480 Clothman On Jerry Falwell
I never met Jerry Falwell, but I have stood in his pulpit at Thomas Road Baptist Church - twice. Once in the early 70’s, before I was a Christian. I was living in Virginia at the time and out of curiosity stopped in Lynchburg. The church was open and empty and I simply couldn’t resist dinking around in the pulpit I had seen on television.
In the mid-80’s I actually toyed with the idea of attending Falwell’s seminary. When they told me I’d have to wear a tie and cut my hair short to attend I cut my visit short instead, but not before Clothwoman took a picture of me preaching in Falwell’s famed pulpit – without a tie.
Jerry Falwell no longer has a pulpit. On May 15, 2007 he was found dead in his office at Liberty University.
Had I actually preached a sermon from Falwell’s pulpit two decades ago I probably would have sounded much like him. During my early Christian years I nursed from the bottle of a conservative theology that was heavy on works and light on grace. Falwell and others like him provided much of my diet.
How ironic that the many rules at Falwell’s seminary were part of what actually caused me to start veering the legalistic, separatist theology that I was brought up on.
During the two decades since I last stood in Falwell’s pulpit my theology and the practice of my Christian faith have mellowed a great deal. If I were someone of note, Falwell would have undoubtedly declared that Clothman was a “sell out” from his huge pulpit.
Consequently, I have disagreed with Falwell more times than I can count. For example, this outlandish statement he made shortly after the World Trade Center attack: “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.’”
And who can forget when Falwell accused the creators of the PBS children's series "Teletubbies" of using the character "Tinky Winky" to promote a homosexual agenda.
That said, I found myself quite emotional when I heard of Falwell’s passing. Despite our differences, I always saw Falwell as a brother and someone I admired. For all the trouble his mouth got himself into, his life didn’t. His mouth reflected his conservative, exclusionary theology but his life reflected his compassionate, loyal heart.
Falwell pastored the same church for 50 years, was married to the same woman for 49 years and was on television as long as Bob Barker. There are 100’s if not 1000’s of individuals (including many of his theological and social enemies) who tell of his personal kindness toward them.
Thus, the good Falwell accomplished on this 3rd rock from the sun will greatly outshine the bad and isn’t that something we all want to be true of ourselves. And if I could have attended his funeral this week I would have proudly worn a tie in his honor.
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