Remembering Billy Graham — evangelist, ‘America’s pastor’ and world’s most admired Charlottean

Graham was born in 1918 on a dairy farm near what is now Park Road Shopping Center and eventually led missions that reached more than 185 countries.

He became close with world leaders — including U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama — but remained humble, nonpartisan and dedicated to a message of Christian love.

Graham was a friend of Martin Luther King Jr. and held integrated rallies beginning in 1953. He is credited with being a major influence in the Civil Rights Movement and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Photo by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

But even all that fails to sum up his influence.

Graham started his tent revivals and “crusades” in the late 1940s but rose to prominence as television became a powerful mass medium. In time he came to speak in massive stadiums — and even filled Bank of America Stadium to capacity four nights in a row in 1996.

He is estimated to have reached 215 million people in person, and countless millions more electronically. His influence was enough to soften dictators — and sixty times Graham appeared on the Gallup list of world’s most admired men.

There’s really no modern-day analog to use as a comparison to the role Graham played in American society.

Though Graham had been in poor health for most of the last two decades, his work continues through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The nonprofit sends rapid response teams to areas needing support and evangelizes through TV, internet and telephone.

If you’re just now digging into Graham’s life, you’re certain to find people who find fault with him.

He was always the first to admit that he, too, was a sinner.

In tapes from Richard Nixon’s White House in 1972, Graham was found to have gone along with the former president’s conspiratorial statements about Jewish people. When the audio was released 30 years later, Graham appeared to not remember the conversations and apologized profusely.

The so-called “Billy Graham Rule” has also been in the news lately in connection with Vice President Mike Pence, one of its adherents. The rule basically refers to Graham’s practice of not putting himself in positions to be alone with women other than his wife. In its context in the 1950s, it was very practical — Graham was a young man, good looking and spending months at a time on the road. He didn’t want his message weakened by the appearance of impropriety and honored his marital relationship — and Graham was not touched by the scandals that have befallen so many religious leaders.

This rule’s applications in today’s world have been more controversial.

The Billy Graham Evangelical Association’s position on gay marriage and gay relationships has also been questioned. The association’s stance does not support same-sex marriage, though LGBT issues were not a primary point of emphasis in Graham’s ministry. The topic has been more closely linked to his son, Franklin Graham, who runs the association today. Franklin Graham has carved out more political positions than his father did.

Billy Graham has over time become associated with the religious right, though he would not have been happy about that. As he told Parade magazine in 1981: “It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it.”

Later, on why he was not a part of Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority movement: “I’m all for morality, but morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice. We as clergy know so very little to speak with authority on the Panama Canal or superiority of armaments. Evangelists cannot be closely identified with any particular party or person. We have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left.”

Out of a ministry of more than 70 years, Graham is remembered for doing much more good in the world than harm.

To get a fuller picture of the Billy Graham, be sure to check out the Billy Graham Library near the farmer’s market on Billy Graham Parkway. The library will be open today (Wednesday) but closed Thursday.

Billy Graham, right, with son Frankin. Photo by Paul Walsh via Flickr (Creative Commons).

Here’s what Charlotte and N.C. leaders are saying about Graham today.

“Billy Graham is a monumental figure, forever etched in the history of Charlotte. His compassion and selfless service changed the lives of millions and created a legacy of kindness and humanity for our region and all of North Carolina. Together, we mourn the loss of a great leader.” — Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, via Twitter.

“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, via email.

“I join the nation to mourn Rev. Billy Graham today. He spoke to the spirit in all of us. Words cannot express what he means to the people of North Carolina. His message of love, kindness, and hope, remains in our lives long after his own. His sermons echo in our hearts forever.” — N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, via Twitter

“You showed us how to leave the 99 for the 1. Thank you Dr. Graham. Rest In Peace.” — Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick, via Twitter.

“Billy Graham was the most important person in North Carolina and Charlotte history.” — Former Gov. Pat McCrory, on the radio.

“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.” — N.C. Senate Leader Phil Berger, via Twitter.

Essential reading on Billy Graham

You can start with the official memorial site prepared by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Graham had been in poor health and retreated from the public eye after his final crusade in New York City in 2005. Both North Carolina and national publications have been preparing their pieces on his life for years. Here are some of the best.

“Man With a Mission,” Our State magazine

“Billy Graham, 99, Dies; Pastor Filled Stadiums and Counseled Presidents,” The New York Times

“Rev. Billy Graham: 1918-2018,” Charlotte magazine

“Billy Graham, the Last Nonpartisan Evangelical?” The New York Times

Top Billy Graham quotes

“Christ belongs to all people. He belongs to the whole world…I reject any creed based on hate…Christianity is not a white man’s religion, and don’t let anybody ever tell you that it’s white or black.” — Graham in Johannesburg in 1973.

“It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge and my job to love.”

“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.”