THE QUEST - July 20-21

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

it's coming

jerry's kids

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that deadlocks the traffic of life’s routine and gives cause to stop and reflect. Perhaps much like 9/11, or the day that President Ronald Reagan passed away. One of those days when the whole world, for a moment, seems to stop and you find yourself all-consumed, soaking up every last emotion of that moment.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that became muddied by a heaviness of heart. One that allowed me to reflect on all that one man had added and invested in my life. A heaviness of heart not for one man’s soul but rather the void his departure will leave in a society and culture in desperate need of such a moral icon. Such a Man of God.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day spent recounting the legacy that one man’s unwavering pursuit of spreading the word of God all over the world has had on a culture, a society, a world, and my life. Polarizing? Yes. Committed? For certain. A world changer? Absolutely. A life dedicated to a God given transcendent vision that changed my life and countless others for eternity.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day to cry out in thanks giving for the legacy that one man passed on not to ten or a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand, but ten’s and hundreds of thousands of young men and women across this country and around the world. And so a heavy heart rejoiced knowing that one man committed his life to the mission of Matt. 28:18-20 empowering thousands to fill in the gap that one man would leave. He embodied the life of a visioneer and spent every breath in its pursuit. A life spent in the “ARENA” many times “marred by dust and sweat and blood” knowing the great enthusiasms and great devotions of a life that honored his Lord and Savior.

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that left me asking “HOW”. How can I honor all that this one man and his vision have added to my life? What of my life and the calling that might be placed on it? And so it must be a life of “What ever it takes”. A life in that same arena, unwavering, un-stoppable to the fulfillment of the vision my Heavenly Father has passed on to me. A life committed to the mission of Matt. 28: 18-20. This I believe honors that one man and ultimately THE ONE MAN!

May 15th 2007 was one of those days. A day that dawned great hope for a nation desperately in need of a spiritual awakening. A hope vested in the foundational vision of a man planted deep in the fertile soil of men and women all over the world. For a man has sewn much seed whose fruit is overflowing the void left by his departure from this life and is now resting in the arms of his Savior.

The following was written in honor of Dr. Falwell by his son Jonathan Falwell:

Honoring My Father

In I Kings chapter 2, the great King David spoke to his son Solomon about the important things in life. David, who was on his deathbed, shared with Solomon the importance of always following God's will in his life. David told his son to be strong, to obey God's laws, and to never stray from what he had learned about God's promises. In the end, David promised Solomon that if he would follow God throughout his life, he would be able to accomplish great things.

These principles that David shared with his son are the same principles that my dad followed throughout his life. He held God's promises close to his heart throughout his 55 years as a Christian and more than 50 years as a pastor, never losing sight of the unique vision God had planted in his heart.

I saw through the years that my dad always sought God's direction and then boldly, even audaciously, went to work to carry out what God placed in his heart.

As David shared those principles with Solomon thousands of years ago, my dad also shared the same principles with my brother Jerry Jr., my sister Jeanie, and with me. He not only verbally shared them with us; he lived them out in amazing ways.

I never once saw my father stray from God's direction. I never doubted dad's walk with God because I witnessed his unswerving commitment to follow God's principles every step of the way. What a legacy!

I am praying now that I can live my life as a humble and committed servant of God, as my dad did, as my family continues to keep the vision alive.

My dad frequently quoted Proverbs 29:18, which simply states, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." My dad was most definitely a man of vision.

As his son, I had a unique perspective on the growth of Thomas Road Baptist Church and Liberty University. I have witnessed many events, both good and bad, in their histories. One thing that was always evident was that dad never stopped believing in the vision that God placed on his heart. He was simply tenacious in following God's instructions.

I was born in 1966, ten years after dad started his public ministry. As far back as I can remember, my memories of dad are of a man who was fully committed to doing everything he possibly could to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I remember many days and nights when he would come home and would tell the family the plans that God had laid on his heart for new ministries. I remember those first conversations about starting a college. His vision was to build a college that would further the educational arm of the ministry that had already begun with the founding of Lynchburg Christian Academy. He was buzzing with excitement at this new venture God had placed in his heart.
I remember his conversations about expanding the television ministry across America to reach every possible home with the Gospel.

I remember those early conversations about trying to impact the culture by getting involved in politics.

I remember him sharing his passion to bring Christians to the political table.
All along the way, my dad never got discouraged or sidetracked from the vision. He remained steadfast in a way that only Jerry Falwell could.

