One of my all time hero’s is no longer with us, he is with the Lord. Dr. Jerry Falwell, Founder and Chancellor of Liberty University and Founder and Pastor of the historic Thomas Road Baptist Church died yesterday morning…working in his office…at age 73. I so admire the way that man lived…now I admire the way he died…at work doing what he loved and was called to do!

How one can not admire Dr. Falwell is beyond me. He was an absolute bulldog…a man of vision, adventure, danger, controversy, conviction and integrity. In 1956, as a young man, he returned to his hometown-Lynchburg Virginia – and planted Thomas Road Baptist church. They started with 35 people and God blessed them for 50 years and now that same church has a membership of over 20,000! That obviously inspires me…I’ve returned to my hometown to start a church…as a good looking, vibrant young man just like Jerry was in 1956 (HA!) and I hope God allows me to pastor this church for 50 years or more. On top of that in the late 1960’s God began to stir within Dr. Falwell the need to plant a Christian University…and in 1971 what is now known as Liberty University was started…and today it is the largest Evangelical University in the world. He’ll never get the credit he deserves for starting ministries to help, really help, alcoholics or the homeless…he’ll be remembered as a right wing conservative…a fundamentalist…and we all know that right wing conservative fundamentalists don’t care about social issues (insert: rolling my eyes).

Jerry Falwell was easily the most controversial mainline evangelical in American history for one specific reason…he was a true conservative. He was theologically and politically conservative…and he actually had real conviction about those things. He was a true believer. When you believe something, deep down in your soul…when you really believe something is true then whatever that something is will drive you to action. Period. When you really believe something is truly and universally true… it doesn’t matter what names you are called...you will have an unappeasable drive and goad to do something about what you believe. Put it this way…if you are not moved to action about something you can’t truly believe that something is true.

One does not compromise what one regards as true truth. Jerry Falwell regarded the Bible as true truth and he truly believed that the Bible was written in such a way that it was to be taken at face value…that God didn’t inspire nonsense, mumbo jumbo, gobbledygook, flimflam, balderdash, gibberish or confusion. He believed, with all of his heart, that God inspired the Scriptures in such a way that it was to be read and believed as it is…that God inspired the Bible to be read plainly and taken plainly…that the Bible says what it means and means what it says and it is to be approached in that manner and interpreted just like any other document is interpreted…just like you are interpreting this article as you are reading it right now…by understanding the plain context. You wouldn’t read this blog article and say “well, to me, what I got out of this blog article was that Gary hated, despised and did not admire Jerry Falwell…” Jerry Falwell believed that the Bible was to be read just as you are reading this article…plainly and in simple common sense context.

He also believed that Communism is evil, inhumane and totally unBiblical…and any political or social move towards the left was a move towards Communism. He really believed that…and was therefore obviously moved to action against liberal, leftward movements.

So because of those two great convictions in his heart…Dr. Jerry Falwell, from Lynchburg Virginia, started a revolution.

If you share those same two convictions then there are not many things that Dr. Falwell said that you did not at some level, basically, agree with. That is not to say that he was inerrant or anything like that…but he was logical with his conclusions…if you start at the same premise he started at about those two issues and if you from that point use the basic and universal laws of logic…then you’ll find yourself pretty darn close to the worldview of Dr. Jerry Falwell. If I have heard this once I’ve heard it a trillion times: “it’s not what Falwell says that bothers me…it’s how he says it…” Fair enough, I guess. From my perspective the only other way he could have said those things any more generously and graciously was to not say them at all. How can you tell someone that they are a sinner and if they die in that condition they will be damned to hell forever…in a sweet, warm and mushy way? Certainly you do all that you can to convey your concern, your genuine, heartfelt and real concern for their soul…but the bottom line is the bottom line. Once on national TV Jerry Falwell said this directly to openly gay congressman Barney Frank, “I don't hate you Barney, I just think you're a moral pervert.” Wow indeed. I admire Dr. Falwell for making that statement. I’m as sure as I can be that Jerry Falwell did not hate gays or anybody else…but if you start at the same premise that Dr. Falwell started with…well…what else could he have said?

1. The Bible plainly states that homosexual behavior is immoral and a sinful perversion of God’s plan for human sexuality.

2. The Bible plainly mandates that God’s chosen people are to make sinners aware of their sin and warn them to flee from it and run directly to the Godman, Jesus Christ…their only hope for salvation from the wrath of a righteous and angry God.

3. Barney Frank openly admits that he engages in homosexual behavior.

4. Millions of confused sinful people were watching this exchange.

So if you start with the same premise that Dr. Falwell started with…that the Bible is to be read in common sense, everyday, regular context…and within that frame work it means what it actually says…then you must also come to the conclusion that Barney Frank is a moral pervert…and so is every other person who engages in homosexual behavior…and telling them that fact is a mandated upon God’s people. You must come to the conclusion that telling them that is an act of love, ultimately, and concern for their soul…and clarifying that you do not hate them is also a Biblical mandate.

The purpose of this article is not to bash gays…it’s not about the immorality of homosexual behavior (there is no such thing as an actual “homosexual” person in the strictest and most technical sense…homosexuality is only a lifestyle and behavior).

My purpose is to give Dr. Jerry Falwell credit for being a man of conviction, consistency, compassion and integrity. He was never found watching gay porn or walking out of a gay bar…or heterosexual porn or a heterosexual bar for that matter…he was the real deal…a man who feared God more than he feared man. I wish the evangelical world would awaken and realize that no one will ever admire centrists, moderates or compromisers…no one is challenged by a person with no conviction, backbone or guts. In my mind…the biggest mistake Jerry Falwell ever made was when he apologized for his comments following September 11th…because I believe he was dead on with those comments…look them up.

I pray that the evangelical world will awaken and be salt and light, without apology and without compromise…there is no toothless gospel…there is no sensitive gospel…there is just the plain, straightforward gospel of Christ, “a rock of offense” and “a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” Dr. Falwell simply believed that “the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”…and so he would just quote the Bible, let the chips fall where they may…and God used him to start a revolution.

God…send us another man…another general…and send him in the spirit and power of Elijah, John the Baptist and Dr. Jerry Falwell!

Oh…one more thing…if you don’t think Tinky Winky is GAY then you need your head examined! He is purple…the gay pride color…he has a triangle on his head…the symbol of gay pride…AND TINKY WINKY HAS A MANS VOICE WHO SOUNDS AS QUEER AS A THREE DOLLAR BILL AND HE…HE…CARRIES A PURSE!!! HELLO!!!