Early Life and FamilyEarly Life and FamilyBorn in Charlotte, North Carolina, Billy Graham was raised in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church by his parents, Frank Graham and Morrow Coffey Graham, and changed denominations to Southern Baptist in 1934 during a Christian revival meeting, conducted by Mordecai Ham. Graham was ordained a Southern Baptist minister in 1939.
After graduating from Sharon High School in May 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College (now Bob Jones University) but found it to be extremely fundamentalist and, considering this disobliging, he transferred to the Florida Bible Institute, now Trinity College of Florida, in 1937 and graduated from Wheaton College in 1943. It was during his time at Wheaton that Graham decided to take the Bible as the infallible word of God. Henrietta Mears of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood was instrumental in helping Graham wrestle with the issue, which was settled at Forest Home Christian camp (now called Forest Home Ministries) southeast of the Big Bear area in Southern California. A simple memorial there still marks the site of Graham's decision.
In 1943, Graham married Ruth Bell, whose parents were Christian missionary doctors in China. Today, he and his wife have three daughters, two sons (including Franklin Graham, who now administers his organization, and Anne Graham Lotz, who runs AnGeL ministries), 19 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Although Graham is Southern Baptist he has embraced the doctrine of infant baptism which is accepted by the majority of Christians (but not Southern Baptist) and all of Graham's children were baptized as infants.
Graham joined Youth for Christ after graduating from Wheaton. He traveled throughout the United States and Europe as an evangelist. Graham scheduled a series of missions in Los Angeles in 1949. The missions went on for 8 weeks after being originally schedule for only 3 weeks. This happened on many other of his early missions. He had missions in London which lasted 12 weeks, and a New York City mission in Madison Square Garden in 1957 which ran nightly for 16 weeks.
He also led a very successful crusade (the first of several) in Australia in 1959. Counselors in training to talk with people coming forward for conversion were provided with kits which included peppermint and musk lifesavers, to ensure that their breath would not be offensive to the people being counseled. This crusade was regarded as being the most effective preaching of the gospel in Australian history and its effects led to the church growing consistently over the next 15 years and numerous new churches being founded. Many home Bible groups that were formed lasted 35 years or more.
According to Ben Bagdikian's The Media Monopoly, Graham was catapulted out of obscurity by news moguls William Randolph Hearst and Henry Luce who thought that Graham would be helpful in promoting their conservative anti-communist views. Hearst sent a telegram to his editors reading "Puff Graham", while Luce put him on the cover of TIME in 1954.
Graham served as the President of Northwestern College in Minnesota from 1948 to 1952. He founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 1950, headquartered in Minneapolis. The Association later relocated to Charlotte, N.C. BGEA Ministries have included:
Throughout his ministry, Graham had a reputation for holding crusades in places other evangelists considered impossible. During the Cold War, Graham spoke to large crowds in countries throughout Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union. During Apartheid in South Africa, Graham would not speak unless the crowds were allowed to sit desegregated. Graham was also one of the few preachers allowed to speak in North Korea.
On June 24, 2005, Billy Graham began what he has said would be his last North American crusade, at Flushing Meadows Park in New York City. But, on the weekend of March 11–12, 2006 Billy Graham held the "Festival of Hope", together with his son, Franklin Graham. The festival was held in New Orleans, which was recently hit by Hurricane Katrina. Over 1,360 were converted during the weekend event, supported by 215 churches across the New Orleans metro area.
Graham said that his planned retirement was due to his failing health. He has suffered from Parkinson's disease for about 15 years, has had fluid on the brain, pneumonia, broken hips, and recently revealed that he is suffering from prostate cancer.
In August 2005, a frail Graham appeared at the groundbreaking for his library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then 86, the Rev. Graham was forced to use a walker to get around during the ceremony.
On July 9, 2006, Graham spoke at the Metro Maryland Franklin Graham Festival, held in Baltimore, Maryland, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Billy Graham has preached Christianity to live audiences of over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings including Mission World and Global Mission. Graham also reached hundreds of millions more through television, video, film, and webcasts.
Billy Graham is best known for his evangelistic crusades. He began this form of ministry in 1947 and continued until recently. Most of the planning is now by his son, Franklin Graham and some youth crusades are by his grandson, Will Graham, but Billy often still speaks at them. He often rents out a large venue, such as a stadium, park, or street, and packs it with people. He has an army of up to 5,000 people to sing in a choir and then preaches the gospel and invites people to come forward. These people, called inquirers, are then given the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a counselor who clarifies any questions the inquirer may have and prays with that person. The inquirers are often also given some resources such as a Gospel of John or Bible study booklet to help them grow in their faith.
