GJL, GJW, ORU, and Little Old Me

Posted on February 7th, 2008 by Neal Locke

You know you’re old when you have to borrow your three-year-old son’s laptop to blog. The keys are small, but it gets better wifi reception than my laptop would, plays mp3s better, runs linux, and he’s sleeping anyhow. We just arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma tonight, and we’re staying at the house of Grady J. Walker – my college literature professor, mentor, dear friend, and the man my son is named after. Little Grady is excited to be here, and all the way up kept asking, “When will I get to see my Grady Walker?” It was a fun trip – our first father/son road trip together, as Amy opted to stay in Frisco with Abby.

In addition to bringing the two Gradys together, we’re here for homecoming weekend at Oral Roberts University, my alma mater. I know, I know, homecoming is supposed to be in the fall (I always have to explain this) unless of course, your college doesn’t have a football team. We have a homecoming basketball game. Weird, I know, but probably not the strangest thing about ORU by far.

Actually, ORU has been in the news a lot lately, and I’ve even blogged about some of that a few times. In a nutshell, the chief nut, Richard Roberts (Oral’s son) resigned the presidency a few months ago amidst pending lawsuits and allegations of excessive, innappropriate spending. Other nuts on the board of regents resigned too. Then, a very wealthy man named Mart Green (the guy behind the movie “End of the Spear” steps in and offers to bail ORU out of its 60 million dollar debt (racked up by Oral and Richard). Mart Green is now the chairman of the board of trustees of ORU. I know that sounds a little fishy, but at this point I’m wiling to give him the benefit of the doubt. From my experiences as student body president my last year at ORU, I lost all respect for the Roberts family, so I’m excited about the possibilities surrounding ORU for the first time in a long time. In part, it’s why I’m here.

Oh, and this also happens to be my ten year reunion. That’s kind of wierd, too. Reunions are just plain awkward. Especially here. And now. For me. Ah, well…to quote the bard:

Once more, into the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:

Posted in College, Grady, Life, Oral Roberts University | Leave a comment

Giving Jesus the Tacos

Posted on February 1st, 2008 by Neal Locke

This time it’s not about me. It’s all about Jesus. To be specific, Jesus Gauna Trejo, who lives in Cadereyta, Nuevo León, México and sells Tacos to support his his three kids (he’s a single Dad). He needs money to renovate his Taco stand, so I loaned him $75 through Kiva.org (he still needs $800 $675, so click on the picture above if you want to help).

Lest anyone think that this is some lame, self-centered attempt to “redeem” myself after giving Jesus the bird, I’ve actually been meaning to do this since before Christmas, when I asked my friends and relatives to give my Kiva.org gift certificates instead of Christmas presents this year. Thanks to all of you who did, today I finally had a chance to pass that Christmas spirit on to someone else who needed it more than I.

What took me so long was that I really, really wanted to benefit someone in Mexico — I have a fondness for Mexican culture inspired by my former high school students (most of whom were of Mexican heritage or citizenship). I also think that with the raging debate on illegal immigration, enough Americans are sending vibes of hatred toward Mexico that someone needs to send some love (or at least money?). Well, Kiva.org was doing so well around Christmas that all the loans to Mexican entrepreneurs had all been covered. I did look to see if there was anyone in a developing country needing money to start a bar or a brewery, but no such luck. So I waited.

I’ve already had some people ask me, “Why lend? Why not just donate?” It’s a good question, and to be honest, I’d have no problem just donating the money to Jesus for his taco store renovations, or even just to help take care of his kids. But if he is able to pay it back (and no, I don’t make any interest from this) then I can loan it right back out to someone else, again preferably in Mexico, and keep doing that as long as people keep repaying. In that way, not only am I helping others, but helping them to help each other. At least, that’s my understanding of things. It’s called micro-financing, and you can visit Kiva’s website to learn more.

Oh, and one more thing: My choice of beneficiaries had nothing to do with his name. It was all about the Tacos.

Posted in Community, Immigration, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Giving Jesus the Bird

Posted on January 29th, 2008 by Neal Locke

Last night as I was leaving (and locking up) the church, a man in a truck pulled up, and asked where the prayer meeting was. I said I didn’t know, but that we didn’t have anything scheduled in the building for that night. We have several groups and three different churches that share our facilities, so I’m not even entirely sure which prayer meeting he was talking about. He was disappointed, but seemed to understand.

