I will start by saying that it seems like every book I have reviewed in the past two months has been one of the best I have read. Maybe I just know how to pick em. It is more likely that I am just picking books that really spark my interest and they are hitting me at just the right time. I actually bought this book at the Liberty University Book Store when Mason King and I were up there a few months ago. Mason along with several other students from Hillsville are considering going there to school.
I am a Liberty Grad and I am proud of that. I never lived on campus as most of my classes were taken through Liberty’s Distance Learning Department. However, I have visited there several times and I was blessed to be there for Graduation in 2004 and dr. Falwell was alive and well at that time.
I was blessed also to know Dr. Falwell personally. Dr. Falwell accepted an invitation to come to Joy Ranch Home for Children and speak at our annual fund raising banquet just a few years before his death. If you read Kevin Roose book you will hear his impression of Jerry Falwell and I will echo much of what he said. I never agreed with all that Dr. Fal
well did and said but I respected him and admired all the work that he did for our Lord. We have the same enemy called satan.
On to the book, “The Unlikely Disciple” is what I believe to be an honest report of Kevin Roose semester at Liberty University. He was and is a student at Brown University where Kevin is a Journalism Major. Kevin decided rather than travel to another Country, he wanted to travel to and live in Lynchburg Virginia for a semester to see how “conservative evangelicals” live.
Kevin admittedly comes from a liberal political background and a Quaker church background, however his church experience was hit and miss growing up. This was a big switch for Kevin from a service where there is no sermon and no order of worship to a service that is much like a Hollywood production with what Kevin refers to as “jumbo tron” screens and 300 member choir.
I am not sure if Kevin would consider his comments in the book about the University to be a positive in Christianity but from a Christian point of view, he does just that.
Kevin talks about the dating rules at Liberty. Such as, no hugs lasting more than 3 seconds and no kissing. Kevin says these rules even though they are strict they offer liberty. Where in our world today if a person goes on a date certain things seem to be expected, with Liberty’s rules it frees you to have the opportunity to actually get to know each other without pretense. No one is trying to make a romantic move on the other so they can truly get to know each other and not fear being real with each other.
There are lots of positive things that Kevin says about Dr. Falwell and Liberty University. There are lots of things that are discouraging but real when it comes to the students and their struggles. It is real and I like that.
OK, without giving away the story of the book I will highly recommend it. For parents who have no real clue what college is like for their students, read it. For the up and coming college student who doesn’t really know what to expect, read it. For youth leaders who may be shocked to find that Christian students struggle as secular students do, read it.
It is worth your time.
Ronnie
