LYNCHBURG, Va. — Just days after the death of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, his sons, Jerry Jr. and Jonathan, vowed to continue the work started by their father.

The elder Falwell founded both Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church, in addition to the Moral Majority, which was considered the launching pad for evangelical involvement into the political arena.

Insiders have said that the evangelical leader made clear plans for an orderly transition to his sons.

Jerry Jr., who assumes the role of chancellor and president of Liberty University, made impromptu comments at the school’s commencement service May 19 after he was introduced to the crowd.

“I hadn’t planned to say anything today because we’ve all been crying all week,” the junior Falwell told the graduates as he struggled to hold back his tears. “It didn’t seem advisable. But I know that dad would want us to be happy and celebratory today.”

On Sunday, his brother Jonathan was behind the pulpit at Thomas Road Baptist Church where he serves as executive pastor. He is expected to become senior pastor of the 24,000-member church.

In greeting at least 5,000 mourning congregants, Jonathan encouraged his father’s flock to press forward.

"He would say, 'I have finally—I have finally—reached glory.' He would say, 'You have a world to reach,'" Jonathan said.

Later he called the believers forward.

"Fill this altar so that dad can look down and see that this altar that he built is full of God's people," Jonathan said as hundreds left their seats to kneel behind him, some holding each other and sobbing.

The elder Falwell died May 15 after being found unresponsive in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He was 73.

Dr. Carl Moore, a cardiovascular specialist, said Falwell was found “unconscious without a heartbeat” about 11:30 a.m. Efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. Moore said Falwell had a cardiac arrhythmia—an irregularity in the heart’s rhythm—that occurs “without warning and cannot be predicted.” He was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m.

Upon news of his death, tributes immediately began pouring in to Lynchburg from both Falwell’s friends and allies, and—in some cases—those who occasionally sparred with him. Evangelist Billy Graham called Falwell “a close personal friend for many years. We did not always agree on everything, but I knew him to be a man of God.”


Christian Examiner connection
Lamar and Theresa Keener, co-publishers of the Christian Examiner, met Falwell as students at Liberty. The couple met and married while attending there.

“Jerry Falwell’s death may mark an end to an era, but through his work, institutions and influence throughout the nation, and within thousands of students, his ideals will live on forever,” the Keeners said in a statement.

Over the years, the Keeners maintained their friendship with the Falwells and their youngest daughter, Brittany, is now a senior at the school.

"As students during the early years of Liberty we were able to see the personal side of Dr. Falwell,” they wrote. “He would often interact with the students daily. If a student needed money, Dr. Falwell was the first one to reach in his pocket and help him out. Always giving, always ready to listen to our thoughts."

"Dr. Falwell defined himself and a whole generation to live by Christ’s example and to challenge the secular culture. He was charismatic, passionate and uncompromising in sharing the gospel of Christ. He was a great inspiration to young college students like myself who attended Liberty University.

“Jerry Falwell's legacy will long outlast him, but many of us will miss him as the leader who motivated us to change the culture we live in with the love of Christ.”


Legacies launched
Falwell started three organizations that have had a huge impact on the Religious Right movement. He founded the Moral Majority in 1979, and its work was often credited with helping to elect Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980. His Liberty University has become one of the largest Christian colleges in the United States and his “Old Time Gospel Hour” radio and television program was a pioneer in Christian broadcasting, at one time airing on more than 800 radio stations.

But Falwell considered himself first and foremost a pastor. The church he founded, Thomas Road Baptist Church, was one of the first Protestant megachurches in the country, and just before his death moved into a new worship center that would seat more than 6,000 people in a single service.

His activism would have surprised those who knew Falwell early in his career, when he actively preached against pastors taking a role in politics. He said preachers should “stick to the gospel.” He said the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion had a significant impact on his thinking.

 “A nation that could murder millions of its children was capable of anything,” he said. “I came to believe that in the face of such an evil, I had to speak out.”

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich addressed Falwell’s concerns as the keynote speaker during the May 19 commencement services at Liberty.

“A man of deep wisdom, he understood something quite profound, something that too many people today would rather not acknowledge,” The The News & Advance reported. “What he understood was the deep resonance between the demands of his faith and the demands of his nation.”

Everything, he said, stemmed from the Bible and its inerrant truth.

“To his great credit, Dr. Falwell decided to step forward publicly and counter the outrageous intolerance of the secular absolutists,” Gingrich was quoted as saying. “This was a difficult decision. Early in his ministry, Dr. Falwell was reluctant to be involved with politics. But he changed his mind. He later explained that ‘I never thought the government would go so far afield…I misjudged the quality of government we have.’”


A sometimes-lightning rod
Falwell’s public ministry began in 1956 when he founded Thomas Road Baptist Church with just 35 members. “The Old Time Gospel Hour” radio program began immediately after the founding of the church, designed as a way both to minister to the local community, and to market the church’s activities. The church and radio program became lynchpins of all of Falwell’s future endeavors.

Falwell’s public pronouncements were sometimes controversial. He once called Bill Clinton an “ungodly liar.” In the aftermath of Sept. 11, he said, “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ... the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’”

Falwell later apologized, saying his comments were inappropriate “at the time.” But he added that recent intelligence indicates that a belief by radical Muslims that America is godless and secular did have at least some impact on the decision to attack the World Trade Centers. 

In any case, those who knew Falwell personally say that privately he was a warm and humorous man. Once, after a snowfall at Liberty University, Falwell loaded a bucket full of snowballs, and drove around campus in his pickup truck, throwing the snowballs at students. Students and church members remember him for his memory.

“He had an ability to meet people only once, and yet be able to call their names years later if he met them again,” said Dr. Alex McFarland, a former student and now president of Southern Evangelical Seminary.

“He was a warm and encouraging man. A great leader who will be sorely missed.”

Falwell is survived by his wife of 49 years, Macel Pate, and three children, Jerry, Jeannie and Jonathan, and eight grandchildren.


EP News Service contributed to this report.