REVEREND Billy Graham, a North Carolina farmer’s son who preached to millions in stadium events he called crusades, becoming a pastor to presidents and the nation’s best-known Christian evangelist for more than 60 years, died on Wednesday at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, United States aged 99 years.
His death was confirmed by Jeremy Blume, a spokesman for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
William Franklin Graham Jr was born on November 7, 1918, in a frame house near Charlotte, North Carolina, into a family of Reformed Presbyterians. He was, by his account, born again 16 years later. “I didn’t have any tears … There was no lightning,” he recalled. “I made my decision for Christ. It was as simple as that and as conclusive.”
Journey to the pulpit
According to Times magazine, Graham became a Southern Baptist and briefly pastored a church, but his gift clearly lay in revivalism: as his wife Ruth later remarked, “I’d never heard anyone pray like that before.” Neither had newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who in 1949 cabled his editors a two-word directive to devote lots of space to the preacher then conducting a revival in Los Angeles: “Puff Graham.”
From there the hyperkinetic young man dubbed God’s Machine Gun moved on to triumphs from London to New York City, where in 1957 he preached for 16 weeks at Madison Square Garden, reaching more than 2 million people.
His tent meetings became “crusades,” vast regional revivals that lasted for days at a time, drawing people from neighbouring states and countries wherever Graham decided to put down stakes. Over six decades he preached in 185 countries and territories and as late as 2005 was attracting crowds of 242,000.
With the possible exception of Pope John Paul II, Graham can be said to have touched more lives for Jesus than anyone else in the modern era and to have extolled him directly to a greater swath of humanity than anyone else in history. Referring to the original itinerant evangelist, Graham biographer William Martin notes wryly that “[the apostle] Paul was good for his time. But on numerous occasions, Billy spoke to more people at once than Paul did in his entire lifetime.”
Graham did not reinvent revivalism, but like Henry Ford, he rationalised the production process. He supplemented his extraordinary charisma with meticulous advance work, military-grade organisation and, eventually, every available technology from radio to television to global satellite transmissions to books and a magazine as well as, eventually, the Internet. He also established standards of financial and sexual propriety that maintained his reputation over a half-century of possible temptations and served as a model to shell-shocked colleagues after the televangelical scandals of the 1980s.
Graham a preacher not pastor
He never built the First Church of Billy or risked the temptations that came with that kind of brick-and-mortar legacy.
He called himself a preacher, not a pastor, in part because he had no fixed congregation but mostly because spreading the Gospel was what he did best.
Though his organisation was vast — local crusades often took several years to plan, organise and produce — he travelled light, with just a handful of longtime aides and loyal sidemen, most notably the late George “How Great Thou Art” Beverly Shea, one of the great gospel singers of the past century.
Graham’s stem-winding sermons, loaded with fire and brimstone in the ’40s and ’50s, cooled with the cultural revolts of the ’60s and ’70s, and by the time he launched his last crusade at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, in 2005, he was name-checking the Rolling Stones. But they all ended the same way, with the invitation — the gentle, forgiving call to come forward and accept Christ as your saviour. Millions heard it and stepped forward. Homiletic success, in turn, enabled his great social achievement: the retrieval of conservative Christianity, kicking and screaming, from the American sidelines.
“Without him, we’d be living in a different world … Evangelicalism today would have virtually no political or cultural relevance whatsoever.” says Randall Balmer, chair of the religion department at Dartmouth, maintaining that “the one badge of Christian discipleship is not orthodoxy but love,”
Graham eventually provoked a great evangelical schism — and his side won. Today a vanishing minority practices defensive isolationism, while Christian singles climb the mainstream music charts, theological hard-liners court and find millions of impressionable readers and conservative Christians can claim an important role in the worldwide fight against AIDS.
Graham and politics
Graham pursued Presidents avidly, at the time of an utterly bizarre evangelical interest.
Harry S. Truman rebuffed him; Dwight D. Eisenhower welcomed him, accepted him and debriefed him after his foreign travels.
Graham hobnobbed with John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton but favoured Republicans. His cosiest and costliest relationship was with Richard Nixon.
The Watergate scandal in which Richard Nixon was involved not only left Graham personally disillusioned but also damaged his moral authority outside the evangelical world. The friendship haunted him again in 2002, with the release of an old White House tape on which Graham commiserated about the Jewish “stranglehold” on the media.
In his last years, Graham was increasingly incapacitated by Parkinson’s disease and eye trouble, yet both his past deeds and ongoing activities continued to resonate profoundly. It was his famous 1985 walk with the troubled son of yet another White House friend that helped lead George W. Bush to sobriety, conversion and his own political destiny.
Offering the invocation at Bush’s first Inaugural was Billy’s son Franklin, the heir to his evangelical machine and an influential, if controversial, figure in his own right. (Another child, Anne Graham Lotz, is one of her generation’s foremost preachers.)
It is possible that Graham was unsettled by the renaissance he ushered in. Unlike his son, he rarely embraced the religious right’s legislative agenda, and by the late 1970s, notes biographer Martin warned its standard bearers to “be wary of exercising political impact” to the detriment of their spiritual authority. But by and large, he could take satisfaction from a world more receptive to his own unadorned message of salvation than when he started.
