How Billy Graham Avoided Scandal His Entire Life

Evangelist Billy Graham lived 99 years, wrote 30 books, met with 12 sitting American presidents and preached the gospel to millions. But when he is buried this Friday, March 2, in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina, he will be remembered not only as a world-changing hero of faith but as a humble preacher whose personal integrity set the gold standard for every minister in this country.

Why was this man so respected? How was he able to keep his ministry free from scandal for more than 75 years?

In 1948, when Graham was just 30 years old, he and his small ministry team met for Bible study and prayer at a tiny motel in Modesto, California. The other men in that meeting including assistant evangelist Grady Wilson, singer George Beverly Shea and song leader Cliff Barrows. Graham challenged them to pray about what codes of behavior they needed to adopt in order to keep the ministry clean.

The results of that meeting were profoundly prophetic. The men outlined what would become "the Modesto Manifesto"—a list of core ministry values that became the guiding principles of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The BGEA was founded two years later, in 1950, just one year after media coverage of Graham's eight-week gospel campaign in Los Angeles made him a household word.

Here are the four key components of the Modesto Manifesto, along with notes that Cliff Barrows jotted down in their meeting:

Honesty: "It was resolved that all communications to media and to the church would not be inflated or exaggerated. The size of crowds and the number of inquirers would not be embellished for the sake of making BGEA look better."

Integrity: "It was resolved that financial matters would be submitted to a board of directors for review and facilitation of expenditures. Every local crusade would maintain a policy of 'open books' and publish a record of where and how monies were spent."

Purity: "It was resolved that members of the team would pay close attention to avoiding temptation—never being alone with another woman, remaining accountable to one another, etc. A practice of keeping wives informed of their activities on the road and helping them feel a part of any and all crusades they undertook would be encouraged."

Humility: "It was resolved that members of the team were never to speak badly of another Christian minister, regardless of his denominational affiliation or differing theological views and practices. The mission of evangelism includes strengthening the body of Christ as well as building it!"

Graham has always been a spiritual hero to me for this reason. Early in his ministry—in fact, before he ever became famous—he realized that his ministry was a stewardship from God and that he could not run it any way he wanted. He had to manage it according to clear biblical principles.

Graham never forgot his humble roots, and he never let popularity change him into an egotistical monster. Even though he was invited to dine with presidents, queens and celebrities, his passion was taking the message of Christ to the common person. And when an usher tried to segregate black and white sections of an auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1953, Graham removed the barriers himself. Related Articles

"I am not a great preacher, and I don't claim to be a great preacher," he once said. "I've heard great preaching many times and wished I was one of these great preachers. I'm an ordinary preacher, just communicating the gospel in the best way I know how."

He also carried with him a healthy fear that he might try to touch God's glory or take credit for evangelistic results.

Graham said: "So many people think that somehow I carry a revival around in a suitcase, and they just announce me and something happens—but that's not true. This is the work of God, and the Bible warns that God will not share His glory with another. All the publicity that we receive sometimes frightens me because I feel that therein lies a great danger. If God should take His hand off me, I would have no more spiritual power. The whole secret of the success of our meetings is spiritual—it's God answering prayer. I cannot take credit for any of it."

So much of what we call ministry today has been compromised by ego, marketing and man-made agendas. Some of our own "Spirit-filled" preachers are happy to sell a healing or a financial miracle for $29.95. Others claim spiritual superiority because they have the largest following on social media or because so many lined up to attend their packed conferences.

We have exchanged honesty, integrity, purity and humility for hype, fake anointing, manipulated photos, inflated attendance reports, sensuality and boastful swagger. God forgive us.

Billy Graham raised the bar for all ministers. I pray we will never forget his legacy.

Would Jesus even be good enough for you?

How 'bout this guy???

Dear Sirs:

I understand that a position as pastor is open in your church and I would like to apply for it. I have some qualifications for the work, and this letter is an honest review of my past service in the ministry.

I am almost 60 years of age and have been in the ministry for about 25 years. I’ve never lasted very long in any one place, but once I did stay in one church three years. People say my health is not good, but I ignore these kinds of irritants and press on anyway, believing my ill health is actually an advantage to keep my big ego in check.

I’m a strong leader and have usually wound up in charge of everything I’ve ever done. I’ll be frank with you, I’m not always popular, and have been expelled from a number of cities where I ministered. But in every case it was because of a trouble-making opposition I seem to get everywhere I go. I just preach the truth and some people get angry when they hear it.

You may hear about the time when I confronted the highest leader in my denomination to his face -- in front of an entire church body. But he was clearly in the wrong and he backed down. It is that simple: I was right, and he was wrong. I spoke the truth, as I always do. And my truth won the day.

I have seldom been able to work full-time in the ministry, so I have usually had employment outside of my ministry to help support me. In some churches I received no salary at all, and occasionally my job even provided for paying the staff too, though that was not the average situation. Don't the idea though that I worked only with large churches. Most of the churches I've worked with were small, and all of them were able to meet in a house or small hall.

