“You look like a Liberty student.” PLUS: Get an advance copy of TUD!
I just got back from three days at Liberty, where I met with the school’s administration about the book, spent time with old Liberty friends (who have all known about the book for a while), and met a few new friends. Highlights of the trip, in no particular order:
– Eating Cheesy Westerns (cheeseburgers with fried eggs on top — a Lynchburg classic) with a few guys from my old dorm at the Texas Inn and having a hysterical conversation about Christian colleges and their rules. As it turns out, there are a few colleges out there with stricter rules than Liberty’s. Like Pensacola Christian College, where no physical contact whatsoever is allowed between guys and girls (even high-fives are banned — this place makes Liberty look like Plato’s Retreat). Rumor has it that PCC students, unable to touch each other, are reduced to holding erotic staring contests with their significant others. They call this “optical intercourse” or “making eye babies.”
– Being told by Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty’s president and chancellor, that I look “more like a Liberty student than a Brown student” on account of the khaki/sweater combo I was rocking. I had a great meeting with Chancellor Falwell and his wife Becki, as well as an earlier meeting with Jonathan Falwell (Jerry Sr.’s other son, who pastors the megachurch), and all of them were very gracious about the book once I made it clear that it portrayed Liberty in a (mostly) positive light.
Chancellor Falwell told me a funny story of the summer he spent taking courses at Yale while he was a student at Liberty — sort of the opposite of my book. Apparently, a Yale professor was condemning Jerry Falwell Sr.’s religious views in class one day, and the younger Falwell raised his hand and said, “He doesn’t believe that, sir.” Professor: “How do you know?” Jerry Jr.: “Um, he’s my dad.”
– Taping an interview with Liberty student James Kinney (see his blog here) for Liberty’s student radio station, 90.9 FM (”The Light”). James is a great host, and I’ll be excited to see how the piece turns out.
– Seeing the improvements taking shape on Liberty’s campus since I was there in Spring 2007. It’s amazing how quickly they build things over there. A new bookstore, an indoor soccer stadium, a completely refurbished dining hall. Perhaps the most over-the-top addition is a snowless ski slope, which will operate year-round (yes, even in summer) on Liberty Mountain. Check out the details here — it actually looks pretty sweet.
The best thing about the weekend, of course, was reconnecting with my Liberty friends. I’ll be introducing you to a bunch of them in subsequent “Jerry’s Kids” episodes, but suffice it to say that we had a great time. I’ll be back on campus soon, likely in early April. Next time, I’ll be sure to bring my skis.
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Also, in shameless self-promotion news, Goodreads.com (Facebook for the literati) is running a giveaway for advance copies of THE UNLIKELY DISCIPLE. Click here to enter it, and feel free to spread the word! You have to be a member of Goodreads, I believe, but it’s free to join and well worth it.