Graham was modest about his achievements. “I don’t know why God has allowed me to have [all] this,” he told TIME in 1993. “I’ll have to ask him when I get to heaven.” But he must have guessed that He had recognized a unique servant when He saw one. Evangelicals are familiar with the story of Paul preaching on Mars Hill in Athens: some of his listeners scoffed; another group, well-meaning, said, “We will hear you again about this.” Revivalists note that the latter remained unsaved since the Bible tells us that “at that point, Paul left them.” Billy Graham was hardly the
Gospel’s only late 20th century exponent, but he was easily the best.
Those who meant to hear him but never got around to it have reason to rue his having gone out from among us.
World leaders reactions to Graham’s death
The GREAT Billy Graham is dead. There was nobody like him! He will be missed by Christians and all religions. A very special man ―Donald Trump (United States President)
Karen and I were saddened to learn of the passing of one of the greatest Americans of the century, Reverend Billy Graham. We send our deepest condolences to the Graham family ―Mike Pence (US Vice President)
Billy Graham has always been and will always be a hero in our home. Next to my own father, Reverend Graham was the most humble and gracious man I ever knew. I am honoured to call him a friend and a mentor. Victoria and I will miss him dearly ―Joel Osteen (American televangelist)
While it was sad to hear the news of Billy Graham passing, I am rejoicing that he is now home in heaven. Billy was a great man of God who made a tremendous impact all over the globe. His love for people and integrity had a great impact on my life and so many others! ―Joyce Meyer (Christian author and speaker)
Today we celebrate heaven’s great reception of a mighty man of God—Billy Graham. We are confident he received the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” ―Kenneth Copeland (American author, musician, public speaker, and televangelist)
The Great Commission is as simple as it is clear: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations”. Few men in history have received that instruction as humbly, or carried it out as diligently, as Reverend Billy Graham ―Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya President)
Saddened by the passing of Rev. Billy Graham, a great American & faithful Christian who inspired millions of people
with the gospel message. RIP ―John McCain (United States Senator representing Arizona)
One of the greatest privileges of my life was to speak at one of his rallies and to personally experience his charisma.
Thank you Lord for sharing this life with us for 99 years. RIP. ―Ben Carson (American neurosurgeon, author, and politician)
Billy Graham was a humble servant who prayed for so many – and who, with wisdom and grace, gave hope and guidance to generations of Americans ―Barrack Obama (US Former President)
Saddened by the loss of Evangelist Billy Graham. He led an impactful life, touching so many people with his spiritual teachings. He will be deeply missed ―Melania Trump (US First Lady)
Remembering the life and legacy of the great evangelist Dr. Billy Graham ―James McDonald (American evangelical pastor, Bible teacher, and author)
Billy Graham lifted eyes toward heaven and instilled heaven’s values in hearts. The world mourns this man of character, this man of God — Mitt Romney (American businessman and politician)
Today, even as we grieve Dr Billy Graham’s passing from this earth, we rejoice at his home-going. Imagine the celebration in heaven right now! —Benny Hinn (Israeli televangelist)
Billy Graham was filled with the love of Christ and shared His good news around the world. I’m profoundly grateful for his life. —Archbishop of Canterbury
“Billy Graham was a strong, humble, positive and passionate North Carolina man of faith who made a difference in the lives of so many. Rest with God, Reverend Graham.” —Gov Roy Cooper ( Governor of North Carolina)
“Rosalynn and I are deeply saddened to learn of the death of The Reverend Billy Graham,” Carter said in a statement.
“Tirelessly spreading a message of fellowship and hope, he shaped the spiritual lives of tens of millions of people worldwide. Broad-minded, forgiving, and humble in his treatment of others, he exemplified the life of Jesus Christ by constantly reaching out for opportunities to serve.” —Jimmy Carter (Former US President)
“I have fond memories from my childhood of neighbors coming together to watch Rev. Graham’s crusades on TV. I cannot think of a more influential American moral figure in the last century than Billy Graham, and cannot overstate how transformative he was to the entire world. We can all take comfort in his words: ‘Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.'” —Phil Berger (North Carolina Senate Leader)
“The loss of Reverend Billy Graham is a great sadness for our state, and for our country. His legacy of servant leadership is an example to all of us.” —Tedd Budd (House of Rep member from North Carolina)
Reverend Billy Graham was one of the greatest spiritual leaders of our time, serving as a voice of hope and compassion to generations of Americans. Rev Graham’s legacy will be the millions of people around the world he inspired to live lives of faith, purpose and meaning. – Jeb Bush (Second son of former US President George H. W. Bush )
No matter how often you met Billy Graham, he was “always just a brother” – Dr. John Sentamu (Archbishop of York)
My father BillyGraham was once asked, “Where is Heaven?” He said, “Heaven is where Jesus is and I am going to Him soon!” This morning, he departed this world into eternal life in Heaven, prepared by the Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior of the world—whom he proclaimed for 80 years —Franklin Graham (Billy Graham’s fourth son)
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