Profiles of Faith: Billy Graham

Billy Graham is one of the greatest evangelists of modern times. While some of his peers have been steeped in controversy, his reputation and character have been relatively unsullied throughout the course of his ministry, with the exception of one incident. He has advised a number of Presidents, without respect to what party they belonged to. Unlike many of his peers, he has never publicly supported any one particular political agenda, regardless of what his own private political persuasion is. He has preached the message of the Gospel live to more people than anyone else in history.

Born William Franklin Graham Jr. in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 7, 1918, he was the oldest child of William Franklin Graham, Sr. and Morrow Coffee Graham. He was a farm boy who grew up in a devout Associate Reformed Presbyterian household. Billy's original ambition was to be a baseball player, but after committing his life to Christ during a revival meeting led by the evangelist Mordecai Ham, the direction of his life changed. He switched from the denomination of his parents to the southern Baptist denomination.

He briefly attended Bob Jones College, but was somewhat put off by its overly strict fundamentalism. He decided to attend Florida Bible Institute and graduated in with a Bachelor of Theology degree in 1940. He was also beginning to preach during this time and after relatives of V. Raymond Edman, the president of Wheaton College, told him about Billy's extraordinary preaching ability, he was offered the chance to attend Wheaton, graduating in 1943 with a B.A, in anthropology. The school also enabled him to meet his future wife Ruth Bell, the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries to China.

Following his graduation from Wheaton College, Graham married Ruth, presiding over a Chicago Baptist church for a short time. While there, he started preaching on the radio and had George Beverly Shea, a Christian singer, as a soloist. Their association was to last for many years. Billy did not feel that pastoring was his calling, for he felt to call to evangelize and he left his church position to become the vice-president of the Youth for Christ, an organization that held rallies throughout the United States and Canada for young people and those in the military. He was with Youth for Christ for three years and later left to become the president of Northwestern College in Minneapolis. He conducted successful evangelistic crusades in Los Angeles and New York City, that garnered considerable national attention. Crowds came to hear him at Madison Square Garden for four months.

Joining Graham in his crusades were his friends Cliff Barrow and George Beverly Shea and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was formed. He also became the editor of Decision, a Christian magazine and continued to preach on the radio. He used the medium of television to promote the Gospel, appearing on numerous television specials to preach the message of repentance of sin and salvation to millions. Billy Graham traveled the world to evangelist the lost, given permission to preach in places like North Korea and the Soviet Union. He took a courageous stand while visiting South Africa and demanded that the seating where his crusade was being held be desegregated, a request that, amazingly, was honored in spite of the system of apartheid. This was in stark contrast to so me of his peers at that time, who dared not rock the boat in term of social mores regarding race.

Billy Graham continues to be one of the most respected individuals in America. He has had only one incident occur that disparaged his reputation slightly, concerning his association with disgraced President Richard M. Nixon. Unknown to Graham, a secret tape was made of a private conversation between him and Nixon back in 1972. In it, Graham remarked that "Jews control the media" and made other statements that came across as anti-Semitic in nature. When the tape was released years later, Graham, a longtime supporter of the nation of Israel, did not deny his egregious remarks from so long ago, but apologized profusely for them, asking forgiveness. He received some criticism from other Christian leaders because he did not come out and publicly condemn President Bill Clinton for sexual impropriety in the White House.

Graham has suffered from Parkinson's disease and other physical problems in recent years. He continues to preach, though not as often, due to his health issues. His son Franklin now serves as president and CEO of The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and has led successful crusades of his own, though he is not as influential as his father.