Jerry Falwell Jr. to take 'indefinite leave of absence' from Liberty University after posting photo

Wonder if this will seamlessly segue into his termination, done this way to let him "get fired" more gracefully?

First it was alleged pictures of him and his son at a nightclub, then it was what I'd call unthinking support of President Trump, and now this....I have to wonder if he got cocky after getting away with a whole bunch of things and now has learned that his position only protects him so far.

And it boggles the mind that he posted that picture.  He thought that was a good idea....why?  "not flattering" hardly begins to describe it.  I've got a few extra pounds myself, but putting my gut in its worst light on Instagram....I just don't get it.

It's another episode in series demonstrating a general lack of good judgment. A leader needs to have more sense than that. (The "I'll try to be a good boy" response just adds to the impression of unseriousness. I'll be surprised if he weathers this one.)

I am an alumnus.  My senior-in-highschool daughter has expressed some interest in attending.  I have STRONGLY encouraged her to not consider LU while he is still there.  

Liberty University names acting leader with Falwell on leave

Liberty University in Virginia announced Monday that its board had chosen an interim president to lead the school days after Jerry Falwell Jr. began an indefinite leave of absence after one of his posts on social media created an uproar. Jerry Prevo, who has served as chairman of the school's board of trustees since 2003 and recently retired as the senior pastor of a Baptist church in Alaska, will assume the role of acting president immediately, Liberty said in a news release. Prevo expects to work from the Lynchburg campus starting Aug. 17 and will step aside from his position on the board for the duration of the new role, according to the news release. The board's executive committee appointed Prevo, Liberty said. Prevo, who spent 47 years as the pastor of Anchorage Baptist Temple before stepping down last year, was known for his opposition to LGBT rights and his influence in Alaska politics. He also partnered with Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian relief charity run by the Rev. Franklin Graham, a prominent conservative evangelical allied with Falwell and President Donald Trump. "Please pray for us as well as the Falwell family as we embark on our academic year and so we may continue to be united in our common purpose and our faith in Christ,” Prevo said in the news release.

News Release

Liberty University has announced that Chairman Jerry Prevo has accepted the appointment by the Executive Committee of the Board to serve as the Acting President of the University. This follows the announcement on August 7 that the Board of Trustees and President Jerry Falwell, Jr. agreed to an indefinite leave of absence. All members of the Board of Trustees expressed their support for the Executive Committee’s appointment of Dr. Prevo in a meeting today.

This latest announcement comes two weeks before the start of the 2020-21 academic year.

Dr. Prevo has served on the Liberty University Board of Trustees since 1996 and has been the Board Chairman since 2003. He recently retired as the Senior Pastor of Anchorage Baptist Temple in Anchorage, Alaska, after serving that community for 47 years. During his stewardship of Anchorage Baptist Temple, it became one of the largest churches in Alaska and had the largest school in Alaska, as well. In addition, its ministry included three radio stations and one television station.

“I want to thank my fellow board members for having confidence that I could be entrusted with the responsibility of serving as the Acting President during this time of Jerry Falwell, Jr’s indefinite leave of absence,” said Dr. Prevo. “We have a world-class leadership team at Liberty University who will support me in running our operations on a day-to-day basis and fulfilling our spiritual mission unabated: Training Champions for Christ. Please pray for us as well as the Falwell family as we embark on our academic year and so we may continue to be united in our common purpose and our faith in Christ,” he concluded.

Dr. Prevo will begin work as Acting President immediately and expects to work from the Lynchburg campus starting on Monday, August 17. He has also stepped aside from his role as Chairman of the Liberty University Board of Trustees for the duration of his service as Acting President of the University.

There's video of Falwell doing hip thrusts with bumper plates with two young ladies on the bar, one of them in tights.  There is first of all a degree of lewdness in what he's doing, and perhaps nearly as importantly, he's breaking a ton of basic safety rules for lifting safely, as the barbell is round, and the sleeve (what holds the plates) rotates to allow safe cleans and snatches--a rotation that could have dumped those young ladies on the floor and torqued Falwell's back something fierce.  Plus, he doesn't have any way of protecting his abdomen/hips if he should find himself unable to perform the lift.

I am going to dare say a midlife crisis is involved here, judging by the stupid things he's seen doing.  Is he driving a Camaro or Mustang, or perhaps a Harley?  Seriously, I think we've got a lot more to cringe at here, and he should be done at Liberty now.

As I was reading your first paragraph, the first phrase that came to mind was "midlife crisis"; I'm remembering another evangelical leader who got into trouble and had already been observed to be going around in muscle T shirts etc. Note to self: keep any eye on pastors who suddenly start wearing muscle shirts.

Really, any of an entire range of exhibitionist, hyper-masculine, or risk-taking behaviors can be a sign that the church, university/college, ministry, or family needs to watch out.  For Tullian Tchividjian, it was a range of behaviors--tattoos, tanning, bodybuilding, shirts to show off those muscles, etc.. Or also significant illness on the part of a man or his spouse can lead to hideous compensating behaviors.

All in all, you want to know your pastor, not just listen to him for an hour or so each week as he preaches.  Life can be rough, might as well make it better by loving your pastor, no?