A list of Billy Graham's major crusades:
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Politically, Graham has been a registered member of the Democratic Party, although in recent years he has adopted a flexible position, choosing to cast his vote with either party, depending on which he considers most appropriate at the time. He has had close relationships with Lyndon B. Johnson and Bill Clinton, but he is also very close to the Bush family. Just two days before the 2000 presidential election, Graham spoke at a prayer breakfast in Florida with George W. Bush in attendance and stopped short of formally endorsing him. Nevertheless his words were widely viewed as an endorsement:
"Well, it’s a privilege for me to be here with Governor and Mrs. Bush. We’ve known them since almost [when they were] children and spent a great deal of time with him both in Maine and in Washington when they were there. I’ve seen them many times in other places. I had the privilege of leading the inaugural prayer when he was inaugurated Governor of Texas. And I have been praying for this crucial election. And I think it’s a crucial election, a critical election in the history of America. And I think that, uh, I’ve been praying that God’s will shall be done. I don’t endorse candidates. But I’ve come as close to it, I guess, now as any time in my life, because I think it’s extremely important. We have in our state absentee voting. I’ve already voted. I’ll just let you guess who I voted for. And my family the same way. And we believe that there’s going to be a tremendous victory and change by Tuesday night in the direction of the country. Putting it in good hands. I believe in the integrity of this man. I’ve known him as a boy, I’ve known him as a young man, I’ve known him now still as a young man. And we’re very proud of him. I’m very thankful for the privilege of calling him friend, and his wife. It’s worth getting him the White House to get her in the White House…. Laura is a special person, I can tell you. The things that she can dream of and do…. When we were in Puerto Rico holding meetings, the governors were having their governors convention down there. I suppose it was the Southern Governors. And she brought some of the governors’ wives to our meeting. And just little things that I can remember many times that has bonded my heart and life to them. And if they, by God’s will, win, I’m going to do everything in my power to help them make it a successful presidency. God bless all of you."
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association offers the following statement with regard to his politics:
It is true that many, many years ago Mr. Graham registered as a Democrat. However, throughout the years he has voted for the candidate he believes will do the best job. In other words, he has not voted a straight party ticket. Mr. Graham takes his responsibility to vote for the leaders of our country with the same prayerful seriousness that he takes other significant decisions.Mr. Graham has always maintained an optimistic attitude toward people. He seeks the good and emphasizes what is positive, even if he does not agree with them on many points, including moral or political issues. Mr. Graham's comments sometimes are not presented in the complete context in which they were made; while at other times, he himself would perhaps wish he might have phrased things a bit differently. However, he does not presently and never has condoned or defended immoral conduct.Mr. Graham's lifelong calling has been to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ throughout the world. As you are aware, he has been faithful to this mission. He has not compromised his message.
According to a 2006 Newsweek interview, "For Graham, politics is a secondary to the Gospel... When NEWSWEEK asked Graham whether ministers — whether they think of themselves as evangelists, pastors or a bit of both — should spend time engaged with politics, he replied: 'You know, I think in a way that has to be up to the individual as he feels led of the Lord. A lot of things that I commented on years ago would not have been of the Lord, I'm sure, but I think you have some—like communism, or segregation, on which I think you have a responsibility to speak out.'"
Graham has been very outspoken against communism and generally supportive of U.S. Cold War policy, including the Vietnam War. However, in a 1999 speech, Graham discussed his relationship with the late North Korean dictator Kim Il Sung, praising him as a "different kind of communist" and "one of the great fighters for freedom in his country against the Japanese." Graham went on to note that although he'd never met Kim's son and current North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, he had "exchanged gifts with him."
Graham attended a 33rd degree initiation ceremony in 1966. As these rites are not usually open to the public, this has fueled speculation that Graham may be, or may have been, a Freemason himself.
In 2002, declassified "Richard Nixon tapes" revealed remarks made by Graham to President Richard M. Nixon decades earlier. Graham openly voiced his belief that Jews control the American media, calling it a "stranglehold" during a 1972 conversation with Nixon. "This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain," said Graham, agreeing with Nixon's comments about Jews and their influence in American life. Later, Graham mentions that he has friends in the media who are Jewish, saying they "swarm around me and are friendly to me." But, he confides to Nixon, "They don't know how I really feel about what they're doing to this country." These remarks were highly controversial, with jewish organizations characterizing them as anti-Semitic.
When the tapes were released, Graham apologized for his remarks, stating that "although I have no memory of the occasion, I deeply regret comments I apparently made ... They do not reflect my views, and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks. If it wasn't on tape, I would not have believed it. I guess I was trying to please... I went to a meeting with Jewish leaders and I told them I would crawl to them to ask their forgiveness." According to Newsweek magazine, "the shock of the revelation was magnified because of Graham's longtime support of Israel and his refusal to join in calls for the conversion of the Jews."
Billy Graham has received the Congressional Gold Medal; the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion; and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award for contributions to the cause of faith and freedom.
He has received the Big Brother of the Year Award for his work on behalf of the welfare of children. He has been cited by the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute for his contributions to race relations. He has also been recognized by the Anti-Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith and the National Conference of Christians and Jews for his efforts to foster a better understanding among all faiths.
For providing a platform during his events for many Christian musical artists—many new to singing and songwriting and others not so new—Billy Graham was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Gospel Music Association.
On September 14, 2001 in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Dr. Graham led a prayer and remembrance service at Washington National Cathedral attended by President George W. Bush and past and present leaders.
In December 2001 he was presented with an honorary knighthood, Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), for his international contributions to civic and religious life over 60 years.
Graham has been the minister to several presidents, including speaking at one presidential funeral and one presidential burial. Graham presided over the graveside services for former president Lyndon Johnson in 1973 and took part in eulogizing the former president with former Texas Democratic governor John Connally, an LBJ protégé and fellow Texan who was wounded in the assassination that made LBJ president. Graham also spoke at Connally's funeral and the funeral of former first lady Pat Nixon within one week of each other in June of 1993. He also spoke at the funeral of Richard Nixon in 1994. Graham was unable to officiate the state funeral of Ronald Reagan on June 11, 2004 due to recent double hip replacement surgery, which former President George H.W. Bush acknowledged during his own eulogy. Graham had been Reagan's first choice. Because Graham was hospitalized, Rev. John Danforth, Missouri Republican senator in Reagan's day, officiated the funeral.
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