I only met Jerry Falwell, Sr. on one occassion when I was a junior in high school. My dad and I gave him a ride to the airport after a speaking engagement.

I was impressed, thinking he wasn’t the caricature of mean-spirited, bigoted fundamentalist I had seen in the media. /1

In fact, he was jovial, intelligent, and expressed concern for me as a student. Of course, he asked me if I had thought about Liberty. He prayed with us before he got out of the car. /2

My friends who went to Liberty have told me stories of how he would randomly give students in need $100 bills. I heard he would drive around in his Bronco, roll down the window, and shout greetings to students walking by. /3

I am glad he didn’t live to see today but heartbroken his legacy has been so tarnished. I can’t help but think of imperfect OT kings who pursued the Lord but whose sons brought shame on Israel or Judah because of their wickedness. /4

The mission of Liberty—to make Champions for Christ—is more than what we’ve seen on the headlines over the past four years. There are great men and women who teach there, who have kept their head low and carried on teaching and ministering to their students. /5

Please pray for this faculty in the days to come. Please pray that God can use this school in a mighty way again—not with monsterous enrollments or endowments, but with faithful service to the kingdom. /6

I also pray that we can help people differentiate between the “evangel” and the “evangelical leader” they have heard so much about. /7