Gordon 1

Nicole Gordon Mr. Harrell English Composition 16, October 2013 Relationships The people who surround you, are the people that make you who you are. In the book, The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinners Semester at Americas Holiest University, Kevin Roose could not have made it through his semester at Liberty University without his connections with his friends and professors. Not just his new friends he was bound to meet, but the ones back home. Ultimately Rooses relationships throughout The Unlikely Disciple, are very important in shaping Roose into the man he was meant to be. Having a good relationship with a close friend can sometimes be all you need to get yourself started. That friend for Roose was Laura. In the beginning, Roose was unsure of himself. He was not sure if he had the right tools to become an evangelical Christian for an entire semester, or at least play the role of one. Thats where Laura comes in. As Roose writes, If I came to her apartment in Baltimore, she offered to give me a last-minute crash course before my evangelical immersion began, I wont be able to teach you everything, she said, but I can get you some of the way there. (13). Laura was a crucial part in Roose being successful at Liberty University. In a sense, Laura is what made Rooses experience at Liberty possible. Without her, Roose would have been in the dark. Sometimes a good relationship will guide you home.

Gordon 2

During Rooses semester at Liberty University he finds that light that will give him a little piece of back home. Roose met one of his best friend still to this day, Jersey Joey in Dorm 22. Jersey Joey was very similar to Rooses friends back home at Brown University. He brought relaxation and excitement to the evangelical lifestyle. Roose writes: Ive been hanging around Joey a lot in the past few weeks, both because his room is two doors away from mine and because he, more than anyone else on the hall, reminds me of my secular friends. Hes immature and boisterous, yes, but hes far enough from Libertys mainstream that I get a reversionary comfort from watching him pee in somebodys sink or what have you. (90) Jersey Joey is one of the main reasons that Roose stayed neutral. He never fully conformed to the Liberty ways because he always had a little piece of back home there with him. Its always a good thing to have a relationship based on the fun aspects of your life. Roose writes, Were making you an official member. Yeah, says Alex. But first, you gottta get dry humped. And so, for the next thirty seconds, the rebels of Dorm 22 give me a dry-humping initiation, their version of a peace pipe (119). Although not all relationships are based on good fun, some relationships are formed to serve a certain purpose, to make a difference. At Liberty University, Roose finds a man who changes his life in many more ways than just one. This man was known as Zipper. While Jersey Joey helped keep Roose stuck to his hometown roots, Zipper was showing Roose another way of life, another way to believe. Zipper played a huge role in Rooses religious aspect of the semester. Right from the beginning, you can sense that Zipper was going to be a big influence on Rooses life. Roose writes, Zipper, within two days of meeting me, has volunteered to help me pick classes, shop for textbooks, take me out to dinner- everything except tuck me into bed (37-8). From that night on, they attended the

Gordon 3

prayer groups. Zipper taught Roose how to pray, the importance of prayer, and most importantly that you didnt have to believe in God to pray. Knowing Zipper had done so much for Roose, and made such a huge impact in his life, made it nearly impossible for Roose to tell Zipper the truth. Roose writes: For a Liberty student, an unsaved person is someone who doesnt get it, who doesnt know how to quote C. S. Lewis or sing Jesus Paid It All without looking at the words. And for them, the fact that I did know these things, that I had gone through the same Christian gauntlet as them, made my story all the more confusing and all the more heartbreaking. My news would have been easier to swallow if I had been a Jew or a Muslim or a steadfast atheist. But to be this close to Christianity for an entire semester and not have accepted Christ? It killed them. (313). Roose might not have believed in Christ, but he did believe in belief and he did pray. All thanks to Zipper. In the end, when it came down to it, Roose knew he had to tell Zipper the truth. Roose writes: When I told Zipper about my Quaker roots, he gazed at the floor. So does this mean youre not saved? he asked. I wanted to give Zipper the spiel I had stopped short of getting saved, I had experienced immense spiritual growth at Liberty . . . But I knew what he meant. Zipper wanted to know if I had prayed the Sinners Prayer, if I had gotten down on my knees and asked Christ to be my personal savior. And I had to tell him that I hadnt.

Gordon 4

Wow, he said. Well . . . wow. The news that I wasnt an evangelical confused Zipper, and it confused many more of my Liberty friends that weekend. (313). Some relationships come easy, but sometimes others you have to work a little harder for. In The Unlikely Disciple, Roose worked a little harder to get one special girls attention, more than he did any other person at Liberty University. This girl was Anna. Roose writes, The situation with Anna points to the biggest ethical dilemma of my semester (126). It drove Roose insane knowing that he was lying to Anna, but at the time it was the only thing he could do. In a way, I think Anna proved to Roose that its okay to break the rules every once in a while. Just because youre an evangelical Christian doesnt mean you wont mess up sometime in your life. Roose writes, She was relieved to know that I had a valid reason for snubbing her after our series of dates, although she called me a borderline pansy for not asking her out anyway (314). This proves that Anna doesnt believe that you should hold back your feelings and emotions to follow The Liberty Way. Anna portrays the you want it, go get it kind of personality throughout the book. Theres a difference between putting forth effort in a relationship and forcing a friendship just for the sake of your sanity. Roose meets one of his room-mates, one who he cant agree or get along with if his life depended on it, and that room-mate is Henry. Henry wasnt your normal social and friendly evangelical Christian at Liberty University. Roose writes: I havent learned much more about Henry, the third resident of room 205. I still havent figured out why hes starting at Liberty at age twnty-nine or what the rest

Gordon 5

of his story is . . . The only other notable thing Ive learned about Henry is that hes very socially conservative (49). From the beginning Henry was always a little off to Roose. Despite their differences, all Roose wanted in the beginning was to make things work between Henry and himself. Now, Roose could care less what Henry has to say about anything. Regardless if the two got along, Roose learned something from Henry. Roose learned humanity from Henry. Roose writes, I reach this conclusion: humanizing is not the same as sympathizing. You can peel a stereotype off a person and not see a beautiful human being underneath. In fact, humanity can be very ugly (110). Roose realized that humanity isnt always beautiful, it can be very ugly: and Henry just might be a part of the ugly side. When Roose decided to visit Liberty University for the semester, it was the best decision he could have made for himself. Going through the motions of an evangelical Christian student, helped him find himself in the end. He couldnt have shaped himself into the man he is today without the fellow friends and professors that he met at Liberty. Roose writes: Of course, there is one group of people that I could never thank enough, no matter how much space I devote to the attempt. Namely, the students, faculty, and administrators of Liberty University . . . I never thought that the worlds largest evangelical university would feel like home, or even a home away from home. (319). Despite all the white lies Roose might have told, he came out of Liberty University a new man. He also gained something way more important than that, a lifetime full of loving and caring friends. Roose says, Having thrown off the yoke exaggeration and half truth, I was now free to

Gordon 6

be the same guy- the exact same guy- when talking to my Liberty friends and my Brown friends alike (314). It seems that Rooses two worlds came together perfectly and gave him the strength to be the man he was always meant to be.

Gordon 7

Work Cited Roose, Kevin. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinners Semester at Americas Holiest University. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009. Print.