Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio
Posted on 08/07/2020 6:35:38 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio
Jerry Falwell Jr. agreed Friday to take an “indefinite leave of absence” from his roles as president and chancellor of Liberty University at the request of the board of trustees.
“The Executive Committee of Liberty University’s Board of Trustees, acting on behalf of the full Board, met today and requested that Jerry Falwell, Jr. take an indefinite leave of absence from his roles as President and Chancellor of Liberty University, to which he has agreed, effective immediately,” the university said in a statement released Friday.
The board's request came days after Falwell expressed regret over posting a photo of himself at a costume party on a yacht during his family's vacation that showed him wearing unzipped jeans with his underwear exposed, belly pushed out, and right arm around the waist of his wife's assistant whose shorts were also unzipped.
In a statement to The Christian Post late Friday, Pastors Chris Williamson, Eric Carroll, and Maina Mwaura, the organizers of a June 1 letter to Falwell by 35 African American pastors, ministry leaders, and former athletes who graduated from Liberty University and warned they'd stop donating to the university because they disagreed with Falwell's political rhetoric and activism, said his leave of absence was the right decision.
"We believe the Board of Trustees made the right decision in asking Mr. Falwell to take a leave of absence, and we are praying for him, his immediate family, and our entire Liberty family during this season. First and foremost, it is our desire that Mr. Falwell would experience healing and restoration that only God can give. Liberty is a special place, and the God that we serve is a powerful God to lead the school into its next season. Liberty University deeply impacted us as students and we hope that its leadership can return to a focus of training 'young champions for Christ' with Biblical conviction for the Gospel and justice."
Friday evening, Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., a former pastor of 16 years who also worked at Liberty University as a guest lecturer on mentorship and administration, said on Twitter: "I pray for Jerry Jr. and the Falwells, and I take solace in the Christian principle that forgiveness and redemption is available to all."
Walker added: "Though not easy, this is the right call for @LibertyU students & family. Liberty is such an important institution to our nation, our next generation of leaders & faith. The Liberty family impacts the world every day for things that are good and righteous."
Earlier on Friday, before the board announced its decision, the congressman called on Falwell to step down. "Jerry Falwell Jr’s ongoing behavior is appalling. As a Music Faculty Advisory Board Member and former instructor @LibertyU, I’m convinced Falwell should step down. None of us are perfect, but students, faculty, alumni and @LUPraise deserve better," he wrote in a post on Twitter.
In an interview with the WLNI radio program "MorningLine" Wednesday, Falwell explained the context of the photo that he posted on Instagram last weekend and subsequently deleted, saying that his wife’s assistant is pregnant and was unable to zip up her shorts.
“She’s pregnant, so she couldn’t get her pants zipped,” he told the Lynchburg radio station. “I had on a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in a long time, so I couldn’t get mine zipped up, either. And so, I just put my belly out like hers.”
Falwell went on to say, “I should never have put it up” and “embarrassed her,” adding that he has “apologized to everybody.”
“I promised my kids I’m going to try to be better,” he added, noting that he and his wife were on vacation and it was a costume party. “I’m going to be a good boy from here on out … it was just good fun, that’s it.”
The image garnered extensive attention after Robert Downen, a religion reporter with The Houston Chronicle, posted it on Twitter Sunday.
"Lots of good friends visited us on the yacht. I promise that’s just black water in my glass. It was a prop only,” Falwell wrote in the caption of the now-deleted photo along with other images of the costume party inspired by the long-running comedy series “Trailer Park Boys." The comedy actors are known for setting a record for the highest number of f-words in a film by saying the curse word 935 times in "Swearnet."
Some charged Falwell with hypocrisy, citing among other things Liberty University’s code of conduct that prohibits students from consuming media that contains “lewd lyrics, anti-Christian message, sexual content, nudity, pornography” either on or off campus.
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh at The Daily Wire noted on his podcast Wednesday that the problem with Falwell's actions is that Liberty students could be expelled and have in the past been penalized for participating in similar activities. "It's extremely poor leadership ... to publicize yourself doing the very thing you punish other people for doing," Walsh said.
They weren’t exactly doing social distancing.
Well I gotta say that his wife’s assistent certainly new those short shorts weren’t going to fit and further her top wasn’t exactly ideal either for being pregnant. I dont’ understand what it it that pregnant women today think everyone should be interested in their baby bumps being on display.
So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up and said unto them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
John 8:7
None of us needed none of this, that’s for sure.
Capitol Steps song to the tune of Zip-a-dee Doo Dah, sung by “Bill Clinton”:
“I’m unzippin’ my doo dah every day
Some young intern could be comin’ my way...”
Yes
“but expected of the for-profit preacher dynasties.”
He is not — NOT — a preacher. He’s a lawyer. His father was a preacher.
Where was the father of the assistant's child during this trip?
“She’s pregnant, so she couldn’t get her pants zipped,” he told the Lynchburg radio station.
Right. Her underwear fit but she didn't pack any outerwear that fit... Right.
I had on a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in a long time, so I couldn’t get mine zipped up, either.
Roger that. I always pack old ill-fitting clothes for a vacation. Understand perfectly what it's like being on vacation and unable to zip up my pants. /s.
It makes sense that it was innocent or else he himself wouldn’t have posted it for all the world to see.
But there is 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV) “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” A bad decision on his part.
He was hugely instrumental in giving us President Donald J. Trump. His father was hugely instrumental in giving us President Ronald Reagan.
This is how propaganda works:
It helps to release the story through an apparently sympathetic mag
with “Christian” in the title.
The headline could have been worded any number of ways,
but this particular phrase was chosen.
While any file photo could have been used, the picture included is
NOTED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION.
It shows him in a silly posture of shaking his finger, as if at sin.
The implication: Hypocrite.
Knowing that almost no one reads the entire article anymore,
the pertinent info is buried near (but not at) the bottom.
The pertinent info shows that he was silly, even stupid,
basically male, but not whoremongering.
“This is his problem. He’s not a boy he is a 58 year old husband and father of three grown children plus the President of a Christian University. He should step down permanently and let a grown up lead the University.”
Oh for heaven’s sake, making a mountain out of a molehill. If this is the worst thing he’s done in his life, it’s absolutely piddly. Man, I can’t stand it when people get all on their moral high horses over such a trivial matter. It was a silly, having fun pic, and ruining a man’s whole career of doing wonderful things for his University is an absolute joke and verges on a moral sin of its own. Lighten up some of you overly moralistic holy rollers and let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Geez.
For those who don’t know, they were at a party where people were dressed as characters from a television show, The Trailer Park Boys, which began about 20 years ago.
Dumb move for a man in his position to post a picture with his fly unzipped, but it’s particularly choice for a fat slob like Megan McCain to whine about it, taking a break from her usual routine of promoting feminism and homosexuality. Same for S.E. Cupp. Both of them would have been fine with him participating in a “pride” march in drag, but this picture is just so very horrible. Yeah, whatever. Bad judgment on his part, as it made it way too easy for enemies to pounce.
Whoever ends up replacing him will be worse. His faults do not include pushing gay stuff and feminism into the church. It’s a shame, but it’s his mistake.
His late father would certainly disapproved of this jackass stunt by junior.
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