[Sly Fox]

The church is getting some significant national coverage for the 50th festivities. Here's an AP story running on the wires and all over the web:

Associated Press
Religion Today
By SUE LINDSEY , 06.29.2006, 12:18 PM

The Rev. Jerry Falwell's conservative politics have earned him both friends and enemies in a long, public career - but there's no denying he's been a successful pastor.

Joined by thousands of supporters, Falwell will mark the half-century anniversary of Thomas Road Baptist Church on Sunday with a daylong celebration that begins with a service in a new, 6,000-seat sanctuary.

The sanctuary is just a small part of a 1 million-square-foot complex for the Falwell empire's administrative offices, Liberty University recreational facilities and classrooms and Liberty Christian Academy, which has students from preschool through high school.

Days before the opening ceremony, workmen hustled to install the raised choir loft, lay carpet around the dark gray upholstered seats, and put wall coverings over insulation.

Even unfinished, the setting bore no reminder of the church's beginnings.

Fresh out of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., a 22-year-old Falwell returned to his hometown and started his church with 35 members in an old Donald Duck soda bottling plant.

"We scraped syrup off the floors and walls," he said during a recent interview.

Falwell, whose countenance is jovial even when talking about serious subjects, built his congregation with knuckles and shoe leather. "I began knocking on 100 doors a day, six days a week," he said. He would invite people to church, and leave them with his phone number in case they needed his help.

One year later, Thomas Road Church had 864 members; it has continued to grow dramatically. Today, the rolls number 24,000, with several hundred evangelists going door-to-door in central Virginia.

Falwell still believes in recycling old buildings, however. Everything but the church sanctuary has been converted from an 888,000-square-foot facility formerly used by Ericsson, a Swedish-based supplier of cellular phone network equipment. Parts of it are still being renovated.

Within a few weeks of starting the church, Falwell found a way to expand his reach quickly - first with a radio program, then a live Sunday night television show - the "Old Time Gospel Hour" - on the Lynchburg ABC affiliate. In 1956, the move was bold.

"Nobody else was doing it," Falwell said. Today, the preacher has his own Liberty Channel as well as shows on other cable networks.

Falwell's influence moved from strictly religious matters to politics in the 1970s, with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling that established a woman's right to an abortion. "Believing life begins at conception, I became very exercised over this," he said.

The result was the founding of the Moral Majority in 1979, which Falwell used to mold the religious right into a political power. "He is the face of the so-called religious right in America," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and a sharp Falwell critic.

Falwell hit the road, traveling some 300,000 miles a year to campaign, a schedule that he kept for 10 years and now says he realizes was costly to the church and the university.

The congregation was behind him, though.

"They believed that his voice was an important voice, and if that meant sharing him with other people they were willing to do it," said Mark DeMoss, his executive assistant from 1984 to '91.

Falwell was able to travel extensively and still lead a congregation, DeMoss said, because he never stopped being a pastor.

"Even as busy as his schedule was, he still was visiting people in Lynchburg's two hospitals several times a week," he said, as well as performing weddings and conducting funerals for everyone who asked.

These days, slowed by health problems and a desire to focus on his ministry, Falwell has pulled back from politics somewhat.

While possible presidential contender Sen. John McCain was Liberty's commencement speaker in May, and another potential GOP contender, Virginia Sen. George Allen, has been invited to speak at Sunday's festivities, Falwell carries the weight of being a polarizing figure. Even among evangelicals who share his views, he is sometimes considered tactless in his public comments.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Falwell partly blamed the tragedy on groups that "tried to secularize America," singling out pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and the American Civil Liberties Union. "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," Falwell said. He later apologized.

Falwell has taken steps to ensure the future stability of both the church and the university, DeMoss said. One son, Jerry Jr., is a lawyer who manages the finances, while Jonathan preaches at several of the five regular Sunday services.

Falwell said he views his church as the fulcrum of his ministry, but Liberty University will be his legacy.

"The university produces thousands of young men and women trained as Christian leaders," he said.

