May 16th, 2007

A Response to the Death of Rev. Falwell

Read Colossians 3:12-17

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever

grievances you may have against one another." vs. 13

This morning I attempted to sit down and write a devotional as usual, but as I began to search for the scripture to work with, I was brought back to the passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell. There are events that happen that seem to carry a need of being spoken about and not simply passed over, for me this is one such event. In some respects this is a confession and prayerfully at some level it will help those who read this devotional to learn to deal truthfully with their own feelings about others.

For the last three years I have worked hard through my teaching and preaching to refute (in a non-confrontational manner) the message of people like Rev. Falwell and Pat Robertson. I refute by means of offering something different to those God has given me to minister to. However, in my heart of hearts I have been motivated by a deep conviction that much that has been said by Falwell through his public political platform has been both divisive, arrogant, and unfaithful to the message of Jesus Christ. Given his particularly fundamentalist reading of scripture, he and I engage the awesome story of God's word in two radically different ways. I have no doubt that if we were to ever have met and discussed theology there would have been a high degree of tension and unrest in the room.

That being said, I have to be totally honest with you, when I was told by someone yesterday that Rev. Falwell had passed I didn't know how to react or respond. Please understand that I was in no way happy that he was dead. But truthfully, I was a bit indifferent. My heart immediately went out to a congregation that had just lost its pastor and to a family that had just lost its father and husband, but beyond that I couldn't really discern what else to feel.

Upon hearing of his death, I was speaking with a friend who is also a pastor and told him that I felt as if I would have to go home and pray about what I felt. Again, to be honest whatever I was feeling I wasn't sure I liked it. I guess I realized a few things that might at some level help you in your relationships with others.

1.) In the years that I have spent attempting to call into question what I consider to be the flawed teaching of Rev. Falwell...I realized I had never prayed for him and his ministry like I should. I had never really gotten on my knees and worked out my feelings about this man. Do you? Do you pray for those you have trouble getting along with, those whom you have intense differences with? Do you pray for those you are at odds with?

2.) I came to the conclusion that I hadn't properly thanked God for the good work he has done in the Christian Church. I had never celebrated the home for unwed mothers that he had started, the many scholarships he had given to those who wouldn't have been able to afford schooling, the love he offered his family and friends, the sacrifices he made to stand on the behalf of unborn children, those who were now in the Kingdom of God because of his ministry. Do you? Do you have trouble seeing the good in those you have adamantly disagreed with? Are you thankful for them in some respect?

3.) I have started to understand the temptation to become what we criticize. I have long felt that Falwell's teaching was arrogant. However, in my attempt to voice my differences had I become arrogant in my own teaching? Had I started to believe that I was right and everyone else is wrong? Where does that put me? Do you? Do you fail to see in yourself the tendencies of becoming what you dislike in others? Are you willing to confess those issues and seek the humility of God?

In closing, I would like to take a moment and thank God for the ways he used Jerry Falwell to further God's plan on this earth. Even when I don't see it or understand it, God is free to use whoever, however he chooses. I guess that I would also ask God to have mercy upon me and enable me to be one that speaks faithfully and humbly the unfathomable riches of God's grace in Christ Jesus.