Looking for Disciples in All the Wrong Places

Throughout the research for my current book project, The Way of Jesus: Re-Forming Spiritual Communities in a Pluralistic Age, the single hardest thing to find has been genuine, authentic disciples of Jesus. I'm talking about disciples as Dallas Willard defines them in his epic work The Divine Conspiracy - people who actually DO what the master does - apprentices to the Way of Jesus. I've searched high and low in churches and Christian communities across the country, and while I've found a lot of terrific Christians, true disciples have been much harder to come by.

I found one today - or more accurately, he resurfaced in my life. It's taken me nearly four years to figure out what it is about this guy that I love and respect so much. I'm speaking of one Chip Duncan – documentary filmmaker, photojournalist, activist, author, and friend.

Chip's life is so compelling by virtue of the choices he makes, the actions he takes, the career path he travels, and the way he conducts himself, that I can only conclude that when I'm with him I am in the presence of a disciple. What makes my conclusion particularly unusual is that Chip is not a Christian. Duncan has never claimed to follow Jesus and has steered clear of organized religion in general and Christianity in particular throughout his personal life. While Duncan is curious and intellectually fascinated by spiritual practices and rituals throughout the world – most of his documentary work explores spiritual and religious themes - he claims no religion for his own, and he would never call himself a Christian. But I consider him a better disciple of Jesus than I will ever be. Why? Because his life is lived so compassionately and is so completely focused on telling the stories of the downtrodden and oppressed. He willingly goes to places where he could easily be misconstrued, captured, killed, or even tortured.

But Duncan is no thrill seeker; he simply believes in the goodness of all people, the bridge building nature of the human spirit, and the importance of telling the stories of those who might not ever be able to speak for themselves.

Chip has written, produced, directed, and narrated dozens of documentaries ranging in subject matter from C.S. Lewis to Woody Hayes and from The Mystic Lands of Haiti and Peru to the unintended results of the Patriot Act. He has been behind the scenes at the White House and explored the history of Prayer in America. His most recent book, which I consider a must read for any globally minded person, is entitled Enough to Go Around: Searching for Hope in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Darfur. It appears, at first glance, to be an expensive coffee table book, with large and beautiful color photos. But this work is so much more than just another pretty picture book. Its text is every bit as important and profound as the incredible photos that adorn its pages. Together, Chip's words and pictures tell the story of his travels - voluntary and self-funded trips - to three countries most dare not go near. Yet Duncan goes without fear, expecting only to encounter fellow humans with the same set of concerns that he has.

Duncan is up front about his purpose: “to put a human face on some of the world’s most difficult places;” to show that “even in the worst of circumstances, there is hope.” And, indeed, his book is profoundly hopeful. In his lecture this morning (9/18/09) at Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey, Chip said, “Most depictions of Muslim people we see in America are threatening and aim at instilling terror. Those are the easy pictures to get and to sell. I am out to capture their everyday lives in a way that depicts their humanity, for they care about the same things we do – safety and education for their children, access to food and water, and peace.”

For those not familiar with the world of documentary film, it is not a financially lucrative field. While Chip has won all kinds of awards for his outstanding work, he is not a rich man. He is constantly raising money simply to get his documentaries produced, with the hope of eventually getting them on PBS, a largely non-paying gig. He gets asked by people to go to places like Ethiopia and Darfur to do what he does, but those who urge him to go to these far-flung lands don’t pay his way. Chip gets himself there to cover the stories of NGO’s and to promote the efforts of relief organizations, but rarely does Chip come away with any income from these very costly adventures.

But it’s never been about the money for Duncan. He lives an incredibly simple life and is as unattached to material comforts as anyone I’ve ever met. He travels so lightly, not counting his camera equipment, and when out on assignment, will eat what the natives eat. And that is not much, when one considers that his “subjects” are common folks in developing nations. But to hear Chip describe tea shared with an Afghani merchant or bread broken with a Darfurian woman in a refugee camp, you’d think he had been to Buckingham Palace. For what sustains Duncan is human conversation and connection, learning about and respecting another person and her culture.

In the early pages of Enough to Go Around, Chip describes an event he witnessed while traveling with a relief worker in Ethiopia named Abraham. Abraham had brought a small box of tiny sandwiches, one for each of the four travelers. As a man was passing by their 4X4, Abraham quickly broke his sandwich in half and handed it to the passerby. Not a word was exchanged, nor was any attention called to this “thoughtless” act of sharing. Duncan emphasized the thoughtlessness of the act because Abraham did not have to think, calculate, or consider whether to share with this random man. It just happened. Abraham neither received nor expected to be thanked, much less to have this stranger somehow “pay it forward.” It was sharing for sharing’s sake. Duncan claims that witnessing Abraham’s simple act changed his life.

Chip's story of Abraham made me think of the famous Gospel story of the Widow’s Mite. Jesus watches a poor widow offer two pennies to the temple treasury and declares it more valuable than the larger contributions of the other attendees who gave out of their abundance. Jesus' widow undoubtedly shared what little she had without thinking, without counting the cost, and without expecting anything in return.

Chip Duncan lives in this same way. He is utterly thoughtless in his generosity. He says “Yes!” constantly when asked to go somewhere or do something for the good of another, without regard for what it will cost him. I have consulted with Chip on both of my blatantly Christian book projects, not simply because he is a fine and experienced writer, but because he is one of the most authentic and deeply spiritual people I know. Not only does he know a ton about Jesus, but he lives more like him than most of Christ’s supposed followers. The book I am just about finished writing looks at the future for followers of Jesus. It proposes a radical alternative to the institutional Church, what I call The Way of Jesus, and Chip totally gets it. In fact, my vision excites and energizes him, despite his self-described aversion to Christianity.

When pressed, Chip confided in me that he has never had any problem with Jesus; it is his followers and what they have done that has troubled Duncan and kept him outside Christianity. It is no surprise that Chip finds Jesus compelling, for Chip’s instincts and natural responses to humans in need are exactly like those of the Nazarene.

I’m sure Chip will be uncomfortable with what I have written about him here. He is as self-effacing as he is generous. But I haven’t written this for Chip; I’ve written it for myself, as a way of wrestling with the tremendous impact he continues to have in my life. I've wondered for four years why I am so drawn to this man. It finally dawned on me this morning during his talk at Crooked Tree: he is an unwitting disciple. And I am blessed to have this unusual and wonderful friend in my life.

Learn more about Chip Duncan and his work at duncanenterainment.com