I've got to say something.

I've got a picture of Pastor Jorge, Jerry Falwell and me in my office. It's at our friend Derek's wedding...we both graduated from LU and at different times got to spend time with Jerry. He will be missed for a few reasons.

1. He was genuine. I can remember being in his home and him being the same guy i had seen out on campus and in town.

2. He made mistakes. He said alot of dumb things. Alot of them made me cringe and think, "what the heck was that?". He did apologize later for them, but still, they were said. I've discovered that all of us do that at one time or another, only his was on tv and his critics would drive it so hard that they would attempt to "demonize" him. Maybe we should be grateful we don't live that blatantly in the public eye. Maybe we should offer the same grace and understanding for him that we so generously give ourselves.

3. He was loving. I saw him love students genuinely. I never felt alienated from this guy who pastored a large church and ran a university that is making a difference. I saw him invite the gay community into his church to show them the love of Jesus when other "Christians" would picket the church service the whole time. I saw him literally befriend Larry Flynt, owner of Hustler magazine. This same magazine that depicted Falwell in a less than desirable light. I heard Jesse Jackson also say how much he appreciated the heart of Jerry.

4. He was a prankster. The stories never end...at 70 years old Jerry would throw firecrackers from his suburban at other staff members. He would tailgate and beep continuously at LU students he saw around town. The list goes on.

Jerry was far from perfect, but he made a difference. If you only believe the hype on tv, you missed out. You were shown an exploited, gross misinterpretation of someone's political view.

Either way, he's home now. His labor is over, his race is run. He made a difference for the kingdom... may that be true of all of us.