Founded in 1971, Liberty now has 9,600 students on campus and another 15,000 in its distance learning program. A law school opened in 2004, and Falwell's goal is to have 25,000 on the campus in 13 years.

"At 72, I have to make all my licks count," he said.

The university began as an offshoot of Thomas Road but once it began to grow, the old church was too small to accommodate the students. The new church is on campus.

"This new church really represents bringing everything full circle," DeMoss said.

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/200 ... 49647.html

[Sly Fox]

Jerry Falwell Marks 50 Years in the Pulpit
By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

June 29 - Fifty years after starting his ministry in Lynchburg, Va., the Rev. Jerry Falwell will unveil a new 6,000-seat sanctuary for his Thomas Road Baptist Church on Sunday (July 2).

"Very few people are blessed with the privilege of starting a ministry at age 22 and then 50 years later, at age 72, see the original dream become a reality," Falwell said in an interview.

"Our original dream, as we started the new church with 35 people, was to build a church and out from that church, a full-blown Christian education system from preschool through a Ph.D."

Falwell said he has fulfilled that dream with a 24,000-member church and Liberty University, which has grown from 154 students in 1971 to 23,000 residential and long-distance students. The church, which became affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1990s, also spawned a Christian day school with students from preschool through 12th grade and has long included a television ministry.

From this complex of ministries on what he calls "Liberty Mountain," Falwell emerged as a key leader of the religious right. And though some of his influence may have waned, he continues to be a local pastor with a national audience.

A decade and a half after he shut down his Moral Majority organization, Falwell's latest political efforts stem from his Moral Majority Coalition, which he began shortly after the 2004 election to encourage evangelicals to "vote values" at the polls.

James J.H. Price, co-author of "Jerry Falwell: An Unauthorized Profile," said Falwell's influence continues more on an individual than an organizational basis. That influence contributed to the May appearance of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as a commencement speaker at Liberty University.

"They know he still has some power," Price said of politicians. "He's a guy that commands a lot of attention but the Moral Majority (Coalition) as a movement, I don't think it has great power, not like James Dobson's Focus on the Family."

Ron Godwin, Falwell's spokesman, said the church's regular attendance ranges from 3,500 to 5,000 each Sunday, but larger numbers than usual are expected to fill the new sanctuary for the special occasion. The sanctuary is part of an $80 million complex that includes more than 1 million square feet of "educational, recreational and worship space" on property adjoining the university, Falwell said.

"It's a considerable milestone when you think about 50 years," said Price, a professor of religious studies at nearby Lynchburg College. "It started as a very small church."

Price said some of the church's initial growth stemmed from racial tension in the Southern setting.

In a 1958 sermon titled "Segregation or Integration: Which?", Falwell made the following comment about the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which outlawed public school segregation: "If Chief Justice (Earl) Warren and his associates had known God's word and had desired to do the Lord's will, I am quite confident that the 1954 decision would never have been made."

Falwell said he didn't recall that sermon, but attributed it to being raised in segregated times.
"As a youngster growing up in the South, all the pastors I knew and all the people I knew were pretty well ingrained in the culture of the South," he said. "The spirit of God brought me out of that early in my ministry."

He said he later baptized blacks in his predominantly white church, and African-Americans now comprise about 14 percent of the Liberty University student body.

Falwell said he had another change of heart over the years regarding his role in politics.

"Early in my ministry, I did not believe that ministers should be involved in political matters," he said, but that changed after abortion was legalized by the Supreme Court in 1973. "It was not until 1979, following Roe v. Wade about six years, that I completely reversed myself and formed the Moral Majority."

He dissolved the conservative Christian ministry 10 years later.

"By that time, the religious right, that is religious conservatives, had been created, organized and, very frankly, have not needed a single leader," Falwell said. "But I've been an outspoken conservative and I am to this day."

Despite some changes in views, Falwell said most of his ministry has represented consistency, serving 50 years as pastor of the same church and 35 years as founder and chancellor of Liberty University.

But talk of retirement is out of the question, said Godwin, Falwell's spokesman.

