This October saw the return of the Faulkner Bible Lectureship for its 79th year. Hundreds of visitors came to campus to take part in the daily speaker sessions and chapel events and more than 1,400 people were in attendance for a high-profile debate that marked one of the highlights of the week.
This year, the Faulkner Bible Lectureship coincided with Homecoming. The two events shaped a spiritual as well as a physical reconnection for alumni and friends who were invited to return to campus for the week of revival and end with Faulkner’s Homecoming football game and Homecoming king and queen presentation.
The event well-exceeded expectations for both participants and Lectureship Director, Dr. David Hester. The overwhelming response included joy for the return of the Faulkner Bible Lectureship and for the overall invigorated spiritual emphasis on campus culture.
“This year far exceeded anything I could have anticipated,” Hester said. “People from all over our state, especially from Montgomery and many from outside of our state came. The debate on Wednesday was tremendous. The gymnasium was packed full with young people, older people and the Lads2Leaders Invitational has brought families from all over the country. Those kinds of things just made this week that much better. Everything is just building for next year to be even more than what we saw this year.”
Nearly 30 young men and women and their families traveled from 13 different states to partake in the Lads2Leaders/Leaderettes Invitational that took place on the final day of the Faulkner Bible Lectureship. They were also given a chance to hear and personally meet with special guest speaker Dr. Fred Gray, attorney for Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin. Dr. Gray is also a celebrated lecturer, successful author, preacher and former legislator.
The Lads 2 Leaders Invitational invited the top boys’ & girls’ speech winners from various locations to speak. They were judged by L2L judges provided from local L2L congregations. Levi Cullum and Anna Grace King were the boy and girl speech winners of the invitational and each received a full tuition scholarship to attend Faulkner University.
While more than 1,400 came to hear Wednesday’s debate in person, more than 20,000 people have viewed the debate online as the Gospel Broadcasting Network livestreamed and recorded the debate in real time.
The debate was highly anticipated and brought several media outlets to cover the event as Kyle Butt with Apologetics Press affirmed the God of the Bible’s existence by pursuing four truths: the cause and effect of the universe points to a creator outside the universe, intelligent design in nature demands an intelligent designer, objective moral values point to God’s existence and finally the historical life and teaching, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that He is God’s son.
On the opposite side, nationally recognized Dr. Michael Shermer of the Skeptics Society and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine denied the existence of God by simply stating that “no one can know anything for absolute certainty.” He argued there was no way to prove God’s existence because the realm of possibility fell under “mythical truths,” and therefore could not be sufficiently debated.
“I believe it’s important for young people to know the truth and the best way to know the truth is by logic and reason and to rely on our faith,” President Mitch Henry said. “This debate highlights that for our students and for our guests.”
It was a robust and civil debate with both Butt and Shermer providing opening remarks for 20 minutes each, followed by 10 minute rebuttals and cross examinations and concluded with 20 minutes of final remarks. Several members of the audience also had an opportunity to ask each candidate a question during a 20-minute open forum where attendees were invited to line up and ask their questions into the microphone. The exchange was well-received by many who were attending the Faulkner Bible Lectureship.
Mike Gurganus, Faulkner University Board of Trustees member and one of the lecturers during the week, was extremely pleased with how the Faulkner Bible Lectureship turned out.
“I’m excited this week, because this is Homecoming week at Faulkner, but I’ve already had my homecoming because I’ve had the chance to see so many brothers and sisters in Christ and so many alumni of the school, so this has just been a wonderful time for me to be here. The speakers from 8 in the morning to 8 at night have all been charged and excited.”
Christa Bryant attended several of the lectures and was also pleased with its return.
“The return of the lectureships is really exciting. Some of the lectures I went to were on the one hand very academic, but also very practical not only for ministry, but also for anyone who wanted to learn more about the Word of God and how to dig deep into it,” Bryant said.
“I’ve been coming to the Faulkner Bible Lectureship ever since I was a student here in 1970,” said Faulkner University Board of Trustees member and attendee Butch Jones. “I think this is the best lectureship I’ve ever been a part of.”
Hester is already making plans for next year’s Faulkner Bible Lectureship, which will cover the theme of grace, the first time in the Lectureship’s history to cover the topic. It will be held during the third week of October 2024. Make your plans now!
