Billy Graham, the evangelist, the man

I have been deeply troubled by stories that have come forth from the recent Billy Graham crusade in New York City.

I know what you are thinking, “troubled by a Billy Graham Crusade?” Yes, I am torn in my heart as to what to think of comments made by Dr. Graham, and sometimes what he did not say in interviews on radio television and in print media.

I remember and have seen many films, of the Billy Graham of years ago, who was not hesistant to call sin, sin; who was not hesistant to tell the world that Jesus and Jesus alone is way to salvation, and did it strictly from the Word of God, and without the catchy references to Madonna or Star Wars. It seems that in his senior years, Dr. Graham mellowed and his message grew far less direct. I am told that this mellowing comes with age. This is hard for me to accept having read the writings of such others as Spurgeon, Moody and many more.

But most troubling to me was the big headline story on night two of the crusade, in which former president Bill Clinton was invited on the platform to say a few words. Clinton, who to this day has never accepted full responsibility for his sin during his presidency, heralded Billy Graham as one of the few persons he has ever known who lived what he believed. This I do not doubt, especially since I do not know Dr. Graham personally.

However I question the judgment of the decision-maker who thought it was a good idea to have Clinton as part of the service to begin with. But then, Dr. Graham made a statement that shook me to the core. According to news reports, “Graham called the Clintons "wonderful friends" and "a great couple", quipping that the former president should become an evangelist and allow "his wife to run the country" This commnet came only hours after Mrs. Clinton took part in the New York City gay pride parade.

As I said this shook me. I did not know whether to count this as the comments of an aging, ailing man, or whether Dr. Graham was just ‘quipping’ as the story read. Nevertheless, this, along with other instances that have occurred over the past ten years or so, have caused me to take second looks at Dr. Graham’s ministry.

Then came the commentary written by Ingrid Schlueter for Worldview Weekend.com entitled Dr. Billy Graham: The Tragedy of A Compromised Ministry. In this column, Miss Schlueter notes comments made by Billy Graham during an appearance on Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power broadcast back on May 31, 1997. From the exact transcript from that program, Schuller asks Dr. Graham what he thinks the future of Christianity will be. Graham responded,

“Well, Christianity and being a true believer -- you know, I think there's the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ ... I think James answered that, the Apostle James in the first council in Jerusalem, when he said that God's purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that's what God is doing today, He's calling people out of the world for His name, whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ, because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they are saved, and that they're going to be with us in heaven."

I would direct you to past blogs as to what my opinion is of Robert Schuller. In short, Schuller is a new ager and a false prophet. The sheer fact that Dr. Graham accepted an invitation to appear of Schuller’s program is disturbing enough, but his comments made during that program, again, shake me to the core.

Add to this, Graham’s enthusiastic endorsement of the Seeker-Sensitive/Purpose Driven church growth movements only adds to my dismay. I cannot tell you how many times someone has argued back at me “well, Billy Graham endorses it”, in response to something I said or wrote concerning Purpose Driven. In fact, Billy Graham and Franklin Graham, as well as many well-known pastors and leaders in evangelical Christianity, whole-heartedly endorsed Rick Warren’s books. All I can say is that whether it is Billy Graham or a local pastor endorsing PDL, it is my opinion that they are wrong.

So, here we are, witnessing what are probably Billy Graham’s closing moments on this earth. I can’t help but remember all the times that his sermons and writings were such a blessings to me; I can’t help but think of all of the untold millions of people who have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry of Billy Graham; and I say thank you Lord for using this man. I also must think, that Billy Graham is just that, a man, who can make mistakes and make poor judgments, and as Dr. Graham admits himself, a man who can sin.

Thanks you Lord for using men like Billy Graham, and thank you Lord for the truth. May we all be found faithful in keeping Your truth.