‘ABC,’ Kung Fu, Charlie’s Angels and The Tonight Show
By Scott Harrup | June 26, 2009
Obits hit the headlines constantly, some making a bigger splash than others. But the recent loss of David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson feel linked, and their combined weight transcends whatever individual ripples they create in the international media pool.
It’s almost as if 1970s television has died too. Jackson’s shrill rendition of “ABC” stands out in my mind as distinctly as any of his later hits, and he and his brothers supplied Saturday morning cartoon fare during my early elementary years. Carradine’s martial arts prowess on Kung Fu enlivened Saturday night. I saw very few episodes of Charlie’s Angels, and wasn’t allowed to stay up late enough to watch The Tonight Show until my teens, but there was no escaping Fawcett or McMahon. Her smile flashed like no other, and his booming introductions for Johnny Carson were one of a kind.
Celebrities leave such large-scale records of their brief visits to Earth that their passing creates a paradox. They’re gone, but their images and voices keep jumping off of pages and screens, sometimes for generations. If I pull North by Northwest off the shelf of our DVDs and hit “play,” Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint still enthrall. Kirk Douglas still leads his army of gladiators in Spartacus; George C. Scott still rallies his Allied forces in Patton.
The recent passage of another Father’s Day has me asking myself what continuing influence I will have on my children and grandchildren, should Christ tarry. My memories of 30-year-old TV shows and classic movies are sentimental, yes, but they remind me that words and actions never emerge in a vacuum. They touch other lives — sometimes with blessing, sometimes with pain.
I pray that mine would fall far more often into the first category.
Topics: Books and Films, History, Family Life | No Comments »
More Than a Class Reunion
By Scott Harrup | June 11, 2009
This past weekend, the alumni association of Rosslyn Academy sponsored a reunion here in Springfield. Rosslyn is an international Christian school in Nairobi, Kenya. My brothers and I attended Rosslyn from 1976 until 1980. (I had to transfer to the International School of Kenya in 1979 because Rosslyn only went to the ninth grade at the time.)
With Rosslyn, it’s anybody’s guess who will show up at a reunion. Alumni live all over the world. Rosslyn expanded to a full high school years ago, and the student body has about doubled from my era, so there are now thousands of former students ranging in age from their teens to nowhere-near-their-teens like me.
This reunion was held at Evangel University, my alma mater. Since I graduated in 1986, Evangel has dramatically morphed into a thoroughly 21st-century college, and it’s hard to believe my daughter could be attending there in the near future.
So, between going back to my old college campus and reconnecting with a childhood school from my life in Africa, I experienced more than a usual dose of nostalgia. The most enriching part of the experience, even though no one else from my “class of ’79” could come, was to discover a common bond that transcends age or any other surface factor of life — Rosslyn remains completely grounded in Christian faith. That shared devotion to Christ and recognition of our identity as brothers and sisters in Him permeated every activity.
On another note, out of a relatively small group of a few dozen people, two other families are living out the unique challenges of caring for a child with special needs. Comparing notes, we all saw ample evidence of Christ’s empowering and encouraging work in our families.
God is good. We all shared stories of His faithfulness in the years since we left Rosslyn’s coffee-scented acres (although most of the surrounding coffee fields have given way to urban development). I’m sure there will be plenty more stories if plans come together for the next scheduled gathering in Toronto next summer.
But this weekend, for me, was a reminder of the most exciting reunion any of us can look forward to. It will be on a scale greater than anything seen in human history. If Rosslyn’s students continue to hold to their faith heritage, I expect to see plenty of alumni for a celebration that will continue for eternity.
Topics: Family Life | 1 Comment »
Never Alone
By Scott Harrup | May 29, 2009
Turns out, you’re never really alone. None of us are. We’re all a bunch of walking, talking planets to a staggering population of microlife. Consider these stats about Planet You, courtesy of the L.A. Times.
19: Average area in square feet of skin on a typical person
1,000: Approximate number of species of bacteria recovered from the skin of a typical volunteer in a recent National Institutes of Health study
115 million: Dollars to be spent on NIH’s Human Microbiome Project, which aims to catalog the bacteria and other organisms naturally inhabiting humans, both internally and externally
100 billion: Estimated number of bacteria living on a typical person’s skin
While we’re all busily washing our hands with antibacterial soap to ward off E. coli, or chugging antibiotics to fight our latest sinus infection, we’re not even close to ridding ourselves of all of our tiny inhabitants.
And we shouldn’t want to. As the Times article notes by way of Noah Fierer, a microbial ecologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder, who has analyzed bacteria that live on hands: “You don’t want to live in a sterile world. You probably can’t live in a sterile world.”
