Was Liberty’s Board Set up to Support Falwell or Liberty?

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Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 26 August 2020

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Transcribed highlights of the show can be found in our episode summaries. Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president of Liberty University on Monday. The news came after Reuters reported that a friend and business partner of the couple had sex with Becki Falwell while Jerry Falwell Jr. watched. Falwell Jr. himself submitted his resignation only to reverse course twice. Falwell Jr. was already on an indefinite leave of absence after he posted a picture on Instagram of him posing with his arm around a woman at a party with their zippers down and midsections exposed. With one notable exception, Liberty’s board has staged largely silent in the wake of Falwell Jr.’s increasingly controversial public statements and financial dealings. For ministry boards which have run into moral or ethic issues with their CEOs, one common mistake is allowing the CEO to recommend too many board members, says Bob Andringa, the managing partner of the Andringa Group who specializes in governance and the relationship between boards and chief executives. “Who's a CEO going to recommend? They’re going to recommend friends,” said Andringa, who has written several books on board governance, including The Nonprofit Board Answer Book and Good Governance for Nonprofits. “And so when it comes down to crunch time, those friends have more loyalty to the CEO than they do to the mission of the whole organization.” Andringa joined global media manager Morgan Lee and editorial director Ted Olsen to discuss the blind spots of Christian boards, what encourages and discourages them in holding leaders accountable, and why more retired people should serve on boards. Take Quick to Listen’s survey! What is Quick to Listen? Read more Rate Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow our hosts on Twitter: Morgan Lee and Ted Olsen Music by Sweeps Quick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee and Matt Linder The transcript is edited by Bunmi Ishola Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find
0:07.5	clear answers to tough questions about Christianity. Learn to explain your faith with courage and
0:13.3	compassion. Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail del Rosario at Apologeticsky.com.
0:22.6	Jerry Fowell Jr. has resigned as president of Liberty University.
0:26.6	The news came after Reuters reported that a friend and business partner
0:31.6	of the couple had sex with Becky Falwell while Jerry Falwell Jr. watched.
0:35.6	Fawwell Jr. himself submitted his resignation only to reverse course twice.
0:41.5	Bubble Jr. was already on an indefinite leave of absence after he posted a picture on
0:45.9	Instagram of him posing with his arm around a woman at a party with their zippers down
0:50.1	and midsections exposed. As we recently discussed in episode 225, so that's just two weeks ago,
0:58.7	Fawallwell's public statement and financial dealings have drawn public criticism for years.
1:04.2	But, at least from an outsider's perspective, Liberty University's board has stayed largely silent.
1:09.3	The one exception being longtime PR executive
1:11.8	Mark DeMoss, who in 2016 advised Falwell Jr. not to endorse anyone for president. Although
1:17.6	Falwell Jr. told DeMoss he agreed. He later backed Trump and Liberty's executive committee
1:22.2	then ousted DeMoss from the executive committee chair and DeMoss subsequently resigned.
1:27.1	The free press, a powerful tool for higher education accountability,
1:30.5	has done a remarkable job exposing President Falwell's ostensible and proprieties to the public,
1:35.1	but lost in the dialogue on Liberty University has been the obvious and important question,
1:39.8	where is the board of trustees?
1:42.1	wrote Michael Poliakoff for Forbes last year.
1:45.0	We wanted to discuss the role of Christian boards and holding leaders accountable and what can make it challenging for them to do their jobs well.
	...

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