Chancellor Falwell –
I hope this note finds you and your family doing well. If my
math is right, it’s about that time of year when students begin to swarm the campus
at Liberty University again. I remember my first week vividly. It was full of
incredible activities at the William's Stadium and Camp Hydaway along with the
beginning of several lifelong friendships I cherish to this day.
I graduated from Liberty in 2011 with a degree in religion
and another in health education. In 2015 I completed my Master’s in Pastoral
Ministry at LU (online). While I’m no expert, I think my time there has given
me a great glimpse into the heart of the organization you lead. And by and
large, I think you have done an excellent job. I was part of the first class
that you led as our new chancellor after your father passed away. Over those four
years it felt like we grew together, students and staff, to learn anew what it
meant to be Liberty University. We learned to laugh, cry, study, support,
confront, and engage each other in a new time with our new leader.
I realize you probably have received some angry or
frustrated correspondence from alumni who remember “the Good Old days” with
your father at the helm. The reality is, I’m not one of those alumni. The
Liberty I knew and loved (and still love) was always led by you. I even worked
for you, in a very indirect way. I was a Resident Assistant for three years and
an on campus student recruiter. When people asked me about LU, my passion, joy,
and care for it, were (and remain) genuine and real. As a student, an employee,
and now an alumnus, Liberty remains a part of me. I made lifelong friends
there, met my wife there, selected a career path there, and began to understand
what it means to serve and love others there. In a lot of ways, Liberty is at
the genesis of my adult life. The life I live now, I owe, in some small way, to
your leadership, investment, and guidance at Liberty.
After leaving Liberty, I served as an associate pastor in
South Carolina for four years. I had much to learn and didn’t always get things
right, but I had a head start and great foundation from LU. Recently, I took a
job in the business sector, and here again, Liberty’s investment in me, has
proved its value in spades. I have learned that business is not so much about
budgets and finance and getting the best deal, but more about understanding
people, meeting their needs, and once again, serving others with joy.
I was hoping, for a brief moment, to have a conversation
with you about some of the things going on in our world. Don’t worry, there’s
no assumptions of ill-motives or anger here. In fact, politically speaking, we
probably still line up on a host of major issues – financial conservatism, a
baby’s right to life, separation of powers and checks and balances within the
government, and more. Even in the areas I now respectfully disagree with you (climate
change, the benefits of ACA), I don’t assume you think and vote the way you do because
of evil intentions or motives. There’s a lot of problems out there – we have to
try to fix them somehow, and sometimes, we disagree. No big deal.
I did want to write to you, respectfully, about leadership.
First, I cannot begin to imagine the burden of the mantle you wear. From
administrative staffing to building endowment to maintaining a Christian
perspective in world that, at times, seems incompatible with the message of
Liberty University, you carry a tremendous burden on your shoulders. And I
respect you for doing that and persevering in your role. It came to you unexpectedly,
suddenly and in my opinion, you have shouldered it well. I won’t even try to
compare your role with the one I filled as an associate pastor – they are too
different – apples and oranges. Nevertheless though, I think we can both agree leadership
of any kind, on a smaller scale like mine or a larger, national level, like
yours, comes with pros and cons. The pros are obvious – a bigger platform with
greater influence, greater impact in guiding the organization you love, and on
and on. The cons are a little more subtle. The time restraints, the late night
phone calls, the toll it takes on your family, and the unfair losses.
Unfair losses? Those things that you have to give up as a
leader precisely because you lead, even though they are perfectly innocent. As
a pastor this meant refraining from certain things I enjoyed – a movie I wanted
to see, enjoying a glass of wine in a public space, and on and on. I didn’t
balance this well sometimes. My wife can tell you that on a few occassions I
came home and would say “I shouldn’t have done that, it wasn’t wrong, but it
wasn’t worth it.” A simple fact of leadership is that, at times, we have to
give up things others get to enjoy.