It’s true, there are plenty of illnesses we contract thanks to some of the more unpleasant bacterial species we host. But the great majority carry out life cycles that benefit our own. Something as basic as digestion would be all but impossible without several pounds of bacteria lining our insides.
By all means, we should keep washing our hands. And people around us will appreciate our choice to bathe or shower regularly. We just need to remember we’re never going to be bacteria-free.
A couple of “God connections” come to mind as I peruse the Times report. First, creation is far more complex than anyone can fathom. Second, just as I can’t escape the presence of the tiniest living creatures, I’m never going to escape their Creator. The Psalmist took comfort in that reality.
“God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too — your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful — I can’t take it all in!”
(Psalm 139:1-6, The Message)
We’re never alone.
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The Few
By Scott Harrup | May 26, 2009
In the weeks leading up to Memorial Day, I’ve been reading The Few by Alex Kershaw. Kershaw charts the Battle of Britain, the epic air war between Britain and Germany during World War II, from a perspective I had never before considered — that of the American pilots who joined the cause and flew for the Royal Air Force in 1940 before the United States came into the war.
Pilots like Art Donahue, Eugene “Red” Tobin and Billy Fiske risked more than their lives when they signed on to help the RAF. The United States was adamantly neutral in the dawning months of the war, and disobeying the neutrality laws could result in fines and even prison sentences. But the Americans who found their way through Canada and onto Europe-bound ships believed it was absolutely critical to their homeland’s survival that they support Britain against the Nazi onslaught. History proved them right even though they endured months as virtual outcasts.
Sometimes foresight can be costly. It’s difficult to push ahead in a worthy cause when the people who should be supporting you are instead attacking you. Perhaps you are moving in a new direction in life, headed toward a God-given vision only you seem to understand. Keep moving forward.
Others may not yet have the necessary perspective to be the partners you need, but if God is leading your steps you have the one Partner necessary for success in any endeavor. He’s looking for the few who will buck the majority opinion when the majority is blinded to what is right.
Topics: History | No Comments »
RV Envy
By Scott Harrup | May 18, 2009
The Wahl family is living a dream for many of the rest of us. They’re taking an extended tour of the United States in their 41-foot recreational vehicle as they look for their next permanent home.
Last July, Mary Claire Wahl retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. Tom and children Joe, 12, Anna, 10, and Sam, 7, had lived for the past eight years in Germany and Japan with her during her last two duty assignments. As the family prepared to transition stateside, they opted for the national tour as a great way to reacquaint the children with their homeland and find the right community for a long-term residence without wheels.
I read a USA Today feature about the Wahls and wondered what it would be like to gather my gang into a couple of hundred motorized square feet and hit the road. I’ve had that dream for years, but it’s remained firmly wedged in the “insane and inaccessible even if it would be fun” category.
RV or no, there are plenty of nearby blessings that remind me what a privilege it is to live in this country. With Memorial Day and the Fourth of July coming up, I’ll be counting those blessings a little more carefully.
If you own an RV and are looking for a great way to travel and be involved in community service, check out the Assemblies of God’s RV Volunteers.
And, with or without an RV, you can locate some unique vacation getaways in the Evangel’s March 29 issue.
Topics: Family Life | No Comments »
Big Brother Is Watching
By Scott Harrup | May 12, 2009
I read George Orwell’s 1984 in high school. Lindsay read it this semester. We agree it’s one depressing story.
Whether or not you’re familiar with the novel and the misadventures of protagonist Winston Smith, you’ve probably heard the expression “Big Brother” used to describe an intrusive, totalitarian government. The book’s repeated refrain, “Big Brother is watching you,” concerns that fictional government’s constant surveillance of its citizens.
The existence of such surveillance is a tenet of faith for many a conspiracy theorist, and the subject gets plenty of play on television and in film. In our post-9/11 world, fiction and fact are probably overlapping more often.
I had my own “Big Brother” experience today, and it has me thinking. In my case, I suspect the surveillance had nothing to do with Pennsylvania Avenue and everything to do with Madison Avenue. I was reading USA Today online, and an advertising box caught my attention. It featured rock-bottom deals on two pairs of binoculars and a microscope.
They were the same binoculars and microscope I’d Googled several times over the previous week.
Most Internet users take for granted their online activity is open to merchandisers’ scrutiny. But it still felt funny to be reading a national publication and discover some grubby little piece of software had reviewed my “personal” surfing and was generating price quotes I’d never solicited.
And yet, that pop-up window reminds me that none of us knows when someone else is evaluating our words or actions. On the other hand, I’m reminded that God is constantly checking out what I say and do and even think.
