Ottati. Falwell. The twain did meet — so to speak — in their departing.
How strange to be honoring Doug Ottati upon his departure from Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education to head to Davidson College as other Virginians were bidding farewell to Jerry Falwell on his journey to the Promised Land. In the minds of its alums, Davidson does resemble the heavenly estate, but that’s beside the point.
A symposium honoring the legacy of an icon of liberal theology seemed oddly juxtaposed to the reactions to Falwell’s unexpected death, with countless supporters and critics reminiscing or railing over the legacy of an icon of religious conservatism.
Presbyterians give Falwell mixed marks. Some appreciated his strong stands on conservative values. Many shuddered over what they saw as narrow-minded, reactionary fundamentalism. We could fill a few months’ magazines with commentaries on those mixed reactions. Little would be gained for such efforts.
Maybe we do better to look for lessons and admirable actions that might be instructive for his Christian allies and Christian opponents alike. What did Jerry Falwell do that might inform those who reside all around the theological map?
For one thing, Jerry Falwell committed a fundamentalist’s cardinal sin by stealing a page from our playbook. He bought in to the notion of the liberal, mainline Protestants, who call the people of God “to work for the transformation of society by seeking justice and living in obedience to the Word of God” (Book of Order, G-2.0500). He then — almost single-handedly — pulled his fellow fundamentalists out of their prayer closets and pushed them into the voting booths. He pulled that movement out of safe isolation and catalyzed it with passion for national redirection. His launch and leadership of the Moral Majority util-ized a genius Madison Avenue marketing strategy, developing a mass mailing list which mobilized millions of donors and workers to make a difference in the world around them.
Like it or not, he succeeded way beyond anything we mainliners had ever imagined. While we may question his agenda, we do well to study his methods. He set the standard for motivation and mobilization.
For another thing, Falwell did things that matter to individual persons in need. As Rick Warren said in a press release, “The story was never told about his compassionate heart, his gentle spirit, his enormous sense of humor, and the millions he invested in helping the underprivileged. Jerry founded the Elim Home for Alcoholics, the Center for Tutoring Inner City Children, the Hope Aglow ministry to prisoners, the Liberty Godparent Home for unwed mothers, and literally dozens of other compassion projects to help the poor, the sick, and others in desperate need.” He also started a Christian college that this fall will matriculate 11,000 students. Behind all his words were deeds that positively impacted people’s lives.
For another thing, Jerry was wired to the local church. Midweek travels might fly him to the White House or to a CNN studio, but on Sundays he found his way back to his Lynchburg pulpit — until his retiring day. He never allowed high profile advocacy roles to eclipse his first vocation, God’s call to proclaim the Word of God to the people of God. He well knew that God’s kingdom building happens mostly through the local church.
Finally, he never lost track of the primary message. Yes, he could rant and rave about all kinds of moral and ethical issues — sometimes singing with the angels, sometimes singing another tune. But inevitably, his messages would return to the core message of the gospel of grace, made available through faith. He relentlessly pointed people to Jesus, that they might discover for themselves the love and mercy of the Savior, and that they might realize God’s high calling in their lives.
All of which brings us to the honoring of one of our leading liberal theologians — Doug Ottati — and the desire of many to revive the role of liberal theology in our day (see next page). Can it happen? Probably can. What might it look like? Well, it won’t look like the Moral Majority, per se, and it may not create a Liberality University. But it may be a good idea to steal a few pages out of Jerry Falwell’s playbook.
— JHH