I will be candid and say that we disagree a good deal about
many of President Trump’s positions. Many of them are innocent enough. Some of
them are worth more robust debate in a more appropriate setting. Lately though,
my concern has been less political, and more about leadership. What held true
for me certainly holds true for you and your post as Chancellor – you will be
asked to unfairly let go of things that many people enjoy daily. Not drinking. Abstaining
from R-rated movies (is that a rule still at Liberty?). And perhaps – holding political
beliefs and friendships more quietly than you would like.
If that sounds ridiculous, please allow me to explain a
little further.
The mission of Liberty has been from its inception to train
Champions for Christ. To educate nurses, businessmen, teachers, pastors, and
more to represent Jesus to a dying world. Your father, and now you, are the
banner-carrier and guardian of that vision. I would say that protecting that
grand, sweeping vision, the heart and mind of Liberty University for the last
46 years, is the most important job you have. Without that vision, Liberty
will, as you so often noted, go the way of more liberal institutions.
And that supreme vision, that hope that your students will
fan out across the globe and represent Christ, may require you to step back
from some of the current political conversation. As a three-time alumnus from
Liberty who was also recently a candidate for several jobs throughout the
Southeast, I can attest that I have at times been a little nervous to discuss
my alma mater. Is that some kind of
fear and cowardice within me? Maybe. Or maybe it is the hesitation that comes
from sitting across the table from a qualified businessman or woman who is also
a minority. In that moment, I have felt the burden to explain my association to
Liberty which seems to be, at least, tacitly, very supportive of President
Trump who is himself, supported to some degree, by white nationalist agitators.
I’m not saying that Trump is himself racist or that everyone that voted for
President Trump is racist – that is ridiculous. What I’m saying is Liberty is
connected to President Trump and like it or not, President Trump has been heralded
by some as a kind of white nationalist messiah. It’s a bit like six degrees of
separation, but it’s there and it’s real.
That’s a weird seat to be in. I wanted to communicate my
belief in the equality of all men and women while also standing up for Liberty
University. I don’t believe you are a racist or a bigot or a part of the
alt-right. My experience under your leadership has been highly positive. How in
an interview for a job (a process on which my family’s well-being and my career
may hinge) do I defend a place I love that seems
to be at odds with values I am unwilling to compromise?
I still think you are a qualified, capable leader. No one
can change the great experience I had under your leadership. And I don’t think
you’ve changed. I don’t think you intend to alienate or divide us based on race
or color. And maybe President Trump doesn’t mean to either; I don’t know the
man so I can’t say much there. Your continued support of him seems to indicate
a strong friendship and trust in him, despite all the controversy of the moment.
The heart of my concern is not political, but centers on
leadership. I believe that you can still lead the great institution that I attended
for decades to come. That Liberty can continue to be a beacon and influencer
through its alumni in every job sector and corner of the earth. Or it can be a
university that causes its alumni to balk during interviews because of
perceived racism (or whatever the political controversy may be). I realize that
our school has always been politically active and that your father frequently
entered the fray. There is a time and a place for that, but if there’s always a
controversy or fight to be had, it would seem wise to quietly step back.
As a leader, it appears you have two options. To remain
vocally, staunchly, publicly committed to the president and ride the highs and
lows that come with it. This is your right as an American citizen. Or, you
could begin to quietly support the president (I’m certainly not advocating you
abandon him as a friend) over private meals, phone calls, and times of advising
and prayer. Is the latter option less prominent and public? Absolutely. But
with it comes the added benefit to your students who, with a committed,
principled chancellor that does not abandon his beliefs but willingly tempers
them for the good of those he leads, can represent Christ and the mission of LU
with pride, dignity, and great diversity. That is the unfair call of leadership
on you. To sacrifice a right, willingly, to maintain and cultivate the vision
of Liberty University.
You can be a political mouthpiece and liaison for the president.
You can lead Liberty University in its mission in a way that inspires enduring confidence
in every member of the student body
regardless of race or gender by backing away from public politics. You cannot
do both.
I wish you and the Liberty family all the best this school
year. I hope this letter has conveyed the spirit in which it was written:
humble, honest, candid conversation, not meant to incite or inflame, but to
create a conversation, that God willing, will make us all better.
Warm Regards,
-->
Zach Farrar
No comments:
Post a Comment