For the record, however, He’s the only “Big Brother” I’m comfortable with. For the rest of you cookie-generating virtual vendors — don’t call me, I’ll call you. At least give me the illusion of privacy.
Topics: Bizarre | No Comments »
G.I. Joe
By Scott Harrup | May 1, 2009
Ron Kopczick, the Evangel’s promotions coordinator, and I were having a random conversation this morning about the G.I. Joes we owned as kids. The conversation went something along the lines of …
“Yeah, I had Set A that came with Pieces B, C, and D.”
“Really? Well, I had Set B that came with Pieces E, F, and G.”
Long pause.
“Do you realize what they would have been worth to a collector today?”
“I know …”
Had you been here, you would have heard our mutual wistful sigh over our lost childhoods and our lost cash.
A few years back, my brother-in-law sold a rediscovered G.I. Joe for several hundred dollars. He could have collected twice as much if he’d only kept the original box. But no one would have wanted to buy my well-used childhood action figure. My brother Blake and I each took a G.I. Joe with us to Africa. As I remember, we creatively named Blake’s “Jim” to help distinguish our plastic alter egos during staged outdoor dramas. These included firecrackers of varying strength to simulate gunfire or grenade attacks. At some point the firecrackers became attached to the Joes, resulting in injuries unacceptable to any collector.
But before their demise, we had a lot of fun with Joe and “Jim.” Mom even got on board and sewed to-scale martial arts uniforms for us when Dad bought us a book on judo. We’d pose the manikins in the process of making an elaborate over-the-shoulder throw. I suspect Mom’s secret motive was to encourage Blake and me to throw those action figures around instead of each other.
My conversation with Ron was still fresh in my mind when I ran across a New York Times obituary this morning. The April 30 obit noted the April 24 passing of Irving D. Chais, 83, of Manhattan. For 45 years Chais was the owner and chief “surgeon” of the New York Doll Hospital. You can read about him here. I suspect Chais and his team mended their share of G.I. Joes marred by firecrackers and other abuses meted out by now-repentant sentimental adults.
G.I. Joe ponderings are pretty random, even for my disconnected brain cells. But I also see a theme. Sure, I could have collected some serious cash had I kept that bearded doll (there, I said it — doll) in mint condition. But I’d have lost so much else. Finding happiness demands that you get out and really live, even when it causes wear and tear and expense. That translates into things like marriage and parenting and friendship.
Go ahead. Splurge a few hard-earned dollars and scarce hours of free time on your spouse or child or loved one. Your retirement fund’s been losing money the past year or so anyway. Grab hold of the moment so that years from now you’ll have more than life’s mint-condition “original boxes” to stare at.
Topics: Family Life | No Comments »
Do What!?!
By Scott Harrup | April 22, 2009
I was thinking about Gideon today. I’m not talking about the civic-minded guy who leaves a Bible in your hotel room, but the Old Testament weekend warrior in the Book of Judges who famously defeated hordes of Midianites “like swarms of locusts” (Judges 6:5, NIV) with a band of just 300 soldiers.
It’s an amazing story and, like many other examples in the Bible, it’s tempting to look at the resulting victory without considering what was required to get there. Particularly, in regard to that final count of 300 men.
When you read Judges 6-8, you discover that 32,000 Israelites responded to Gideon’s call to arms. Gideon issued that muster because God expressly told him to do so. But then God gave Gideon a divine directive that appears to be completely at odds with Gideon’s original mission.
“You’ve got too many men,” God told Gideon. “If you win the battle, you’ll think your victory is due to your own strength.”
So God commanded Gideon to issue an open invitation to his men — anyone frightened about the upcoming battle with 135,000 Midianites could just go home, no questions asked.
Some 22,000 of Gideon’s soldiers accepted the invitation.
If the remaining 10,000 soldiers were irritated about the desertions, they probably took heart in the fact that frightened troops are more of a liability than an asset. Yet, God next told Gideon there would be a final selection process that God himself would oversee. And when it was done, God told Gideon to send 9,700 soldiers home.
That’s the point of the story that floors me. I try to put myself in Gideon’s position. How did it feel to stand in front of those men and tell them they were no longer needed? However far they had journeyed, regardless of the sacrifices they had made and the risks they were willing to take, they could please pack up and head home, thank you very much.
Perhaps an unspoken miracle of this story is that Gideon survived the raging protests and threats the departing throng must have shouted. Then again, they probably decided it would be more satisfying to let the Midianites do to Gideon what they almost certainly felt like doing to him themselves.