As I think back on my dad's nearly 51 years of ministry, I can only attribute its great success to God and a man who understood vision. I hope that I, too, will be able to effectively teach these principles to my children in the years to come.

And, I hope that as I continue teaching these principles - to the church and to my own family - that it will be far more than just words. I am praying that God will allow me to embody the dedication to the Gospel in my life that I saw in my father's life.

May people see these principles lived out every day in my life, just as I had the great privilege of witnessing this in my dad's life.

The Falwell Confidential Will Continue On
One of the ways in which I will keep my dad's legacy alive is to take on his role in writing the Falwell Confidential. I will be working with the National Liberty Journal staff and continuing to confront the culture through this communiqué. I ask that you pray for me as I take up the mantle of Jerry Falwell in this manner. I certainly feel humbled by the great challenge of filling his shoes in this way. But I believe this is how he would want it to be.

my desert

The other day amongst sushi rolls and bento boxes, a close friend and I conversed over our recent spiritual journeys or perhaps lack there of. Sitting here now it is funny to me how egocentric I can be as it relates to my own personal journey of holiness. Because surely I am alone, drudging my way through this vast wasteland of spiritual isolation wandering aimlessly as a blind man. And yet there we sat side by side, wind blown from days in the desert, our faces chaffed from being beaten by the sun and blowing sand. Our lips cracked and bleeding repelling any desire to speak. Yet not alone….not remotely alone.

Perhaps it was a shift in the gusting winds that began to change the formation of this desert I found myself in, but with each gust a dune was removed and a fellow journeyman was revealed. A hurting soul in need of counsel, a wanderer eternally lost with no compass, a warrior paralyzed with fear. Each one in search of “Living Water”.

Without questions there are vast spiritual deserts we can find ourselves in while living life. Some much more desolate and deadly than others. Some we are driven into resulting from circumstances well beyond our control. Yet in common they all are isolating, lifeless, spiritually dehydrating, PLACES OF GROWTH.

It’s all too easy to associate a feeling with our spiritual walk, much like we do with love. Yet our Lord command us to Love Him with “all of our heart, soul, and mind”. Not “Love me if and when you feel like loving me”. I believe it is our time in the desert that sifts through the baggage of emotion and roots out our commitment to Love Him, or red flags our Love of CONVENIENCE.

So I suppose my desert was one of work rather than joy. Much like my athletic career, there were many times I had no desire to practice or train, but it was the commitment to success that drove me to grind through. And so my commitment to loving Him forces me to grind through His word daily and commit to Him my struggle of joy. For He is our source of living water. Water that will bring us up out of the mire of our desert and into joyful fellowship with Him.



Rev. 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

homosexual indoctrination of kindergartners

And were back. As you can see, I was enjoying a much needed hiatus with some very close friends. We did our best in no uncertain terms to make it clear to our buddy Al that global warming was the last thing he need be concerned about on our little expedition. I guess DUCK means different things to different people.

I found the following little gem while combing the pages of my monthly edition of the National Liberty Journal. Although aware of this issue prior I thought I would share it with you along with a short clip of my own commentary regarding it’s content:


In February, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by Christian parents who challenged a school policy wherein their children were being taught about homosexuality in their classroom and bringing home gay-themed books from school.

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf, noting that other federal courts have protected schools’ rights to teach topics that counter parental teachings, said in his ruling, “In essence, under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”

Two couples, David and Tonia Parker and Robert and Robin Wirthlin, brought the suit. The Parkers sued after their five-year-old son brought home from kindergarten a book featuring a homosexual family. The book, Who’s in a Family? was brought home in a “diversity book bag.” The Wirthlins joined the suit after a teacher read a fairy tale about two princes falling in love in their child’s second grade class.

WorldNetDaily.com reported that Judge Wolf “essentially adopted the reasoning in a brief submitted by a number of homosexual-advocacy groups, who said ‘the rights of religious freedom and parental control over the upbringing of children … would undermine teaching and learning ….’”

“The ruling goes to extraordinary lengths to legitimize and reinforce the ‘right’ (and even the duty) of schools to normalize homosexual behavior to even the youngest of children,” said MassResistance.org, a pro-traditional family Massachusetts organization. “In the ruling, Wolf makes the absurd claim that normalizing homosexuality to young children is ‘reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.’ According to (Judge) Wolf, this means teaching ‘diversity,’ which includes ‘differences in sexual orientation.’”

