What began as a glorious week when I typed in this space last Monday, took an abrupt turn around lunchtime on Tuesday. A man that I have the utmost respect for and many a differing view from, passed away. Dr. Jerry Falwell went home to be with his Savior last week. He will be missed, and as Billy Graham and others have commented, his passing leaves a vacuum in the evangelical world.
As I stated last Monday my wife and I are both graduates of Liberty University. I am proud of my education and I am never embarrassed to claim Liberty as my Alma mater. Many who might read this blog might be left with the impression that my views on ministry differ from those of Liberty. You would be correct to assume that. Especially here lately I have been very disillusioned about some of the rhetoric that has been flowing freely from Liberty mountain. Most of the talk was not from Doc himself, but eventually he too joined in.
The difference between me growing disillusioned with Liberty and not with Dr. Falwell may be difficult for some to understand. However, I will attempt to explain why I feel this man's passing will have a huge impact on the evangelical church if people refuse to fill the void.
As I was watching the news coverage in the aftermath of Doc's passing, one thing became crystal clear. If you knew Jerry Falwell there was no way you could speak ill of him. You may disagree with him, but you could not speak ill of him. I observed two clear examples of this last Tuesday night while watching Larry King. Larry King had Al Sharpton (I will not call him Reverend) and Mel White (I will not call him reverend either) on his program. These are two men who differed greatly with Dr. Falwell from a philosophical view point, to the point of despising his views. However, when asked about their relationships with Doc on a personal level, neither could say a negative word and both considered him a friend.
Anytime Dr. Falwell would say something that I did not personally agree with, I would respectfully agree to disagree with him and never lose respect for him in the process. The reason for this is very simple, I knew his heartbeat. Dr. Falwell was not a divisive man. He did not go around trying to tear down the church. He did not go around looking to pick a fight with people who had differing opinions on minor issues of doctrine. He would speak his peace and state his view and that was that. If you continued to hold a differing view, he would tell you that you were still wrong, but it wasn't grounds to start a feud over. After all, as Bible believing believers, aren't we family?
Regardless of whether you agree with that statement or not, one thing I have learned from Dr. Falwell's passing is that when my time comes, I hope that enemies of the Gospel will comment on how vehemently they opposed my views, but because of my humble commitment to those views, they were left with no choice but to respect them. It is beyond time that we as the church join together and live like we are called to live. No compromise to the essentials of the Gospel, but done with love and respect for those who are perishing.
Titus 2:7-8 "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame having nothing evil to say about us."
As I stated last Monday my wife and I are both graduates of Liberty University. I am proud of my education and I am never embarrassed to claim Liberty as my Alma mater. Many who might read this blog might be left with the impression that my views on ministry differ from those of Liberty. You would be correct to assume that. Especially here lately I have been very disillusioned about some of the rhetoric that has been flowing freely from Liberty mountain. Most of the talk was not from Doc himself, but eventually he too joined in.
The difference between me growing disillusioned with Liberty and not with Dr. Falwell may be difficult for some to understand. However, I will attempt to explain why I feel this man's passing will have a huge impact on the evangelical church if people refuse to fill the void.
As I was watching the news coverage in the aftermath of Doc's passing, one thing became crystal clear. If you knew Jerry Falwell there was no way you could speak ill of him. You may disagree with him, but you could not speak ill of him. I observed two clear examples of this last Tuesday night while watching Larry King. Larry King had Al Sharpton (I will not call him Reverend) and Mel White (I will not call him reverend either) on his program. These are two men who differed greatly with Dr. Falwell from a philosophical view point, to the point of despising his views. However, when asked about their relationships with Doc on a personal level, neither could say a negative word and both considered him a friend.
Anytime Dr. Falwell would say something that I did not personally agree with, I would respectfully agree to disagree with him and never lose respect for him in the process. The reason for this is very simple, I knew his heartbeat. Dr. Falwell was not a divisive man. He did not go around trying to tear down the church. He did not go around looking to pick a fight with people who had differing opinions on minor issues of doctrine. He would speak his peace and state his view and that was that. If you continued to hold a differing view, he would tell you that you were still wrong, but it wasn't grounds to start a feud over. After all, as Bible believing believers, aren't we family?
Regardless of whether you agree with that statement or not, one thing I have learned from Dr. Falwell's passing is that when my time comes, I hope that enemies of the Gospel will comment on how vehemently they opposed my views, but because of my humble commitment to those views, they were left with no choice but to respect them. It is beyond time that we as the church join together and live like we are called to live. No compromise to the essentials of the Gospel, but done with love and respect for those who are perishing.
Titus 2:7-8 "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame having nothing evil to say about us."
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