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Billy Graham

For other people with similar names, see Bill Graham.

The Reverend

Billy Graham

KBE
Graham in a suit with his fist clenched
Graham in 1966
Orders
Ordination1939
Personal details
Born
William Franklin Graham Jr.

(1918-11-07)November 7, 1918
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 2018(2018-02-21) (aged 99)
Montreat, North Carolina, U.S.
DenominationBaptist (Southern Baptist Convention)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1943; died 2007)​
ChildrenGigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin and Nelson
ProfessionEvangelist
Education
SignatureBilly Graham's signature
President of Northwestern College
In office
1948–1952
Preceded byWilliam Bell Riley
Succeeded byRichard Elvee
President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
In office
1950–2001
Preceded byPost established
Succeeded byFranklin Graham

William Franklin Graham Jr. (/ˈɡreɪəm/; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and civil rights advocate,[1][2] whose broadcasts and world tours featuring live sermons became well known in the mid- to late 20th century. Throughout his career, spanning over six decades, Graham rose to prominence as an evangelical Christian figure in the United States and abroad.

According to a biographer, Graham was considered "among the most influential Christian leaders" of the 20th century.[3] Beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Graham became known for filling stadiums and other massive venues around the world where he preached live sermons; these were often broadcast via radio and television with some continuing to be seen into the 21st century.[4] During his six decades on television, Graham hosted his annual "crusades", evangelistic live-campaigns, from 1947 until his retirement in 2005. He also hosted the radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. He openly repudiated racial segregation,[5] at a time of intense racial strife in the United States, insisting on racial integration for all of his revivals and crusades, as early as 1953. He also later invited Martin Luther King Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. In addition to his religious aims, he helped shape the worldview of a huge number of people who came from different backgrounds, leading them to find a relationship between the Bible and contemporary secular viewpoints. According to his website, Graham spoke to live audiences consisting of at least 210 million people, in more than 185 countries and territories, through various meetings, including BMS World Mission and Global Mission event.[6]

Graham was close to US presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson (one of his closest friends),[7] and Richard Nixon.[8] He was also lifelong friends with Robert Schuller, another televangelist and the founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, whom Graham talked into starting his own television ministry.[9] Graham's evangelism was appreciated by mainline Protestant denominations, as he encouraged mainline Protestants, who were converted to his evangelical message, to remain within or return to their mainline churches.[10][11] Despite early suspicions and apprehension on his part towards Catholicism—common among contemporaneous evangelical Protestants—Graham eventually developed amicable ties with many American Catholic Church figures, later encouraging unity between Catholics and Protestants.[12]

Graham operated a variety of media and publishing outlets;[13] according to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior". Graham's lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, likely surpassed billions of people.[14] As a result of his crusades, Graham preached the gospel to more people, live and in-person, than anyone in the history of Christianity.[13] Graham was on Gallup's list of most admired men and women a record-61 times.[15] Grant Wacker wrote that, by the mid-1960s, he had become the "Great Legitimator", saying: "By then his presence conferred status on presidents, acceptability on wars, shame on racial prejudice, desirability on decency, dishonor on indecency, and prestige on civic events."[16]

  1. ^ "Why Billy Graham Was a Champion of the Civil Rights Movement". Crosswalk.com. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Billy Graham and Racial Equality" (PDF). Billy Graham Evangelical Association. 2014.
  3. ^ Billy Graham: American Pilgrim. Oxford University Press. June 26, 2017. ISBN 978-0-19-068352-8. Retrieved February 21, 2018. Billy Graham stands among the most influential Christian leaders of the twentieth century.
  4. ^ Swank jr, J. Grant. "Billy Graham Classics Span 25 Years of Gospel Preaching for the Masses". TBN. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  5. ^ Ellis, Carl (February 24, 2018). "Preaching Redemption Amidst Racism: Remembering Billy Graham". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "Media: Bios – William (Billy) F. Graham". Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Archived from the original on January 31, 2007.
  7. ^ Aikman 2010, p. 203.
  8. ^ "The Transition; Billy Graham to lead Prayers". The New York Times. December 9, 1992. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
  9. ^ "Dr. Robert H. Schuller". Crystal Cathedral Ministries. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  10. ^ Killen, Patricia O'Connell; Silk, Mark. Religion and Public Life in the Pacific Northwest: The None Zone. Rowman Altamira. p. 84. In the 1957 revival in New York City Graham partnered with mainline Protestant denominations and insisted that those who were converted at the revivals return to their mainline churches.
  11. ^ Wacker, Grant (November 15, 2003). "The Billy pulpit: Graham's career in the mainline". The Christian Century. Retrieved March 1, 2018. Crusade counselors are instructed to return the favor by sending "inquirers" back to mainline churches when requested.
  12. ^ Sweeney, Jon M. (February 21, 2018). "How Billy Graham shaped American Catholicism". America. Retrieved April 2, 2018. A few years later, in 1964, Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston (who, as archbishop, had even endorsed a Graham crusade in Boston in 1950) met with Mr. Graham upon returning from Rome and the Second Vatican Council, declaring before a national television audience that Mr. Graham's message was good for Catholics.
  13. ^ a b Horstmann, Barry M. (June 27, 2002). "Man with a mission". Cincinnati Post. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2007.
  14. ^ Molly Worthen (February 4, 2015). "Evangelical Boilerplate". The Nation. Retrieved April 2, 2023. "[...] during his sixty years of full-time evangelism, 215 million people heard him preach in person, and another 2 billion tuned in to telecasts. His radio (and later television) show Hour of Decision reached 20 million homes in the 1950s..."
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gallup 2018 most admired list was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Wacker 2014, pp. 24–25.

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