'I was never called to be a pastor': Falwell officially resigns from LU, reports say
Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., poses during an interview in his offices at the school in Lynchburg, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) -- Jerry Falwell Jr. says he has officially resigned from Liberty University after submitting his resignation letter late Monday night, according to ABC News.
“I was never called to be a pastor, my calling was to use my legal and business expertise to make Liberty University the evangelical version of Note Dame," Falwell told ABC News. "Some of us are called to be preachers, that wasn’t mine. I was called to make Liberty University the greatest Christian university in the world and I couldn’t have done that as a preacher," he says.
Before ABC News says he sent in his resignation letter, a source at Liberty University confirmed to ABC13 that Jerry Falwell Jr. had resigned as president and chancellor of the university on Monday, Aug. 24.
The move came hours after LU said that he agreed to resign as its president, after which Falwell reversed his decision after media outlets announced it.
"The Executive Committee’s Board of Trustees asked Falwell to go on an indefinite leave of absence on August 7, to which he agreed," LU wrote in a Monday night release. "Since that time, additional matters came to light that made it clear that it would not be in the best interest of the University for him to return from leave and serve as President. The Executive Committee met [Monday morning] and a conference call gathering of the full Board was planned for [Tuesday]."
According to LU, Falwell responded to this request by agreeing to resign immediately but then instructed his attorneys not to tender the letter for his immediate resignation.
LU's Executive Committee said that they will go forward with its meeting on Tuesday.
The news of his resignation comes after Falwell agreed to take an indefinite leave of absence after receiving backlash for a photo he posted on social media earlier this month.
Despite the information on Falwell's resignation from the LU source, several news outlets quoted Falwell as saying that he has not agreed to leave the post permanently, nor does he plan to.
Earlier on Monday, Falwell announced that his wife had an affair with a family friend which sent him into a depression.
According to a statement, Fawell sent to the Washington Examiner, he said that his wife, Becki Falwell, had an "inappropriate personal relationship" with a former family friend who had been threatening to expose it.
Falwell said he was seeking mental health counseling after dealing with the fallout from the affair, which he said he had no role in.
“Over the course of the last few months this person’s behavior has reached a level that we have decided the only way to stop this predatory behavior is to go public,” the statement said.
A source close to the family said that Falwell stands by the statement to the Examiner.
“I made a mistake a long time ago and luckily my husband forgave me. We have been dealing with this situation for years. This predator has attempted to extort millions of dollars from me and we refused to pay. Finally we couldn’t take this torture any more and so we went public with the story. And Jerry resigned to protect the reputation of the university that he and his family spent their lives building," Becki told ABC News.
Falwell, who was already on an indefinite leave of absence, did not return a call from ABC13 seeking comment.
LU's Board of Trustees has also denied interviews or a statement.
