America's Preacher: The Reverend Billy Graham
A look back at Billy Graham's crusades. A year after his death, the legacy of America's preacher lives on.
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Just over a year ago, the world heard the news that Billy Graham had died. That Wednesday morning, February 21, 2018, I had just sat down to have breakfast in Dallas when I received the call notifying me that my father—who for decades had told millions of people how to get to heaven through faith in Christ—was now in heaven himself. A mixture of thoughts flooded my mind, especially how he had loved each of us children and our mother so well, while living and ministering in the public spotlight for so long. Very few people are able to do that.
In the days following his passing, a global audience participated in the events celebrating his life and how God had used an ordinary farm boy from Charlotte, North Carolina. As his body lay in honor in our nation’s capital—only the fourth private citizen to receive that honor—thousands filed by his casket, which had been constructed by inmates at Angola Penitentiary in Louisiana, to reflect on his impact and show their gratitude.
A LOOK BACK AT BILLY GRAHAM'S IMPACT ON THE WORLD
Since his burial beside my mother Ruth on the grounds of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, numerous articles and interviews have discussed that very subject—the impact of Billy Graham, who appeared on the Gallup list of the most admired Americans more times than anyone in history.
Beyond all he means to our family, and as I lead the organization that bears his name—the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association—I have my own thoughts about his contributions to the cause of Christ. I don’t think any one individual will be able to cite them all this side of heaven. And ultimately, God’s assessment of his life (and all of ours) is the one that matters. But as we’ve passed the one-year mark of his home going, several key elements of my father’s legacy come to mind.
First, anyone who ever encountered Billy Graham, from the time he was a young Bible college student onward, could not miss his unwavering commitment to the authority of God's Word. He spoke on numerous occasions about how he wrestled for a time with the shifting winds of his day which questioned the reliability of Scripture. His uncompromising decision in 1949, while at the Forest Home conference center in California, to accept God’s Word by faith was a watershed moment for him from which he never retreated.
He became known for his signature phrase when he preached, “The Bible says…” He himself said, “When the Gospel of Jesus Christ is presented with authority—quoting from the very word of God—He takes that message and drives it supernaturally into the human heart.”
Along with that conviction, he believed and communicated that the most important and most urgent decision every single person must make is to repent of their sins, receive Christ, and live for Him as their Savior and Lord. While this sounds basic, in our society today that point is revolutionary, even in many churches. Yet my father lovingly conveyed that message day after day, in private conversations with both ordinary people and international leaders, as well as in the great stadiums of the world.
BILLY GRAHAM LIBRARY: ATTENDANCE UP AFTER NAMESAKE'S DEATH
He also convened multiple international conferences for evangelists and church leaders to help equip them for evangelism. The influence of those historic gatherings continues even today, a year after his death. Just this week, I was in Russia, and the Orthodox Church there is translating and publishing 50 of my father’s sermons for use by a whole new generation of pastors and church members.
Also, despite urgings to detour from his evangelistic ministry and run for president, he steadfastly refused and maintained his singular focus on evangelism. He stayed focused in his organization as well, refusing to substitute “good” programs and activities for the most important one—calling people to faith in Christ.
There’s much more I could say about my father and his contributions. He was a man of humility and utter integrity, who was the same in private as he was in public. He was gracious to all, especially to those who disagreed with and even criticized him (that’s not easy to do!). And even into the latter years of his ministry, he was always looking for ways to be innovative for the Gospel—not changing the message, but always willing to adapt his methods in order to win souls to Christ.
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For the moment, however, perhaps the best summation of my father’s life, ministry, and impact is this blessing from the Bible’s final book, Revelation:
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord…for their deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:13 ESV)
May the same be said of each of us.