"He had a couple of serious health episodes last year (but) he's enjoying a real revitalization," Godwin said. "He keeps me worn out."

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/194/story_19454_1.html

[Sly Fox]

Was anybody there?

Fifty years in the making

By Ron Brown
rbrown@newsadvance.com
July 2, 2006


As the wee hours of Sunday morning gave way to opening day of the new Thomas Road Baptist Church, frantic workers were putting the finishing touches on the new $20 million building.

Outside, cars began to arrive for the first church service in the new 6,000-seat sanctuary on Liberty University’s North Campus.

The Rev. Jonathan Falwell, the church’s executive pastor, arrived at 5:45 a.m. to make sure the church was ready to go.

Some workers, toting ladders, left shortly before 8 a.m. when the church doors officially opened for the first time.

Falwell later said nearly 9,000 people showed up for the first day’s service.

Seven thousand were in the sanctuary and 2,000 were in several overflow areas, including the church’s large lobby, which has been dubbed Main Street.

“I think we had an incredible opening,” Falwell said.

The opening of the new church, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Thomas Road Baptist Church, marks the completion of a long-held plan by the Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr. to have his church, Liberty University and Liberty Christian Academy all on the same campus.

Falwell Sr. said Sunday that the occasion is more than the opening of a new building.

“We’re starting a new church,” he said.

That church will come with a fresh set of operating procedures.

Jonathan Falwell will now serve as co-pastor with his dad - a change that brings new responsibilities, including preaching each Sunday at the 8:30 a.m. service.

Falwell Sr., the church’s founder, will continue to preach the 11 a.m. service.

The church, embarking on its next 50 years, has an even more ambitious goal this time around.

In 1956, it started with 35 members. The new goal is to double its current 24,000 membership over the next five years.

About 140 new members joined the church on Sunday alone.

“It looks like we need a bigger building,” joked Charles Billingsley, a former church worship leader who returned to help dedicate the new building.

Sunday’s service was a mixture of nostalgia and looking ahead.

Charter members from 1956 had a place of honor on the new church’s stage.

Falwell Sr. was given a standing ovation when he and wife, Macel, first came on stage.

Music included church favorites Billingsley and Doug Oldham, who was a mainstay on television broadcasts during the heyday of the Old Time Gospel Hour.

Guy Penrod, a Liberty University graduate and current member of the Gaither Vocal Band, was also on hand to sing “The Old Rugged Cross Made a Difference.”

The new church itself was on display as well, with an array of new features.

Next to the huge sanctuary, the centerpiece is the area called Main Street, which includes seating areas, coffees shops and a restaurant open seven days a week.

The old church had no place for members to gather prior to and following services.

Main Street is designed to be family friendly and includes a huge indoor playground named Kids Cove, which is built around Biblical themes.

The sanctuary itself has movie theater-type seats, two huge high-definition television screens and a series of televisions that give people sitting in the back a clear view of the service.

Sunday’s services were the beginning of a day filled with the church’s annual Fourth of July celebration, called “Thunder on the Mountain.”

The event, which is held each year at the Arthur L. Williams Football Stadium, included games, rides and appearances by Sen. George Allen and Reps. Virgil Goode and Bob Goodlatte.

It ended with fireworks shot off atop Candlers Mountain.

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... ws!archive

[Sly Fox]

Here's a story NPR radio on Jerry Friday morning:

Religion, Politics a Potent Mix for Jerry Falwell

by Steve Inskeep



Morning Edition, June 30, 2006 · The Rev. Jerry Falwell marks a milestone this weekend. He opens a new church building -- 50 years after he attracted his first few dozen followers.

The new church, with 1 million square feet of floor space, has seats for 6,000.

The man who will appear on the Lynchburg, Va., church's giant TV screens has televised his services for decades. Within weeks of opening the original Thomas Road Baptist Church in 1956, Falwell notes that he was broadcasting on the radio, and shortly after that on television.

Today, Falwell introduces programs from a TV studio at Liberty University. He founded the conservative Christian school, which houses the Jerry Falwell Museum. It also has an ice rink paid for by Tim LaHaye, best-selling author of the apocalyptic Left Behind novels.

