Ethics & Religion
March 1, 2018
Column #1,906
Billy Graham: The Greatest Evangelist
By Mike McManus
Billy Graham, who died last week at age 99, conducted his first
city-wide crusade in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1947. He held more than
400 crusades in 185 countries, speaking in person to 215 million people!
Ten times as many - 2.2 billion people heard him on radio or TV. No one
in history brought the Christian message to so many.
This week, he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and
Thursday. The U.S. House and Senate closed down in his honor. House
Speaker Paul Ryan said, "If there is anyone whose life deserves to be
honored by lying in the U.S. Capitol, it's Billy Graham." Thousands of
people - some who had driven for hours - filed past the man who changed
their lives.
On his 95th birthday in 2013 he delivered his last sermon, expressing
concern about America: "Our country's in great need of a spiritual
awakening. There have been times that I've wept as I've gone from city
to city and I've seen how far people have wandered from God...
"I know many people will react to this message, but it is the truth. And
with all my heart, I want to leave you with the truth. God loves you,
and He's willing to forgive you of all your sins. The cross is offensive
because it confronts people. Even so, it is a confrontation that all of
us must face."
One of the hundreds of guests was former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She
told USA Today that Billy's message years earlier "transformed my
mother's life. In the 70s, she would tune into the Billy Graham
Crusades, televised. My mom was raised Catholic, and she...was yearning
for something more," Palin said. "His invitation for people to know they
could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - my mom understood
that from the way that he could articulate it
"She became a Christian, led the rest us the family to Christ, and that,
I believe, transformed our family."
Millions of individuals experienced a similar life-changing experience.
One was George W. Bush when he was in his 20's - and was drunk. His
father, George H.W. Bush, had invited the preacher to the family's
compound in Maine, who spoke with the errant son.
That conversation led Bush to quit drinking altogether - and put him on
the path to the presidency.
President Truman was the first of 12 Presidents who invited Graham to
the White House. After meeting with Truman, the press asked him to
recount some of their conversation. At the press' urging, Graham and his
colleagues knelt on the White House lawn for prayer.
"It dawned on me a few days later that we had abused the privilege of
seeing the President," Graham wrote. "National press coverage of our
visit was definitely not to our advantage. The President was offended
that I had quoted him without authorization," (for which he later
apologized.)
Graham went to great lengths to avoid moral failure. He never had a meal
with a woman other than his wife. He required his hotel room be searched
before he retired.
He handled money ethically. The Billy Graham Association handled over
$100 million a year and never once had a financial malfeasance
allegation.
Chuck Colson, who served prison time for Watergate crimes, credited
Graham as a mentor who helped him shape his Prison Fellowship ministry.
Colson recalled seeing Rev. Graham, the celebrity evangelist to
millions, sitting cross-legged on the floor of a maximum security
prison, sharing Christ's love with a single prisoner. Colson later
wrote, "He was as comfortable in that prison as he was in a palace."
Graham helped create Christianity Today, the definitive magazine of
evangelical Christianity. The magazine reported that Graham persuaded
more than 3 million people to commit their lives to Christ.
One of those people was Don Wildmon, who created the American Family
Association, which owns 184 Christian radio stations and publishes the
AFA Journal, a monthly Christian magazine with twice the circulation of
Christianity Today. The magazine opposed a 1980s film by Martin
Scorsese, The Last Temptation of Christ, which Wildmon called
"blasphemous."
In interviews with Ted Koppel on Nightline, The McNeal-Lehrer Report
on
PBS and by NBC's Meet the Press - Wildmon urged Christians to sign a
petition to theaters not to show the movie.
It worked. The film made it into only 1% of the nation's theaters and
was a flop.
Billy Graham has inspired millions of Don Wildmons to come to faith and
live it for others.
___________________________________
Copyright (c) 2018 Michael J. McManus,
a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. For previous
columns go to
www.ethicsandreligion.org. Hit
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