If you know even a little bit of the life of Billy Graham you have heard of the two-word phrase....."Puff Graham." Just as God had prepared Cyrus the Great to give an edict for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.....he prepared William Randolph Hearst....in the middle of that famous 1949 Los Angeles crusade....to give that two-word directive to all of his newspapers. 'Puff Graham' meant to put him on the front pages.....to build him up.....for Hearst knew a good story when he saw one.....God had made sure of that!
The ultimate result of making this young preacher from North Carolina an instant celebrity was that for the next almost six decades Americans could not go very long without coming across a Billy Graham crusade on their television sets. God was out of our public schools but the evangelistic message given by Billy Graham permeated our life through the television. While flipping channels from Peter Gunn to the Danny Thomas Show in 1959, or from Lawrence Welk to Green Acres in 1969, or from Threes Company to Hawaii Five-O in 1979, or from Twin Peaks to Cheers in 1989, or Frazier to Family Guy in 1999, one might very well come to a crusade....and be drawn....if even for a minute or so....to those powerful words spoken in a strong southern drawl....."Come foreword.....your friends will wait for you.....commit your life to Jesus Christ!
The Reverend Graham was very well-known for his friendships with US Presidents. I have a feeling that this might not be what he was most thankful for as he looked back upon his ministry....a ministry that seemed to change somewhat after Richard Nixon. He wrote these humble words in his last book....Where I am...."I wish I had preached more on the Resurrection of Christ because without it, there would be no Gospel."
This is my opinion.....my observation......that Billy Graham's ministry became more intense in the 1980s concerning God's warnings to America and to the entire world. One book reviewer even lamented that the Reverend Graham's books took on a much more serious tone the longer that he lived. The 'friend to presidents' many times became the 'sinners in the hands of an angry God' preacher. Indeed the introductory chapter of that last and finest book of his....Where I Am.....implored of the reader to consider that there is a hell....and that God is not mocked....and that we must receive Him....on His terms!
We no longer have Billy Graham's crusades on television.....we no longer have God in our schools.....and we no longer have Christian bookstores everywhere. Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul have both gone on to be with their Lord and Savior.....and both men.....once again from my observations..... felt an increasingly extreme urgency at the end of their lives to proclaim that Jesus Christ was returning in power and glory.....and judgment.
The ultimate result of making this young preacher from North Carolina an instant celebrity was that for the next almost six decades Americans could not go very long without coming across a Billy Graham crusade on their television sets. God was out of our public schools but the evangelistic message given by Billy Graham permeated our life through the television. While flipping channels from Peter Gunn to the Danny Thomas Show in 1959, or from Lawrence Welk to Green Acres in 1969, or from Threes Company to Hawaii Five-O in 1979, or from Twin Peaks to Cheers in 1989, or Frazier to Family Guy in 1999, one might very well come to a crusade....and be drawn....if even for a minute or so....to those powerful words spoken in a strong southern drawl....."Come foreword.....your friends will wait for you.....commit your life to Jesus Christ!
The Reverend Graham was very well-known for his friendships with US Presidents. I have a feeling that this might not be what he was most thankful for as he looked back upon his ministry....a ministry that seemed to change somewhat after Richard Nixon. He wrote these humble words in his last book....Where I am...."I wish I had preached more on the Resurrection of Christ because without it, there would be no Gospel."
This is my opinion.....my observation......that Billy Graham's ministry became more intense in the 1980s concerning God's warnings to America and to the entire world. One book reviewer even lamented that the Reverend Graham's books took on a much more serious tone the longer that he lived. The 'friend to presidents' many times became the 'sinners in the hands of an angry God' preacher. Indeed the introductory chapter of that last and finest book of his....Where I Am.....implored of the reader to consider that there is a hell....and that God is not mocked....and that we must receive Him....on His terms!
We no longer have Billy Graham's crusades on television.....we no longer have God in our schools.....and we no longer have Christian bookstores everywhere. Billy Graham and R. C. Sproul have both gone on to be with their Lord and Savior.....and both men.....once again from my observations..... felt an increasingly extreme urgency at the end of their lives to proclaim that Jesus Christ was returning in power and glory.....and judgment.