Presidential contenders make pilgrimages here. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) recently gave a commencement address at the university.

"I was taught in Bible college, religion and politics don't mix," Falwell says.

He influenced many ministers to ignore that teaching in the 1970s. He led the Moral Majority, which made abortion a major issue, and claimed credit for electing President Ronald Reagan.

Falwell backs President Bush, even though Republicans haven't delivered on issues like a ban on gay marriage.

"I'm well aware of the pragmatism of politics. There are times when [the president] has to step back, purely for survival reasons," Falwell says.

Falwell adds that White House officials often call him to explain what they're doing. And he calls them to speak his mind.

"Whenever it's a major problem, and I think we are being misled, I pick up the phone and I call whoever I need to call and take care of it," he says.

Falwell is asked why many Americans, and evangelicals, have become frustrated with President Bush.

"Well, whoever is sitting in the White House, especially in their second term, when gas goes up to $3 a gallon, and Katrina, and whenever we're at war, that person sitting in the White House gets the brunt of the accusations," Falwell says.

Shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Falwell said gays, abortionists, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups shared the blame for the attacks.

Falwell was criticized for those remarks, and for calling the United States a Christian nation, and for saying the devil is Jewish.

His newspaper suggested that a character in the children's program Teletubbies, was gay, a statement Falwell disowns.

"But I've had hundreds of little Tinky Winky dolls mailed to me from all over the world and given to all my grandchildren and their friends, and I've populated Lynchburg with Tinky Winkies," Falwell says. "But that's the only benefit I've gotten from that."

Mel White spent many hours with the minister while ghostwriting his autobiography.

"Jerry Falwell is a person you like immediately, up close and personal," White says. "He doesn't take himself seriously. He enjoys life. And even while he says some of the meanest things, it's hard to not like him."

White recalls when Falwell was accosted by gay protesters.

"Jerry grinned and said to me, 'Thank God for these gay demonstrators. If I didn't have them, I'd have to invent them. They give me all the publicity I need.'"

Years later, White became one of those gay protesters. Falwell's ghostwriter came out of the closet, and moved to Lynchburg. He attends Falwell's church, and stands in silent protest if Falwell attacks gays.

"I believe Jerry Falwell will change and I believe it'll be in my lifetime," White says. "And if he doesn't change, I'm gonna die trying."

White says he'll be at the front of the line to attend the new church's opening. "I want to get a front seat, so that if he talks about gay people, I can stand up and protest there just like I did in the old church."

Falwell acknowledges that his controversial remarks about homosexuality and other issues are designed to get attention.

"A pastor has to be media-savvy if he's going to reach everybody," he says. "I don't mean to be ugly and harsh, but to be forthright and candid. And the result is that people that don't like you start listening."


The Rev. Jerry Falwell on the 'Old Time Gospel Hour' in 1967. Courtesy Liberty University


Falwell tapes inserts for his television broadcasts in a state-of-the-art facility at Liberty Broadcasting. The studio -- and nearby satellite dishes -- allow him to do interviews any time of day with reporters from around the world.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=5522064

[SuperJon]

I was there for the fireworks tonight. We had to park at Super 8 or whatever it's called and walk to the stadium.

[PAmedic]

the last article was quite interesting: didn't know Jerry considers the devil to be Jewish!

also didn't know Mel White was still around, or that he stands up in church whenever BB's peeps are discussed.

[LUconn]

I watched some of it on TV yesterday afternoon. And I walked through the building on my way to the fireworks. When you first walk in, it is VERY impressive. My wife commented that it looked like a high-end furniture store. It's not the biggest church I've even been in but it sure is the fanciest. I will definatly be taking advantage of the 2 story indoor playground. It's conveniently located right in between the giant outdoor one and the restaurant.