Just as I started to get into my car, he paused and said, “Unless…you’d like to pray with me?” I sensed he wasn’t looking for a casual, Presbyterian-style 30-second prayer. I told him that ordinarily I would have been happy to (would I, though?) but that I was on my way to a meeting where people were expecting me. He promptly (perhaps too promptly?) said, “Oh, that’s OK – I understand” and then got back into his truck and drove away. So did I.

“Whatever you do to the least of these, you have done to me…”

I think I just told Jesus to fuck off. Sure, I was polite about it, but giving someone the bird with a smile on your face doesn’t exactly make it a nicer gesture.

I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since then. I hope his need for prayer wasn’t borne out of desperation. I mumbled a quick prayer for him in the car on the way to my writer’s group meeting (where no one was really “expecting” me), but that still didn’t assuage my guilt. And then, because apparently I have a tendency to intellectualize things in order to keep my emotions at arm’s length, I went completely analytical and introspective about it all.

Thoughts:

  1. And you really feel called to be a minister? Great start.
  2. I suck at prayer. I’m not even sure I believe in it or like it that much.
  3. Hey, I could blog about this. Blogs are confessional.
  4. Confession is good. It’s honest. And transparent.
  5. And self-centered. And…arrogant.
  6. Great. Here we are back at the psych eval again.
  7. Wait, wasn’t this about that guy? How did I manage to make it about me?

Actually, the more I thought about that last one, the more I thought there might be some truth to it. If that guy really was Jesus, or even represented Jesus and all the things that I say I believe in and stand for and want for the world, then who really lost out on an opportunity last night? Him…

…or me?

And why is it always about me?

Posted in Blogging, Church, Prayer, Reflection | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Thank You from Grady and Daddy

Posted on January 24th, 2008 by Neal Locke

XOGrady

Ok, so at the end of January this is about a month overdue, but I wanted to say thank you to everyone who contributed to Grady’s Christmas present this year: Two XO Laptops from the One Laptop Per Child foundation – one for Grady, and one presented on his behalf to a child in Mongolia (see pictures!).

The give-one-get-one program provided a great opportunity to talk to him about kids in other parts of the world who don’t have some of the things we take for granted here, and Grady often asks questions about “the little boy who got a computer just like mine.” (ok, so we’re making some assumptions – it could have been a little girl).

The computer itself is incredible: It looks like a toy (designed for small fingers) but it’s a full featured, rugged, and powerful laptop, with more USB ports and better wi-fi range than my Dell has. It’s not only green in color, but possibly the most environmentally conscious computer ever made, too. It runs all open source software, including a Linux-based interface designed especially for children. It was designed first and foremost as an educational tool with a strong constructivist philosophy, which is evident in just about every program (they’re called “activities” on his laptop). In addition to recording his own videos and making a collection of his favorite jokes, he’s already experimented with changing the programming code (python language) for one of the games – something actually encouraged by the developers!

I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a gift for me, in many ways, too. I almost cried when I first took it out of the packing box to wrap it for him before Christmas. I remember when I was just a little older than Grady, my dad brought home a Commodore 64 for the first time, and (over the next few years) taught me how to write programs in BASIC. It was (and is) a gift that I cherish now that he’s gone, and like the reading it was probably more about the time he spent with me than what we actually did (although I’m definitely grateful for the geek skillz he passed on).

Just about every day now, Grady asks me, “Dad – can we have some computer time?” No gift could possibly be better than that for a father and son.

Thanks to Grandad and G.G., Grandma Linda and Grandpa Jim, Aunt Emily, Uncle Shelby and Aunt Erica, Uncle Jeff, and Uncle Joe – from Grady and his Daddy.

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Posted in Fatherhood, Grady, Open Source, Technology | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Boob Jobs for Christians!

Posted on January 18th, 2008 by Neal Locke

Ordinarily, I try pretty hard to avoid listening to Christian “talk radio” stations, for obvious reasons. But I must have been either bored or incredibly lost on the dial this afternoon, because I managed to stumble across 100.7 The Word FM, broadcasting The Scott Wilder Show.

I don’t remember what they were talking about, but as soon as they cut to the commercial break, something caught my attention: It was a commercial advertising plastic surgery – breast augmentations, tummy tucks, etc. – all for the noble purpose of “giving you the body you’ve always wanted.”