I am a good preacher and well-trained in Bible truths though I often preach longer than people think I should—sometimes for several hours. And you might hear that I have even preached all night at times.

I have had some success at church planting, though some believe my methods are wrong. What I do is enter a new city and find the local religious gathering. I attend there until I get an opportunity to teach or speak, then I show them how their doctrine is wrong and the doctrine I teach is correct. This usually causes a lot of division, and those who side with me generally split off the original group and with that core group I start a new church.

In case you follow up on my references you may discover some questionable events. So I need to give my side on these stories. Yes, it is true that I am guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. But that was before I accepted Christ. And it is true that because of several problems since becoming a Christian, I have been put in jail. But most of these were short stays, though I have just been released from a four-year stint -- two years in Caesarea and the last two here in Rome. But I’ve never given up on my faith—even as a convict. Yes, I have been accused as a trouble-maker but these are false accusations, the real trouble-makers are the Jews who keep following me everywhere I go stirring up trouble against me.

Spiritually I have had an incredible journey. Early in my ministry I had "another world" experience—which I do not even talk about. I heard inexpressible things. And you need not worry about a charismatic influence, for I am a hard-liner on that issue, always limiting speaking in tongues to a few at a time, and though I speak with tongues myself more than most everybody else, I never do so in public meetings.

I have always worked in a staff ministry, and usually expect a staff as normal. If your church can't pay them, I will figure out a way to have them work directly for me. My staff is generally loyal to me, in fact I demand it. In my first staff relationship, the senior member of the staff quickly recognized that I was more competent than he was, and he stepped down to the associate role so I could assume the leadership of our staff. Later that year the third member of our staff left abruptly walked out, but I thought at that time he was too soft for the ministry anyway. Eventually I lost my associate too when he tried to persuade me to bring that young fellow back on staff. I refused. He left and started another ministry, though we are still friends. I have been used to working with a large staff, but I admit that I've had a lot of staff turnover -- few of them stay very long. That's what multiplication is all about, though isn't it? As to my wife, I do not give any details other than I will be accompanied wherever I go not by her but by a physician, a faithful layman who has been with me for quite a while. He will be moving with me to wherever I go next.

There may be other rumors and accusations about me that you hear when following up my references Strong leaders have strong opposition. So, I wish to address these other rumors and reports directly to you as follows:

I can get along with church leaders, so long as they are not narrow-minded and legalistic.
I am not a church splitter. The only division I ever cause is where falsehood is being preached.
I am not a liberal on issues of behavior and keeping church traditions—though the Jerusalem headquarters ruled gentiles can't eat meat offered to idols, I have adapted that rule in the gentile churches -- face it, the headquarters is often in the business of protecting the old wineskins. I allow the gentiles in my churches to eat idol-meat, unless it would cause another to stumble.
As for legalism, it is true that I am an avid opponent of it and will do everything in my power to defeat these evil people who are enemies of the true gospel.
The single woman we stayed in that first week in Europe was a new convert and she had said, "If you consider me a believer, come home and stay with me." Besides, there were several of us anyway, and she had servants there too.
I did not use a new-age seeker-approach to reach the academic community. I merely started where they were—in a belief in an unknown God.
It is true that I stayed several years with one married couple never getting my own house, but that was on their invitation.
My involvement in casting out demons is not the primary focus of my ministry.
I do not have a "death-wish," and the only reason I refused to listen to the Christians about my plans to go back to the city where I was most opposed was because they were wrong in discerning the Lord's will and I was right.
I am not personally benefiting from my ministry and not making tons of money off of it—I do not even break even.
I did not even touch the big offering I have been raising for the last 20 years. I never transport the money myself and always have several witnesses hold it and take the cash to the project—I do not handle offering monies whatever you have heard from one of my former churches.

I hope you will consider my application.

I beg your pardon! Billy and Ruth Graham were best parents, and just because he was away on Crusades, it does not mean he did not speak to his family regularly. I am sure his rules were obeyed.

The PROOF is in how his children turned out! Franklin is Samaritans Purse and does awesome work around the world.

Anne Graham Lotz is a teacher, and I was listening to her on 106.9 the other day, as I traveled in my car! She explained the warning from the Eclipse last year, and it’s effects on USA....within short time Hurricane Harvey, Irma, and California fires created more devastation in $$ than any before, it was judgment! The warning was the Eclipse, per Scripture.
ALL of his children are in ministry today! Here is a quote from an article that tells their story:

‘Some might expect the offspring of the most influential religious leader in the modern world to live lives approaching perfection — whether by choice or force.

But Gigi, Anne, Ruth, Franklin and Ned, the children of Billy and Ruth Graham, would be the first to laugh at such a notion, even though all are involved in Christian ministry today.”

The Bible is clear ALL are sinners, and how do you understand GRACE and SALVATION, if you were a perfect person. The end of how you live is proof of who you are, not beginning! REV BILLY GRAHAM AND WIFE RUTH raised some awesome people, and kept an international ministry going without SCANDAL!

I live here in WNC, and the Grahams were a part of this area. Respected, admired, and appreciated!

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