JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP)–The newly formed Liberty University law school is offering at least 50 full-tuition scholarships to students who gain admission to the inaugural class now enrolling for the fall semester. Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University and pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., made this announcement on Monday, Feb. 2, to nearly 7,000 church leaders assembled at the Pastor’s Conference hosted by Jerry Vines and First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.
Falwell recounted sitting behind First Lady Laura Bush at President’s Bush’s State of the Union address the previous week, surveying the members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and presidential advisers — and realizing that most of them were lawyers.
“We are looking for radical students who are qualified to gain admission to any law school in the country,” Falwell said. By radical, he explained that the law school wants to train future judges and legislators to “make and interpret laws to bring this nation back to the Judeo-Christian ethic upon which it was founded.”
Falwell voiced gratitude that the law school was enrolling its first class in a debt-free 118,000-square-foot facility.
Turning to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake breast-baring stunt at the Super Bowl halftime show, Falwell said he was watching it with his 6 year-old grandson in the same room and became infuriated by what was broadcast.
“[Americans] own those airwaves, and [Super Bowl organizers] have no right to dump that garbage into my living room,” Falwell said.
“I am calling on pastors to call and write CBS and express their disgust. Then, I am asking those pastors to get their churches to do the same thing.”
The comments aligned with the sermon Falwell preached from Joel 2:28-29, which he titled “Becoming a Dreamer.”
Falwell said pastors must learn to dream big. He listed numerous dreamers in the Bible: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the major prophets, Mary and Joseph, and Paul. “We do not accomplish much because we do not dream,” he said.
Dreams translate into leadership vision, Falwell said, citing George Barna’s description of a pastor’s vision as “a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants based on an accurate understanding of God.”
Among other things, a vision allows pastors to “adopt an action plan that will enable them to move forward in both Christian life and ministry,” Falwell said. “Vision is the dynamic that enables pastors to translate faith and dreams into a new and personal walk with God.”
A pastor with a God-given vision will become a risk-taker, Falwell said. “Risk your reputation. Risk your finances,” he said. “Scare your deacons. Scare your wife.” This approach is why Falwell said he had declined to align with the Southern Baptist Convention for so many years. “I like to raise hell when it needs to be raised.”
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