A Fall from Grace

Earlier this month Jerry Falwell, Jr. stepped down indefinitely as the Chancellor of my Alma Mater. Today, Jerry Falwell, Jr. stepped down permanently from his position due to a scandal. (It was later reported he was not stepping down.) Many fellow graduates were shocked, but others were not shocked at all. In fact, one lady said "I am glad this happened." The fact remains that Chancellor Falwell is a man. As a female graduate of Liberty, I can say that I didn't have it easy in the seminary, namely because I wasn't at the school to meet a husband, I was genuinely intrigued by the scriptures. 

Falwell did release a statement to the Washington Examiner. From the way the release was written it sounds like a feeble attempt to clear his name, but not that of his wife. 

Despite all of this, I would encourage my fellow Christians to not rejoice in the human failures of Jerry Falwell. Instead, I would encourage you to pray for him, his family and the school. 1 Corinthians 13:6 it [love] does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in truth. Proverbs 24:17 states Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles. We shouldn't be rejoicing at the failures, we shouldn't be gloating in the moral failures of a person, rather we need to be rejoicing that Chancellor Falwell will now have time to work on getting his life back in order and work on his marriage, if the marriage survives this. 

Obidiah 1:12 states But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah, in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. 

At this time, all I can do is think "Thank God my life isn't lived out loud, that my sins are not broadcast for the world to hear." The reason I think it's easy for us to judge Mr. Falwell is because at this time, we are just glad it isn't us; we are holding him to a higher standard than we hold even ourselves. 

When was the last time that you were wronged? Or that your sins were found out by someone else? When was the last time that we watched with glee someone else "get what they deserve?" While most of the people I know are not gloating in the fall of Jerry Falwell, they are relieved at the fact that he resigned, hoping that the school can get back on track. 

To be a student at Liberty, you have to agree to "The Liberty Way." I had to agree to uphold the standards of the honor code, which covers every thing from the history of Liberty all the way down to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. The Liberty Way/Student Honor Code prohibits Sexual relations outside of marriage, and only between natural born men and natural born women. Sexual relations outside of a biblically-ordained marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman are not permissible at Liberty University. In personal relationships, students are encouraged to know and abide by common-sense guidelines to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Activities inconsistent with these standards and guidelines are violations of the Student Honor Code.

At this time, it is my desire that Liberty's new leadership be charged with upholding The Liberty Way in all ways, fashion and form. I am also asking my followers/readers to not rejoice in the fall of Chancellor Falwell, instead take the time to pray for him. To pray that God will show him the way, to which he will need to follow. Pray for his family, and the Liberty Family...because of the next few months and possibly the entire next year, they are going to be needing our prayers, as they change leadership (pending tomorrow's announcement). 

Until we know more, we should become humble. Humbleness is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of a right heart with God.  

Are you bitter over something wrong that was done to you and are finding it hard to let go? Have you rejoiced over another’s misfortune after they have wronged you? This is the time to get with God and repent and ask God to fix what needs fixing. When we turn the matter over to the Lord, He will take care of it. Our job is to forgive and move on.

Open Response to Richard Lowell Bryant--Yes, Liberty students should be camp counselors...

My pastor sent me a link to an article written by a UMC minister about camp counselors coming from Liberty to teach at a UMC Summer Camp and the pastor, of course, is angry because of Jerry Falwell's stance on Homosexuality and other things. This same pastor (not mine) states that in another post he's a traditionalist and should keep the language of the Book of Discipline as it is where it pertains to marriage and the ordination of homosexuals. The more I thought about that article the angrier I got. I'll be honest when I read it this morning, I told my pastor, I don't know if I should pray for him, or write him a letter. (I really just wanted to go through the screen and give him a piece of my mind).

So in true Liberty University "Trained Champion for Christ" fashion, I wrote him a comment and spoke about Liberty. I mean after all, as a graduate of Liberty and as a candidate for ministry, I think I can speak to the mindset of some graduates of Liberty. So I formed the following response. Since comments on the original post are moderated, we'll have to see later if it shows up, but in the mean time for your pleasure, my response!

Sir,

There are far worse things than hiring Camp Counselors from Liberty University. Maybe you missed the article put out by one of the many gay students from LU who found love and acceptance at Liberty University. Matter of fact, his professors begged him not to quit school, but he chose to quit attending LU and then came back to the school and graduated from Liberty.

What you may not know is that LU has one of the largest LGBTQA+ communities of any college, not because they want to shake up the school, but because they are accepted as they are, where they are in their walk with Christ.  Even I attended LU as a practicing member of a Jewish Synagogue and found acceptance for my beliefs. Yes, Jerry Falwell, Jr. is outspoken on BIBLICAL standards, which supercede the BOOK OF DISCIPLINE (believe it or not). Deal with it. Embrace students from Liberty, actually get to know them, find out what their exact beliefs are. Oh, and maybe read these two articles. https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/04/being-gay-at-jerry-falwells-university/274578/ and http://wset.com/archive/coming-out-at-liberty-university-the-story-of-one-gay-lu-grad 

Then maybe, just maybe you can judge Liberty University, the staff and those counselors you refuse to get to know or give a chance to. I find it funny that just in May of 2017 you said "You were a traditionalist." in a post here, and today, you are a progressive. .Do forgive me, Reverend, but can you really have it both ways? Can you really throw away our traditional teachings and embrace hatred? I wonder, often what John Wesley would think if he saw the current standing of our church and I wonder, sir, if he would not give those students/counselors from LU a chance to continue to grow.

For the rest of you who, like this gentleman, who have no understanding of what LU actually teaches, I will tell you it is FAR from Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s current standing. As a matter of fact, I came out of LU (twice) with more parched with thirst for the God I now serve, believe it or not with more understanding of amy homosexual friends, and more acceptance towards their choices. I know you may all think that this crazy that they use counselors from LU, but honestly, you won't find what you think you will--closed-minded people.

The centrist movement in the UMC wants to cry out for tolerance, yet you won't even allow for students from Liberty to come and grow in their faith. Everyone wants to be a liberal or centrist until their feet are stepped on.