Remembering the real Jerry Falwell

"I'm just a soul whose intentions are good ...

"Oh, Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood."

I don't know if Jerry Falwell was merely misunderstood, but I can assure you that he has been misrepresented -- in life and in death -- by a lot of misguided people. I'd like to dispel some of the misinformation and correct what I see to be a gross miscarriage of justice.

To paraphrase the late Lloyd Bentsen, I knew Jerry Falwell. Jerry Falwell was a friend of mine.

I think I knew him well enough to speak some truth into the record. Falwell honored me by allowing me to preach from his pulpit a couple of times. In addition to the fellowship that accompanies such visits, I was with him in many unguarded moments.

Jerry Falwell is quite well-known for his legal dust-up with pornographer Larry Flynt. Flynt had attacked Falwell in his publication in a satirical ad that was in too poor taste to describe here. Falwell sued for libel and emotional distress. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately sided with Flynt and free speech.

I re-hash this to point out that on no occasion in the following years did I ever hear a harsh word pass Jerry's lips about Larry Flynt. In fact, over the years, although they disagreed about everything, Falwell and Flynt became friends. In fact, after Falwell's death on May 15, Larry Flynt was more gracious to his memory than a vast majority of the mainstream media.

Could that be because Flynt knew the man, and most media simply reported the stereotype?

It may surprise many to know that I never heard Jerry Falwell utter an ugly word behind closed doors about the gay and lesbian community. Contrary to popular belief, he reached out to them. "I don't want people killing gays," he would say. "I hope you wouldn't want people killing Christians."

Jerry Falwell was unabashedly and unequivocally pro-life. And he put his money where his mouth was. Few know this (the media somehow didn't report on this) but Jerry Falwell ran a home for unwed mothers where he paid for their care. His ministry paid all the bills for these young women who had made the wrong "choice" but chose not to make an innocent life pay for their mistake.

These young women from around the country paid not one dime for their medical care. Not one dime for housing. Not one dime for food. And not one dime for Pampers. They were, in fact, pampered. Because of Jerry Falwell's compassion, thousands of young lives were saved, and thousands of childless couples experienced the joy of adoption.

That's quite a legacy.

I recently found an article in USA Today that pointed out the fact that Jesse Jackson once preached in Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va. It wasn't treated as a big deal.

But somehow, when John McCain came to speak at Liberty University's commencement last year, that was viewed as McCain caving in to Falwell. The truth is, Jerry invited scores of leaders with whom he disagreed to address the students at Liberty University, which he founded.

Secular folks say that people like Falwell are being "judgmental." Scripture is black and white. It's not judgmental, it's objectively righteous. It states the law. If you break the law and something bad happens, don't blame the messenger.

Upon Falwell's death, I heard claims that his political influence had waned. This is an interesting twist. In fact, whoever wins the Republican presidential nomination next year would have coveted Falwell's support. If his influence were on the wane, I doubt you would have seen John McCain at Liberty University's commencement a year ago and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich there a week ago.

It was not Falwell's mission to build a political party. His mission was to build a movement. If the party wanted to join in, fine. He motivated a grass-roots movement of folks who focused on "my country" as opposed to political leaders who focused on "my deal."

Falwell mobilized people who agreed that removing God from the public square would weaken America. He mobilized those who believe there was no superior alternative in marriage, to one man and one woman. You see, Jerry's critics viciously punished him because he didn't comply with their political correctness.

Jerry Falwell leaves a legacy of students, alumni, godly and committed disciples who grew under his ministry, and a great family.

His intentions were good. The media may have misunderstood him, but everyday Americans surely did not.

J.C. Watts is chairman of J.C. Watts Companies, a business consulting group. He is former chairman of the Republican Conference of the U.S. House, where he served as an Oklahoma representative from 1995 to 2002. His e-mail address is JCWatts01@jcwatts.com. He writes twice monthly for the Review-Journal.