A UNIVERSITY TO CHANGE THE WORLD
By
Jerry Falwell
“And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:8-10).
A. INTRODUCTION
Liberty University was begun by Thomas Road Baptist Church. And just as Thomas Road is not a normal church, so Liberty University is not a normal university. By normal I mean “the way things are normally done.” Technically, every church should do what Thomas Road tries to do, i.e., do everything it can to reach the world. But many churches don’t have a world-vision, and sadly, neither do many Christian colleges/universities. Because Jesus commanded to “preach the gospel to every creature,” and He commanded, “make disciples,” both the church and University can do nothing less than attempt to reach the world for Christ, then change it.
Overview of five ways Liberty can
change the world.
1. By actual intentional evangelism by students.
2. By revival.
3. By equipped students who go out to plant, build and evangelize new churches like Thomas Road.
4. By mission outreach of its staff and faculty.
5. By conferences, training sessions, classes, books; and today, e-mail, fax and all media.
1. LIBERTY CAN TOUCH THE WORLD BY ACTUAL INTENTIONAL EVANGELISM BY ITS STUDENTS.
Thomas Road Baptist Church really began to focus on the world when we accepted saturation evangelism as a strategy for our local church. That became the marching order of Thomas Road. I define saturation evangelism, “using every available means to reach every available person, at every available time.” Therefore, I felt a mandate to use television, radio, the printing press, telephone, and advertisement to get the Gospel out to every person. First, in Lynchburg then Virginia; then to the United States and ultimately to the world. And if we’re going to help saturate the world, why not change the world?
I want to remind you of three things about evangelism done by Liberty students. First, you have done evangelism and soul-winning around the world. When I began to name the places where student teams have gone, it staggers my mind (this list was prepared by those who went to these places): Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the South China Sea, Hawaii, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Red China, Fiji, Samoa, India, Russia, the Holy Land, Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe), Union of South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, France, Germany, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Canada, Mexico, all the countries of Central America, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, plus the islands of the Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica, Nassau; and the list goes on and on.
But there is a second way students have done evangelism. You have done soul-winning while here at Liberty. I can’t tell you how many students have won their parents to Jesus Christ. In our very first graduation service, a young man from Atlanta had his father and mother sitting in the balcony. The parents had arrived separately to see him graduate because they were divorced. Both of them came forward after Dr. Criswell gave the Invitation and met at the altar to get saved. I didn’t have the privilege of re-marrying them, but one of my close pastor friends in Atlanta did.
And don’t forget a third way you’ve done intentional evangelism. In the early days, we dismissed the school for the entire week and all the students got involved in evangelism. There were 154 students in the first class and they were involved in one of the greatest evangelistic crusades we ever had at Thomas Road Baptist Church in November, 1971. Listen to how we did it. We phoned every person in the Lynchburg phone directory **[tell how you cut apart the phone book and got volunteers to phone everyone, even the bars]**. We placed flyers under the windshield wipers of every car in the city and on all the streetlight poles. We put posters in every store in the city. We knocked on every door on Saturday to invite people to the crusade. We ran a full-page ad in the Lynchburg News and Advance on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the crusade began. We ran 60 advertising spots on Channel 13, and we ran 60 ads on every one of the thirteen radio stations in Lynchburg. I offered a brand new Scofield Bible to the student who brought the most to the evangelistic crusade. Steve Wingfield brought 258 visitors, that’s what made him a great evangelist in America, and now he can fill a 5,000 seat tent.
2. LIBERTY CAN TOUCH THE WORLD THROUGH REVIVAL.
It is no secret that I and many others are praying for an old-fashioned revival to be poured out on Liberty University. Let me again define for you revival, “It is God pouring out His presence on His people.” Listen to these verses: “I will pour out my spirit upon all people” (Acts 2:18). Again, revival is described in the Bible, “the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
Two of our faculty have described a revival at Liberty in their books. Dr. Hindson wrote Glory in the Church published by Thomas Nelson, and Dr. Towns wrote The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever published by Servant Publishing. Let me read to you: “The evening prayer meeting had been over for about an hour. Students of Liberty University and members of the Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, were milling around the front of the sanctuary. It was late--10:30 on a Wednesday night--so most of the ushers and pastors had gone home.
Suddenly a lone student rose and walked to the pulpit, weeping, to confess sins. The microphone and pulpit lights were off, but God was there. That student’s passionate repentance captured the attention of those who were still in the auditorium.
Someone began singing. Someone else ran to play the piano--softly, so as not to interrupt the sacred sound of tears. People dropped to their knees beside the altar and front pews.