You can fast forward to the end of the story and learn how God empowered Gideon’s men to wreak havoc in the Midianite camp. In short order, 120,000 of the enemy were dead and the remaining 15,000 only escaped momentarily. Gideon’s tiny band tracked them down and finished them.
But I’m still thinking of that moment when Gideon was forced to act counterintuitively. The scriptural record is clear — Gideon was obeying God the entire time. As hard as it is to understand, I’m convinced God made those demands of Gideon for his own good and the welfare of Gideon’s men.
Why? Because the dangers of human pride and its resulting false confidence always outweigh any potential embarrassment and ridicule for obeying God. God wants you and me today to trust Him personally and directly. A derivative trust in the resources He gives us is not enough. Focused faith is our only option. Anything else is fraught with terrible risk—even when success seems within reach.
If God is asking you to do more with less today, take heart. When Gideon swallowed his pride and clung to his faith, odds of 450 to 1 didn’t matter.
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Coins
By Scott Harrup | April 17, 2009
Austin went with his second-grade class to a Springfield Cardinals game this week, and the kids each picked up this season’s commemorative team coin. Austin’s been toting his around the house in its protective plastic sleeve, occasionally taking it out and buffing it with a “microfiber” cloth his sister gave him, an extra one of the type she uses on her computer screen.
Austin’s coin is a nice piece of numismatic art, with the Cardinals’ distinct red accenting it and a decent heft when you hold it. In contrast, the one coin I bought from a “museum servicing” company whose name I no longer remember looks abysmal. It’s a dingy, far from round, tiny penny sort of thing that I paid about $30 for years ago. The hand-scrawled explanation card that came with it in the mail says it was minted during the reign of Constantine. One of these days I need to take it to a coin shop and see if an expert thinks it’s genuine. In the mean time, I assume it is and it sits near my Gibbon books on Roman history and fires my imagination whenever I read a selection.
Yesterday I interviewed Pfc. Lukas Shook of the 110th Military Police Company. His miraculous story of God’s protection during a rocket attack in Iraq is scheduled for the Evangel’s June 28 “Welcome Home” edition for veterans. Pfc. Shook was awarded the Purple Heart by President Bush at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 22, 2008. While at Walter Reed, Shook also received an array of commemorative coins from the president, several generals, special units representatives, government leaders and other distinguished visitors.
Coins have done much more than serve as pocket change through the centuries. They capture and communicate key events, concepts and ideals with an economy of space perhaps unrivaled in human expression.
Jesus and a coin intersected at a key point in His ministry. It was the week before His crucifixion. Jerusalem’s religious leaders were trying to trap Him. They asked whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes. Jesus asked for a coin, pointed out Caesar’s likeness stamped upon it, and offered the now-famous observation that people should “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Mark 12:17, NIV).
Perhaps a suitable thought for “tax week,” if a tad past the filing deadline.
Topics: History, Bible | No Comments »
Second Life
By Scott Harrup | April 7, 2009
Scanning CNN.com today, I ran across a group of stories about Second Life, an online environment that now attracts several million visitors from around the world. Users create avatars, or alternate computer-generated personalities. These avatars interact in countless ways that mimic life. They meet socially, pursue career-related and entertainment activities, organize group events, even marry and divorce — you name it.
What goes on in Second Life has real-life implications. A number of Second Life relationships have led to friendships and romances. Cash generated in Second Life can be exchanged for the cold, hard variety. A single mom in Atlanta supplements her income by about $10,000 a year. She uses her home studio to sing through her avatar in a Second Life club where she can also market CDs of her music. Another virtual artist recently landed a very real recording contract after he finally realized a Second Life talent scout represented an actual record label. A medical university in England is developing training routines for students who interact with Second Life patients.
Where will this technology take us? At some point, will a government legally recognize a marriage between avatars? Could a singer make a living within the confines of a computer-generated world, or a doctor treat a lineup of patients who recreate their symptoms exclusively online? Will some people one day completely immerse themselves in a virtual reality around the clock? Ideas limited to sci-fi just a few years ago are now on the horizon.
I think the more fundamental issues are why people might seek out a virtual world in the first place, and what human characteristics are recreated within such a world. It’s easy to envision the negative actions some people might pursue if they believed those actions would have no consequences. A number of video game developers have been catering to such a belief for years. There’s a positive side as well. Such technology could help some users to develop healthy interpersonal skills. If you practice treating avatars with kindness and respect, couldn’t you transfer those habits to your real-life relationships?
I’m grateful God offers each of us a true second life. It’s not a pixilated facsimile of our day-to-day existence, but a divinely designed new and eternal identity. In God’s plan, we don’t try to recreate the old us, but rather embrace His best for us. The apostle Paul describes that life this way: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:1-4, NIV).
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