President’s Post – We never shield away from the gospel

Can you believe that November is already here? We’re just weeks away from Thanksgiving break, and Christmas will be here before we know it. As I have said before, Liberty University officially started our next 50 years at the beginning of the fall semester, and I couldn’t be more proud of our Liberty student body. Our students are the greatest thing about our university.

Bigger things are coming soon. Liberty has broken ground on our Jerry Falwell Center to inspire future Champions for Christ. And our new state-of-the-art, 120,000 square foot Reber-Thomas dining facility will be completed just in time for the 2023 school year. We now have over 151,000 students enrolled through Liberty University’s residential and online programs. This is just a sample of the God-sized vision that my friend, Dr. Jerry Falwell, had for our university. Liberty isn’t slowing down either. We are just getting started.

Now, I want to remind you that next week is one of the most important dates in our nation. Can you guess what that is? On Tuesday, Nov. 8, all across our country, men and women will be going to the polls to cast their votes for senators, members of Congress and local officials in the midterm elections. It is an opportunity to make our voices heard and vote on matters of conscience and what is most important to us as citizens. 

Since 1971, our founder Dr. Jerry Falwell made the gospel and the Christian mission of our university the highest priority. We have never shied away from the gospel. Dr. Falwell also placed a heavy emphasis on modeling Christian citizenship for all our students. Liberty University students have been engaged in the public arena, bold and unabashed Champions for Christ and the gospel from the earliest days.

Throughout history, there have been three basic attitudes regarding public engagement for the people of God. We see it in the Old Testament, New Testament and throughout church history. What are these
three attitudes?

The first is one of isolation. This attitude says, “We are going to stay out of participating in the political arena.” Unlike many countries in world history, we live in a country where we have the opportunity to select those who are going to serve us in government. Unfortunately, many do not use this opportunity to elect officials who will follow our Constitution, which recognizes our religious freedom given by God. 

The second attitude is the one of assimilation. What is assimilation? It is that attribute of patterning oneself like the world. Do we look like the world in how we participate, or do we look like followers of Christ? It is similar to how the children of Israel cried to Samuel for a king so they could be “like all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:20). Instead of looking like a Christian, many unfortunately want to look and act like the world. Israel wanted to adopt to the common practices of those who did not serve or worship the one true God (Exodus 19:6). 

The third attitude is transformation. Transformation is neither being isolated from the world nor assimilating to the world but changing the world for Christ. When Jesus modeled the Lord’s prayer for his disciples, he prayed to God the Father, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). True “Champions for Christ” are world changers. As Christians, we have the unique privilege and responsibility of winning the nations to Christ (Psalms 2:8). Therefore, we are called to be world changers.

What is another example of transformation? Well, look around you. By God’s help and in answer to many countless prayers, Liberty Mountain has undergone a massive transformation. It used to be a dairy farm where cows grazed in its pastures. Now it is home to one of the largest Christian universities in the world. Every year, we graduate students with Masters in Business Administration, juris doctors, Ph.Ds and many other degrees to be “Champions for Christ.” Dr. Falwell was a transformational leader.

This Tuesday, Nov. 8, you will have the opportunity to cast your vote according to your conscience. I want to encourage you to be informed, and I also want to encourage you to pray earnestly for this election and our country. Like any true “Champion for Christ,” pray for gospel transformation to take place in Lynchburg, in Virginia, in America and to the ends of
the earth.

PREVO is the Interim President of Liberty University.