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Published Monday, January 05, 2009 in Religion

Pastor's Corner: Spending the holidays with Billy Graham

By JOHN CROTTS

Faith Bible Church

I ended 2008 with Billy Graham in two different indirect ways.

Billy Graham is arguably the greatest evangelist of our lifetimes. The boy from a farm in North Carolina has preached the gospel to 210 million people face-to-face in 185 countries. And that doesn't count those Billy reached through the radio, TV, movies, and his books.

He preached faithfully for over 50 years.

Anyone who has heard him live or on TV will remember his famous phrase, "The Bible says...." The authority for his message was always the Bible.

He reached out to ordinary and extraordinary people with a message of hope. He recognized that all people have an emptiness and a longing for meaning in their lives. He believed that only God could fill that longing.

He taught that sins against God were mankind's greatest problem and that Jesus' death on the cross was God's great solution. Many people have responded to Billy's consistent message over the years. My mother-in-law is one of the thousands and thousands who repented of her sins and put her trust in Christ while watching Billy on TV.

She did this when my wife was a little girl and is following Christ today.

My first holiday indirect encounter with Billy was through a book, "The Preacher and the Presidents" by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy of TIME magazine. The book is a fascinating and well written account of Billy Graham's interaction with the various U. S. presidents.

Like most people, I suppose, I realized that Billy has prayed at presidential inaugurations and has ministered to some of the presidents in times of national crisis. I was surprised, however, to learn that Billy's first visit to the Oval Office was when Harry Truman was in charge back in 1950.

Billy Graham has had significant interactions with each and every president since then. With some like Kennedy, Ford and Carter, Billy's contacts were limited. With others like Eisenhower, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan and both Bushes, Billy has played a major role as spiritual advisor and friend. He spent the night in the White House on Johnson's last night in office and then again the next night on Nixon's first day in office.

While the book was very good, all history is interpreted through the author's lenses. These authors didn't seem to completely understand an evangelical Christian's perspective, although overall they were fair and favorable to Graham. A few examples highlight their misunderstandings.

The authors seemed mystified by Billy's lack of a stronger relationship with Jimmy Carter. Since Carter boldly wore Christian jargon on his sleeves during the 1976 campaign, they seemed to think he would end up being the closest of any president to Billy Graham. That proved not to be the case, although Billy did have a few friendly dealings during and after Carter's four years in the White House.

Even though Carter famously claimed to be born again, he is theologically liberal. While Billy strongly believes in the inerrancy of the Bible, the deity of Jesus, and the exclusivity of Jesus as being the only way to be in a right relationship with God, Carter does not share such beliefs with the same degree of certainty.

The authors also seemed to misunderstand evangelicals being upset at Billy's public forgiveness of Bill Clinton about the lies of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Billy went on "The Today Show" and expressed understanding since the president was young and vigorous with such a tremendous personality. He said that women throw themselves at Clinton.

While I'm sure some people reacted against the concept of any forgiveness for Bill Clinton, the real problem with Graham's comments was his appearance of excusing or even justifying Clinton's sin, not the forgiveness part. God always offers forgiveness to those who repent of their sins. While evangelical Christians hoped that Clinton had repented and was forgiven by God, no one was comfortable with a public declaration of excuses and forgiveness, when Clinton himself admitted to lying to cover his sins.

My other indirect encounter with Billy Graham over the holidays was a delightful stop at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C. The library looks like a big barn surrounded by tall trees and beautifully landscaped gardens.

Being a book lover, I expected to find row and after row of the best Christian books with Billy Graham mementos scattered about. Instead it was a first class multi-media presentation of Billy's life and ministry. It had one display of Billy with every one of the presidents that I had just read about.

The displays and the videos added to my amazement at how Billy and his message stayed solid for all of those years in all of those places.

While I certainly don't agree with everything Billy has said and done over all of his years, clearly God has kept Billy from scandalous sins of greed, glory and girls that have tripped up so many larger than life preachers. It is also clear that God used Billy as a mouthpiece for the wonderful message of having one's sins forgiven through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

I would recommend that you find a way to have some time with Billy Graham and his amazing message in 2009.