[TIMSCAR20]

I spent the whole day up on the mountain with my old friend Bald Spot and my boy Smoothie. We had a great time. Ran into A Train for a while too. Good seeing you bud. Church service was great. Really good singing, the sanctuary looks fantastic, stadium seats, HD TV's etc. Jerry and Macel recieved all sorts of gifts. They took a giant picture of the crowd at the very end 2 hours into the service. Jerry has been telling the story of the roots of the church for months now. He talked about the Donald Duck Bottling Co. a bunch. That was the location of the first church. I think he has said the words DONALD DUCK more this year than Walt Disney himself did over an entire lifetime....I took lots of pix and some are on my facebook. I will load the rest later. I am also loading the pix from my accident and the new car. You guys have to get on Facebook. Liberty is gonna start keeping track of Alumni on that site so you might as well get on board. I use it as my own personal web page like everyone else. I think it is cleaner (both in look and content) than myspace....The night was great too but we left before the fireworks. Fireworks are just not tha exciting to me anymore. I would rather not deal with the traffic. All in all a great day on the mountain. Oh yeah I almost forgot. George W. Bush was there as well, sort of. An impersonator showed up. 90% of the crowd was fooled at first but not Smoothie and me because moments before he showed up we were tipped off by a girl that had inside information. Shout out to 05Flamemom AKA Etta (Smitty's mom). One of the truely loving and sacrificing and supportive moms around. You need to get back in the mix and start posting on our board again!

[thesportscritic]

I stood about 50 feet from the president (impersonator). I was not fooled one bit by the impersonator. The fireworks were ok but not all that by any means. Traffic was terrible. I watched some of the service yesterday on television.

[bigsmooth]

it was great meeting baldspot, and as always great to see my brotha from another mutha SCAR. Yes a special day on the mountain. the service was emotional at times, as Dr. Falwell was given a signed copy of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, by winston churchill, and macel was given a yamaha piano that will record songs and will be displayed on main street. the video tributes were great and the book and DVD that were sold are great memoirs of the ministry. Dr. Falwell also announced that jonathan will be preaching the early service and jerry will do the 10:30 service. the celebration at the stadium was excellent with guy penrod, charles billingsley and alicia williamson-garcia doing a great job, and of "surprise guest" was hilarious. just a great day of praise and worship on the mountain.

[givemethemic]

Great day yesterday... it was good spending some time with SCAR, Smoothie and meeting baldspot...Stadium seats are the greatest thing in the world!!!! All we need is about 3,000 more of them and a ATM (Smoothie's idea) and we are good to go...

[bigsmooth]

ah the ATM. the only reason i say that, is b/c if they are selling books or DVD'S like yesterday and were only taking cash or checks, it would be conveinent to have an ATM. the cafe will accept debit/credit cards though.

[Sly Fox]

Falwell marks 50 years of his church ministry
Moral Majority founder, pastor celebrates his career with service in a new church

BY SUE LINDSEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LYNCHBURG The Rev. Jerry Falwell's conservative politics have earned him friends and enemies in a long, public career but there's no denying he's been a successful pastor.

Joined by thousands of supporters, Falwell will mark the half-century anniversary of Thomas Road Baptist Church tomorrowwith a daylong celebration that begins with a 10:30 a.m. service in a new, 6,000-seat sanctuary.

The sanctuary is just a small part of a 1 million-square-foot complex for the Falwell empire's administrative offices, Liberty University recreational facilities and classrooms and Liberty Christian Academy, which has about 1,000 students from preschool through high school.

Days before the opening ceremony, workmen hustled to install the raised choir loft, lay carpet around the dark gray upholstered seats and put wall coverings over insulation.

Even unfinished, the setting bore no reminder of the church's beginnings.

Fresh out of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Mo., a 22-year-old Falwell returned to his hometown and started his church with 35 members in an old Donald Duck soda bottling plant.

"We scraped syrup off the floors and walls," he said during a recent interview.

Falwell, whose countenance is jovial even when talking about serious subjects, built his congregation with knuckles and shoe leather.

"I began knocking on 100 doors a day, six days a week," he said. He would invite people to church and leave them with his phone number in case they needed his help.

One year later, Thomas Road Church had 864 members; it has continued to grow dramatically. Today, the rolls number 24,000, with several hundred evangelists going door-to-door in central Virginia.

