There is no question that he represented a formidable force in mobilizing inactive conservative Christians beginning in 1979 when he founded the Moral Majority. But with political power also comes compromise and in order to maintain access to Ronald Reagan, he held his tongue when Reagan did things with which he did not approve, such as nominating Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court, a Justice who voted to uphold Roe vs. Wade. Falwell had called abortion America's "national sin."

He could be both gracious and generous. He started a home for unwed mothers and a facility to help the poor in his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded a university, which may be his ultimate and lasting legacy.

Falwell once told me that all the church can do is "put its thumb in the dike" because things are bound to get worse and worse in culture and society. That "prophecy" appears to be coming true. And it makes one wonder why he put so much time, effort and money into political organizing when with his other role as preacher he shared a message about a King and a Kingdom that was better able to change people for the better than either political party could ever hope to do.