Shortly, another broken person approached the pulpit to confess sins. Soon there were others. After two hours, frantic phone calls went out to the pastor and deacons: “Revival’s hit the church!”
Church members, awakened in the middle of the night, dressed hurriedly and drove through the dark streets of Lynchburg. All came back to the church building expecting to experience God. No neckties . . . no Sunday morning dresses . . . just believers eager for a divine touch. Soon the glory of the Lord flooded the church auditorium.
People stayed at the church from Wednesday night until Saturday morning. All normal activities in their lives shut down. Classes were canceled. Most of those involved didn’t leave for work; some didn’t eat. When drowsiness couldn’t be fought off, students slept in the pews in the back of the auditorium, or even under the pews.
No one wanted to leave the sanctuary, because when they left the building, they were leaving the tangible presence of God. They didn’t want to miss anything that God was doing.
Like the tide that ebbs and flows, the intensity of the experience came in waves. There were louder times when people were publicly confessing their sins, then quieter times of soft weeping and private prayer around the altar.
How did the revival end? Early Saturday morning one student rose to confess his sins, but he seemed to be bragging about what he had done when he had sinned; there was no shame, no brokenness. The Holy Spirit--who knows the heart--departed the meeting. Within one hour, everyone knew the revival was over.
They left, went home, and went back to their daily activities.” (Taken from The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever, Servant Publishing, 2000).
Any student of revival and evangelistic outreach knows that the greatest works for God have always been done in the university community. The haystack prayer meeting by students in New England nearly 200 years ago gave the original impetus to America’s missionary outreach. The Methodist Revival began when John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield organized the Holy Club at Oxford University; Jonathan Edwards and the revival at Princeton, Timothy Dwight and the revival at Yale, plus other revivals at Amherst College, Dartmouth, and other New England colleges. During the Second Great Awakening, Methodist circuit riders went all over the South and the Midwest planting churches; right on their heels, they planted colleges, hundreds of colleges that are still in existence today; but sadly, most of them no longer preach the Gospel. Two hundred years ago these Methodist colleges were flaming torches for Jesus Christ. And before we leave the area of revivals in colleges, remember Martin Luther was a teacher at a university when he began the Reformation, and the influence of Calvin came from his great university in Geneva.
We’re all praying for revival in America that would touch the world. Let’s pray for it to begin at Liberty. And when we experience revival, we can change the world.
3. LIBERTY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD BY EQUIPPING STUDENTS TO PLANT NEW CHURCHES AND REVITALIZE EXISTING CHURCHES
Liberty’s purpose from the beginning was never to just be a Bible college or Bible institute. While that is a great goal, and we have incorporated Liberty Bible Institute on campus as well as the Institute of Biblical Studies and Tim LaHaye’s School of Prophecy, our intent from the beginning was to build a strong, liberal arts college. Our aim was to make you competitive in the world with a world-class education, but we felt your Christian commitment gave you an edge to change the world.
Liberty has an aim for each student to become godly and walk with Jesus Christ. That is why Dwayne Carson and the spiritual life directors and prayer leaders get so much attention from the administration. We want to help each of you know Christ and walk with Christ. I like the motto, “To know Christ and make Him known.” But beyond godliness, Liberty has had the aim to make everyone of you a soul-winner, whether you are going into education, politics, or into media, or into the ministry full time. That’s why all of you take the introductory course in Evangelism and Christian Life taught by Danny Lovett. But beyond these spiritual aims, we want Liberty students to be involved in a local church. And if there’s not a good church where God leads you, help start one there.
Look at Liberty’s seal. It has a Bible as its foundation, a church in which to minister, and a flame. That flame represents evangelism. I want Thomas Road Baptist Church to be a “Church Aflame.” I want Liberty to be a university that is Bible-based, local church-focused, and with “Knowledge Aflame.”
If Liberty helps to plant and revitalize local churches, we can change the world.
4. LIBERTY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD THROUGH THE MISSION OUTREACH OF STAFF AND FACULTY.
We not only want you students to reach out during the school year, many of our faculty and staff also reach out for God. Everyone knows of my salt and light ministry, I use television to reach out. But you need to know that many of your faculty are doing the same thing, they just don’t get the attention that I get.
For years, Lila and Lee Bruckner led students into mission work in Red China, and today the early learning center is called the Lila Bruckner Early Learning Center. David Towles has led more than ten student groups into South America, using his great Spanish-speaking ability to communicate the Gospel. For years our soccer coach, William Bell, led students in jail ministry in England. He was one of the most recognized soccer players in all the British Empire; but he was committed to spending his time ministering in jails with Liberty students.