Falwell still believes in recycling old buildings, however. Everything but the church sanctuary has been converted from an 888,000-square-foot facility formerly used by Ericsson, a Swedish-based supplier of cell-phone-network equipment. Parts of the building are still being renovated.

Within a few weeks of starting the church, Falwell found a way to expand his reach quickly -- first with a radio program, then a live Sunday night television show the "Old Time Gospel Hour" -- on the Lynchburg ABC affiliate. In 1956, the move was bold.

"Nobody else was doing it," Falwell said. Today, the preacher has his own Liberty Channel, as well as shows on other cable networks.

Falwell's influence moved from strictly religious matters to politics in the 1970s, with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling that established a woman's right to an abortion. "Believing life begins at conception, I became very exercised over this," he said.

The result was the founding of the Moral Majority in 1979, which Falwell used to mold the religious right into a political power.

Falwell hit the road, traveling about 300,000 miles a year to campaign, a schedule that he kept for 10 years and now says he realizes was costly to the church and the university.

The congregation was behind him, though.

These days, slowed by health problems and a desire to focus on his ministry, Falwell has pulled back from politics somewhat.

While possible presidential contender Sen. John McCain was Liberty's commencement speaker in May, and another potential GOP contender, Virginia Sen. George Allen, has been invited to speak at Sunday's festivities, Falwell carries the weight of being a polarizing figure. Even among evangelicals who share his views, he is sometimes considered tactless in his public comments.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Falwell partly blamed the tragedy on groups that "tried to secularize America," singling out pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and the American Civil Liberties Union. "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve," Falwell said. He later apologized.

Falwell has taken steps to ensure the future stability of the church and the university, said Mark DeMoss, his executive assistant from 1984 to 1991. One son, Jerry Jr., is a lawyer who manages the finances, while Jonathan preaches at several of the five regular Sunday services.

Falwell said he views his church as the fulcrum of his ministry, but Liberty University will be his legacy.

"The university produces thousands of young men and women trained as Christian leaders," he said.

Founded in 1971, Liberty now has 9,600 students on campus and another 15,000 in its distance learning program. A law school opened in 2004, and Falwell's goal is to have 25,000 on the campus in 13 years.

The university began as an offshoot of Thomas Road, but once it began to grow, the old church was too small to accommodate the students. The new church is on campus.

"This new church really represents bringing everything full circle," DeMoss said.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Sa ... 5855934842

[PAmedic]

(from last week)

Thomas Road was more than a church

Lynchburg News & Advance
June 28, 2006

If anyone ever does a movie on the life of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, last Sunday’s final church service at Thomas Road Baptist would be the perfect place to end it.

Not that the Falwell story is over, by any means. This Sunday, he and his thousands of followers will stage a celebration at the new church location on Candlers Mountain, accompanied by the usual orations, food and fireworks - the three things, besides Jesus Christ and family, that Falwell seems to love above all else.

In his eighth decade, the man finally appears fulfilled. He has an ice skating rink up there on the mountain now, and his college, and his elementary and secondary school, and there’s talk of an IMAX theater.

But these are not necessarily the things that make Jerry Falwell unique. He’s hardly the first fundamentalist preacher to embrace political causes (that goes back to the Middle Ages), or use television effectively (Billy Graham was there before he was), or start his own college (Oral Roberts beat him to that). His skating rink and other recreational plans seem reminiscent of the Bakkers and their Holyland USA.

Yet Falwell is undeniably one of a kind, and I think the reason lies not so much in what he’s accomplished, but how. Like him or not, this is a man of immense and formidable determination - or, from another perspective, immense and formidable faith.

He started his first church with 35 dissident congregation members from Park Avenue Baptist, holding the first service at Mountain View Elementary School in Fairview Heights 50 Junes ago. Compared to the elaborate and theatrical productions that have blossomed at Thomas Road since, his first effort was starkly minimalist - he preached, his wife Macel played the piano.

You probably know the story from there, how Falwell and his congregation bought and cleaned up the old Donald Duck Bottling Co., and how he relentlessly knocked on doors six days a week seeking new members. By 1958, his membership was over 800.

