Christian apologist and former cold case detective J. Warner Wallace took the Convocation stage Sept. 10 and Adam Weatherby, CEO of Weatherby Inc. and pastor at Sheridan Bible Church, addressed the student body Sept. 12.
Wallace focused on the evidential reasons for Christianity and the ways Jesus has shaped human history. He explained how the ripple effects of Jesus’ life have touched every area of culture, including the sciences.
Christianity, Wallace argued, uniquely opened the door to scientific discovery because believers understood the world to be the product of a singular, orderly and rational God. He noted that Christ-followers saw matter as good and worthy of study, believed creation reflected God’s order and understood that humanity could investigate and test the world as a way of learning more about its creator.
This mindset, he explained, helped spark the development of nearly every major scientific field.
Yet Wallace emphasized that Jesus’ impact stretches far beyond science. Everything in the world — literature, music, culture and religion — ultimately points back to Him.
“Jesus doesn’t matter because he influenced the world; Jesus influenced the world because he matters,” Wallace said. He reminded students that God’s divine nature is evident through creation.
On Friday, Weatherby gave a message encouraging students to pursue a generational legacy built on faith, focus and community. He organized his message around three principles for leaving a generational legacy: easier doesn’t always mean better, focus determines direction and only people count.
“You’ve got to do hard things in order to see results,” Weatherby said, referencing Matthew 7:13 and John 16:33.
He reminded students that Jesus himself chose the narrow road, and leaving a generational legacy often requires taking the harder path.
“The straight path that God has for you does not mean it’s an easy path,” Weatherby said.
The second principle emphasized the importance of daily focus.
“What is the focal point of your life?” Weatherby asked.
Using Haggai 1:4-6 and Hebrews 12:1-2, he explained that people who leave a lasting legacy are marked by relentless focus on God’s calling.
Finally, Weatherby pointed students back to what matters most: people. Other things in life are important, but he explained that people count most in the end.
“There are only three things that last forever: God, his people and his Word,” Weatherby said.
Throughout his message, Weatherby highlighted Jesus as the ultimate example of leaving a generational legacy.
“Jesus knew that easier wasn’t always better … He chose the hard path for you and for me, and he focused on each of us,” Weatherby said.
Weatherby closed with a challenge for students to carry the same legacy forward.
“The legacy that we are living 2000 years later is because a man came and did hard things with relentless focus, because only you count,” Weatherby said. “Jesus’ legacy lives on for eternity, and he’s left a message in our hands.”
This week’s Convocations reminded Liberty students of the profound influence of Christ on history, on culture and on their own lives, and called them to live with courage, focus and a commitment to building a legacy that lasts.
Clardy is an intern for the Liberty Champion.