls are outrageous. In Zimbabwe many of the cities have declared their cemetaries full. Not surprising, since they have 3,500 HIV related deaths a week!

It's estimated that there are currently 39.5 million people living with HIV in the world (63% of them in Africa). That number sounded familiar, so I looked some stuff up. Sure enough - that's more than the number of people in Canada.

Obviously, it's a multilayered problem. There are the health issues of treating the patients and providing medication. There are the moral issues of prevention. There are the compassion issues of dealing with the dying. There are the social issues of whole generations of Africans dying.

I'm still struggling with what to do to help. World Vision has a great list of suggestions on their site. I particularly like their project for caregiver kits and am going to try to do something about that in the new year. The One campaign has lots of suggestions as well, including resources for getting churches involved. If you're more shopping minded, check out the RED campaign (and for an added bonus, there's a message from Bono up on their site today).

But the first thing I'm going to do is to pray. Tonight there is a regular prayer gathering in my area and part of the night is set aside for the AIDS crisis in Africa. I think it's where we need to start. To intercede for the people there and for the organizations trying to make a difference. More than that though, to ask God to break our hearts for what breaks His heart. I can't help but think that what's happening in Africa is one of those things.

p.s. Thanks to Bono for bringing this to my attention and to Roy for reminding me that small groups of people can make a difference, especially if what you do is grounded in prayer.