The families say they will appeal the judge’s ruling.

So, this concerns me on a couple of levels. The first being that I fear we spend far too much time consumed with politics on the federal level, when the real battle is being waged very much locally. The truth is that once social issues such as this reach the federal level, they have already infiltrated and permeated social perception through local grassroots venues, such as the education system. It has to be stopped on the local level. As a traditionalist and a matter of conviction I will always vote social conservatism over fiscal conservatism each and every time.

The second is the unconscionable effort of a judge to “normalize homosexuality” and legislating that by doing so it will aid in preparing them for becoming engaged and productive citizens in our democracy. How can this be?

MIRROR CHECK

I will devote space at the beginning of each week to share thoughts of others who are much more intelligent and insightful than I, with the hope that their words encourage and challenge you as much as they have me. This weeks thoughts are from Andy Stanley's book: The Best Question Ever

The bible has a term for the person who refuses wise counsel: fool. Solomon summed it up this way: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15, NIV). In our culture it sounds harsh to refer to someone as a fool, so we soften by saying, “He acted foolishly” or, “How could I have been so foolish?” But the reality is, when we refuse to listen, when we dodge the truth, when we insist on having our own way, we are fools.

Wise people know when they don’t know. The fool is the person who convinces himself he knows more than he really knows and doesn’t need to ask anybody anything. At the end of the day, the wise man breaths a sigh of relief; the fool, a sigh of regret.

Bottom line, when we resist presenting our options to the wise people around us for fear of hearing what we don’t want to hear, we are fools. When we insist on ignoring the warning signs and pressing on anyway, we are fools. And in the end, we pay. Fools always pay.

God knows there will be times when you lack wisdom, times when you will ask the Best Question Ever and come up short.

If you are in the midst of an emotionally challenging situation and circumstances require you to make a decision, go for help. Don’t trust your judgment alone. Just as there are times when physical pain makes us incapable of caring for ourselves, so emotional pain can drive us to the place where we need assistance.

If you are being called upon to make a decision that is out of your league in terms of experience or education, get some help. Don’t pretend. Don’t fake it. Asking for help is not a reflection of your lack of wisdom. Asking for input is evidence of wisdom. When the Best Question Ever doesn’t yield the clarity you need, ask someone you trust, “In light of my past experiences, current circumstances, and future hopes and dreams, what do you believe is the wise thing for me to do?”

After all, wise people know when they don’t know and aren’t afraid to go to those who do.

The Best Question Ever

to spank or not to spank

First let me apologize for the lack luster effort on the blogg this week. I am traveling however and missing my wife and kids greatly. Oh, and I am using dial up to boot. Thus no picture.

The following was an article that I pulled out of news week a couple of days ago. I will reply to the post with my comments, but wanted to open up for all of your comments, reaction, ect. Cant wait to hear your feedback…..


TABOO
SPANKING SMACKDOWN

The uproar over a California assembly women’s announcement that she wants to make it illegal for parents to spank their own toddlers raises an interesting question: how many parents actually spank their kids? We may have to beat them to get the truth. A new study of more than 2,000 parents in the Journal of Clinical Pediatrics found fewer than 9 percent explicitly admit to spanking their kids ages 2-11 – while at the same time, 40 percent say they were spanked as a child and use the same discipline techniques as their parents. “People don’t want to admit it, even in an anonymous, confidential questionnaire,” says Dr. Shari Barkin, lead author of the study and chief of general pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital. This is a big change in social attitudes from a few decades ago: national surveys in 1975 and 1985 found that more than 90 percent of parents spanked their three year olds. In 1988, two thirds of mothers with kids under 6 said they routinely HIT their child three times a week. By the 1990’s however, it was widely agreed in the medical community that corporal punishment does not work, is less effective than other discipline techniques and has the potentially harmful side effects. (Interestingly, a third of parents in the new study say their discipline approach is ineffective.)

So are fewer people actually spanking, or are they just less willing to admit it? Dr. Robert Murray, who studied the issue of corporal punishment in schools for the American Academy of Pediatrics, says both are true, and the stigma surrounding spanking is a good thing. “When there was a social norm of spanking, it shielded abuse,” he says. Maybe if parents are scared to admit to spanking, they’ll think twice about actually doing it.