“I don’t think demographics had anything to do with it,” Falwell said in 1997. “I believe I could have done the same thing in Manhattan.”

Maybe. Yet he didn’t do it in Manhattan, but in a city that was largely unknown to most Americans in the mid-50s, with an economy bleeding to death from the closing of shoe factories and textile mills. It was among those scared and disillusioned blue-collar workers that he found his earliest base. Through his robust enthusiasm, he gave them hope.

In him, they saw a preacher who operated with shirtsleeves rolled up (figuratively, since Falwell was rarely seen without his pinstripe suit), a man not ashamed to profess his Fairview Heights background and colorful family history.

“My father could drink a quart of whiskey in a night,” he once said, “but he never missed a day of work.”

Except for the appetite for brown liquor, the genetics are obvious. Like his father, Falwell is both affable and combative. Over the decades since 1956, he has moved forward as inexorably as a bulldozer, shrugging off near-bankruptcies, some ill-chosen allies and the erosion of some of his favored political positions. Nothing seemed to faze him, at least not in public.

You can disagree with Falwell’s politics (I have), his theology and his style. You can also wonder what so many people see in him.

Perhaps it’s the fact that he has remained, despite all those appearances on Larry King Live and the Newsweek covers, essentially what he started out to be. He may be full of himself, but he’s still himself. Unlike so many other superstar ministers, he’s never turned his broad back on his roots.

Thomas Road Baptist Church is the same way. Despite the long list of famous people who have attended services and/or spoken there, it has remained the bulwark of a pleasant but unremarkable neighborhood.

And now, with Thomas Road being clawed up around it by a CSO project, it’s history.

In both senses of that word.

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... 4737&path=

[PAmedic]

nice pic on the LU site: looks NOTHING like the old GE bldg I remember from back in the day.

[Jasmen8182]

I'm glad to have attended LU. Afriend from the church I grew up in went there 3yrs. before me; I hadn't heard of it. My father isn't particularly religious, but he was proud to have me go there and to have pics. with the Falwells at my grad. I'm so glad to read some first-hand comments on this website. Thanks for your time and efforts Sly and others. I wish I'd made efforts to visit LU before last yr. Back when I got my first car, was still single with no children.... My husband is asking abt. dates for this yrs. Homecoming; last yr. was my 1st time back in 15 yrs. Mr.Mc wants to look at houses while we're down there and maybe in winter when his work schedule slacks off.

[SuperJon]

Homecoming is October 14th. It's also my birthday party. That's an even better reason to make the trip.

[Baldspot]

I finally made it back. I was totally blown away by seeing all the changes on campus during the last decade and especially the church service. I don't think I was ever more proud of what Dr Falwell started back in 1971. It was nice meeting Smoothie, Givmethemic and Atrain... and Scar, the Mrs cookies were fabulous. My hotel was close to the ice rink and church so after we got in on Friday I walked over to see some of the finishing touches being done on the church. Dr Falwell saw us and came over and started playing with my 20 mth old son which was a real treat. I'm sure he had a few other things on his mind at the time. It seemed like everything on the campus was very plush compared to my day when everything was utilitarian. They also seem to have facilities in place to reach out to the non-TRBCer in Lynchburg. I noticed the Central VA YMCA was at the ice rink on Friday and apparently the indoor pool is being used heavily by local moms and their kids. Outside the church's main sanctuary, they have what they call Main Street which is an enormous room lined by Victorian style furniture, a coffee shop, an enormous children's play area and a prayer room. The area will be kept open 24/7 as a place to congregate. Dr Falwell was overruled on the seating, he wanted pews but they went with plush theatre seats. I think there were 12 or so tvs in the main sanctuary including two 10'x12' screens and three projectors shooting still shots. Two balconies, one on top of the other. Prior to the service, they were playing, on the two big screens, a new DVD on the history of the church. Scar and I picked up a copy of the DVD afterward. Too much to write, hopefully it will not be 10 years before my next visit.

[PAmedic]