Harold Willmington is out every weekend in churches giving Bible lectures. Dr. Towns speaks all over the nation lecturing to pastoral groups and leadership groups. Dr. Gary Habermas has been invited to speak in twelve different universities during the Spring semester, 2002. Danny Lovett is in a different revival every weekend. Someone guessed that a half dozen faculty members have weekend pastorates, and many more have other positions in other local churches. I don’t know of any university that has the staff that Liberty does, and I commend them for it.
Our faculty are changing the world by their ministries, which they do over and above their normal academic activities.
5. LIBERTY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD THROUGH CONFERENCES, TRAINING SESSIONS, CLASSES, E-MAIL, FAX AND BOOKS.
Again, Liberty is different from most colleges in that we have sponsored conferences to train people in evangelism. We have experienced revival and we want to communicate to the world what God has done for us.
First let’s talk about Super Conference. It was never just the effort of Thomas Road Baptist Church, it was a combined effort with the faculty here at the University, who taught classes, preached, and trained people to build a super-aggressive local church in their hometown, just like we do here at Thomas Road.
Specialized conferences. The University’s Youth Department has brought in youth workers from all across America, then trained them to go back to do ministry in a big and great way. Our Youth Department staff and workers are the unsung heroes at the University. They have kept a “fire in our belly” by training youth pastors to take over some of the largest churches in America. Some have estimated that over half of the super churches in the Southern Baptist Convention have a Liberty graduate as youth pastor on staff; this includes First Baptist Church of Dallas, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville (FL), First Baptist Church of Snellville (GA), etc.
But another great thing that the Youth Department does for us, they recruit for Liberty through these youth pastors, sending many students to Liberty. Lee Vukich tells me that they place 105% of their graduates in youth pastorates. I asked, “How’s that?” He answered that so many other young people from Liberty become youth pastors who didn’t major in youth work, that they are able to place more youth pastors in churches than they have youth majors.
But there are many other Liberty conferences that have changed the world. We’ve had conferences on apologetics to answer the philosophy critics; creationism to answer the evolutionary critics; and our debate team wins national ranking and they always answer the critics.
The writings of our faculty and staff make us a university to change the world. In the early 70s I wrote three best sellers along with Elmer Towns, i.e., Church Aflame, Capturing a Town For Christ, and America’s Fastest Growing Churches. These books describe the growth of Thomas Road Baptist Church and laid out principles for other churches to follow.
Dr. Willmington has written the Willmington’s Guide to the Bible, one of the classic reference books that continues as an all time best-selling reference work of Bible knowledge.
Gary Habermas has become the number one apologist in the world, taking the place of Francis Schaefer. When he came to us about twenty years ago, he had just written a book on the shroud of Turin that sold over 1.5 million copies. In the conference room of Dr. Borek’s office, he keeps a copy of all the volumes written by our faculty just to let others know how active we are in trying to change the world.
CHANGING THE WORLD IN UNSEEN WAYS
As I wrap up this sermon, there are probably many faculty members whose names I didn’t call but should have recognized. There are many students who have done many things that I have not recognized. I should have told you that the three students from Liberty, the members of dc Talk, got their start at Liberty. They were having a pool party at my house, and my son Jonathan said, “Dad, I want you to hear something.” I was so impressed that I had them sing at Thomas Road the following Sunday. They were too radical for my “staid Sunday school class,” but when they sang in chapel they brought the house down. This group now has gone on to international fame. And don’t forget Mark Lowry, formerly with the Gaither Vocal Band. And there are many others who have sung or acted or played a musical instrument with Disney, Branson, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We’ve had young people sit in the anchor chair of news programs, and many of them have become multi-millionaires; beginning and building vast business empires.
I heard it said, “Greatness is not something that a person does, it is what a person is.” And Liberty has attempted to put greatness in the heart of each student so you will go out and do great things for God. We don’t train you just to get a job, I want to train you to give a job. We want you to be the leaders of industry so that you hire dozens or hundreds or thousands of people. We want you to be legislators in the state house, and nation’s capitol. I want you to create programs, bless your constituency and change the world.
Liberty’s aim is to change the world, we can do that by changing you. If you can get a vision about how God can use you, then we’re well on our way to changing your world and through you, we can make a difference in the entire world.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord,
I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
For more information on the TRBC Pastor’s Bible Class, log on to the Internet for TRBC Home page at www.trbc.org/pbc.