WTF???

I see ads for plastic surgery all the time, and the clinic was located in Highland Park (the Beverly Hills of North Texas), so I guess I’m not too surprised, but still…I thought Christian radio stations were at least somewhat conscientious about what they advertised, and the values their ads reflect.  Yeah, I know cosmetic surgery is occasionally both good and necessary, but that didn’t seem to be the kind they were selling here.

Maybe I’m just way out of touch. Maybe there’s nothing theologically wrong with spending thousands of dollars to make yourself look sexually attractive and half your age, or sending that kind of message to kids who already have serious body-image issues.  But when there are 15-year olds in my youth group getting collagen injections to make their lips more full, and single moms in my church saving up their money for breast implants, I can’t help but feel like we (the body of Christ) must be seriously off-message.

I find myself echoing my friend and fellow theological trouble-maker, Ryan Pappan, who likes to put it this way:

WTFWJD?

I don’t know anymore. You tell me…

Posted in Christianity, Pop-Culture, Rants | 36 Comments

Myself on Open Source Audio

Posted on January 17th, 2008 by Neal Locke

Open Source AudioI just uploaded all five of my “folk-songs” to Open Source Audio, a division of the Internet Archive. I love this project, and it’s a great place to find interesting songs, documentaries, short films, and audio recordings – all licensed under Creative Commons, and free to use/share/remix. And if you go there now, you can also find:

  1. A Simple Song to Help Stop the War
  2. Why Can’t You Be Like Me
  3. Golden Door
  4. Imperfect Love Song
  5. Poorest Man

There’s an option to add a review to each, if you’re so inclined…

I’m also working on recording some of my arrangements and expansions of well-known hymns — when I’m done, I’ll put them all in album format, and call it Hymns and Heresies.

Posted in Folk, Music, Open Source, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

AIDS Evangelism

Posted on January 11th, 2008 by Neal Locke

The AIDS virus gets a pretty bad rap, and for good reason. It’s not something I would wish for a friend, or even an enemy for that matter. But maybe it is something I would wish for the church.

According to wikipedia, AIDS went from virtually zero to 68.2 million people in less than half of one lifetime (30 years). I couldn’t find any consistent figures for the growth rates of Christianity or Islam over that period, but on a percentage increase basis, I’m pretty sure AIDS beats religion when it comes to evangelism skills. Why is that? I’m not an expert, but here are some of my best guesses:

  1. People actually like having sex. I realize there are several ways in which the AIDS virus can be transmitted, but this is probably the big one. On the other hand, being “evangelized” probably isn’t at the top of the list of things I’d enjoy doing on a rainy day. Even when you throw in some flashy rock music and a free t-shirt.
  2. Reckless Behavior Spreads AIDS. If “safe sex” helps contain the virus, then it follows that those who don’t count the cost are more likely to get it. Maybe instead of focusing so much on things like safety and security in our churches, we should be throwing caution to the wind. Jesus was pretty promiscuous when it came to who he associated with, and I’m pretty sure he didn’t run a background check on any of the disciples.
  3. There’s No Cure For AIDS. No matter how many drug cocktails we throw at it, AIDS just gets tougher and smarter and doesn’t give up. It’s a mystery that baffles our greatest medical minds. AIDS doesn’t complain about a changing culture. It just adapts.
  4. AIDS Weakens Immune Systems. It breaks down barriers. In a culture where we barricade ourselves with multiple layers of isolation and insulation from the sickness and suffering of the world around us, it takes something pervasive to infect us. And when it does…
  5. It Eventually Kills You. Ok, so I know this sounds like a bad thing. But then I remember all of our Christianese talk about “dying to one’s self” in order to be born again, being “Crucified with Christ,” and “laying down one’s life” to find it again. Is it possible that the Church needs to die in order to become the Kingdom?

We (the church in the US) are living on some pretty expensive cocktails right now, so it might be awhile before we find out the answer to that last one. But since we’re probably also denying the same drugs to those in other countries with just as much need, perhaps they can let us know when they enter the Kingdom ahead of us…

Other “Metaphors” in this series:

  1. Beer Church
  2. Fat Church
  3. Masturbation Church
Posted in Christianity, Church, Rants | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments