Jonathan Falwell Shares About His Journey and Faith in God

Not I, But Christ.” The simple yet profound phrase is often spotted on the backs of vehicles around Lynchburg, Virginia. Yet, to Chancellor Jonathan Falwell, the phrase means something more than a mere bumper sticker. 

On May 20, 2007, Falwell stood before a packed auditorium at Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC). Five days earlier, his father, Dr. Jerry Falwell, died, leaving an eternal spiritual impact and a legacy for the students at Liberty University. Jonathan Falwell preached a message to the TRBC congregation, his words inspired by Joshua 1:5, where God assures Joshua, “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”

“Today, we are all Joshua,” Falwell said. “We are all called by God to step up to the plate, to move forward, to join our arms and join our hands and join our hearts together to serve him and to walk with him and to carry on the message that can change the world. God promises us that he will not leave us nor forsake us. He promises that he will stand with us and that in the darkest of our days, he will give us victory.” 

When Falwell took on more leadership responsibility after his father’s passing, it was no easy undertaking. 

“I look back and not a week goes by that I don’t sit back and think about, ‘What would dad think about this, or what would his take on this situation be?’” Falwell said. “In my life, if I can match up to maybe 25% of what he did, I feel like I’d be pretty successful.” 

Falwell serves as senior pastor at TRBC and chancellor of Liberty University. Combined, these roles create a challenging schedule. Falwell models the phrase, “Not I, but Christ,” seeking full sufficiency in Christ as he balances these responsibilities. 

“I often pray, ‘God, I can’t do this. … You can. God, please do it today. Please give me the wisdom that I need to be a representative of your Word and hope,’” Falwell said. “I’ve got to be honest with you, I’ve prayed that prayer many times.” 

In his father, Falwell found a lifelong paragon of faith and devotion.

“My greatest role model would be my dad, no question. I learned from him not only how to be a pastor, which was immeasurable, but more importantly, how to be a dad, a husband and a man of God,” Falwell said. “I had the opportunity to watch him until I was 40 years old. In that time, I saw a guy who never compromised. I saw a guy who recognized that no matter how successful he became, family always came first. He would put anything aside to make sure that his relationship with God was first and his relationship with family was second.” 

When Liberty was founded in 1971,  Falwell Sr. embraced a mission of “Training Champions for Christ.” Liberty still continues to further that mission 53 years later.

“Number one, it starts with a relationship. You can’t be a champion for someone if you don’t know them,” Falwell said. “It continues on with growth. You can’t be a champion unless there’s a lot of practice involved. You’ve got to grow in your faith and develop that relationship. Once you find your calling and what God’s will is for your life, make sure you’re really leaning into that and honing that craft so that when you jump into whatever career God takes you to, you’ll be a person who does what they do with excellence.”

As a boy, Falwell watched his father walk the campus grounds, praying over every step of what would one day become Liberty. According to Falwell, the progression of the university since then has been nothing short of amazing. 

“For me, having the opportunity to walk this campus when there was nothing but a farm and now driving here pretty much every day of my life and seeing what God continues to do here — how God continues to grow this place and use this place to impact people all around the globe — you just sit back and think, ‘Wow, look what God has done,’” Falwell said.   

Falwell gives all the glory to God, and he believes his dad would do the same.

For Falwell, the church’s most important message to today’s generation is twofold: the gospel and love.

“Oftentimes, as Christians, we are labeled as people who are uncaring towards those who are outside the church,” Falwell said. “We’re labeled as people who don’t have the desire to actually love and to care for people who don’t look like us, don’t act like us or don’t believe like us. And so I would say that the church needs to be a place that shows love.”

Falwell said the church should follow the words of Christ by loving God first and then neighbors second.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that we’re reflecting the love of Christ because if we’re not reflecting the love of Christ, we will never make an impact with the gospel of Christ,” Falwell said. 

Falwell also provided advice and encouragement to students, emphasizing the importance of community and connection. 

“We have to encourage one another. We have to help one another. We have to strengthen one another. We have to pray for one another,” Falwell said. “If we are isolating ourselves, isolation is the enemy of spiritual growth and the enemy of victory. Don’t isolate. Lean on someone.”

Falwell knows that students often face challenges and difficult seasons; however, Liberty’s campus is a community.

“You’re not alone. There are 16,000-plus students on this campus and 10,000-plus more staff members who walk around this campus every day. That’s roughly 26,000 people,” Falwell said. “You’re probably going to pass a whole lot of people who are walking through as difficult a moment as you are, facing a situation where they don’t know what to do just as much as you don’t know what to do, which leads us to the point where we have to recognize we’re in this thing together.”

Students can still relate to and learn from the message Falwell preached after his father’s death. 

“Just as God delivered Joshua and the people of Israel at the banks of the Jordan, God too will deliver you from your challenge,” Falwell said. “God will bring you through your valley. He will give you this miracle. He will allow you to cross this Jordan. He will allow us to walk on dry ground. He will allow us to see his great hand at work. He will dry our tears, soothe our pain, comfort our hearts, wrap his arms around us, lead us through the waters and deliver us to the other side. He will bring us through, but only if we realize, not I, but Christ.” 

Solem is the lifestyle editor for the Liberty Champion.