Posted on 03/05/2018 6:41:26 PM PST by metmom
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.
First of all, you whine too much Bramps.
And Billy Graham saying that infant baptism regenerates babies and makes them Christian, that IS A SCANDAL.
It's to my mind a scandal of epic proportions. It's a false doctrine, it's not simply "something he said about baptism."
It is scandalous that he said it and it's worse that he believed it.
Seriously, I could over look it if he had sex outside of marriage. He was away from his wife and children far more than he was ever with them. It seems abnormal to me that a heterosexual man would be sexless over half of every year.
But I have a harder time on him being supportive of infant baptism.
I also think is scandalous, some of the positive remarks he made about Islam.
So, I'm disagreeing with the article. He wasn't scandal-free.
And no, I'm not saying at all that I'm better than him. In fact, I'm sure I'm far worse.
But it's crazy that some folks won't even cotton a discussion of the real words Graham spoke.
I went to school in that area, so I know exactly what you mean, but I attributed it to being the birthplace of Joseph Smith’s false visions and Mormonism, as well as a 19th century hotbed of gambling and bootleg era gangsterism, not Charles Finney!
Anyway, the Holy Spirit works one heart at a time, not en masse. We are to “preach the word in season and out of season”, and trust that “My Word never comes back to Me void except that it accomplishes that which I sent it out to do” Isaiah 55:11
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal “force” - it is a person. I attended a racous non denominational spirit filled church in the area, that was very much alive... so it all depends upon the faith of the preacher and the open hearts to the “abundant life in the spirit” that Christ promises.
Revival only happens one heart at a time, beginning with us. One cannot repent for another’s sins, and repentance is the foundation of revival.
But that kind of "revival" (which can only proceed from something already gone dead) is not typical of the era reaching from the 1870s to the 1970s where "Christianity" was mostly evidenced in what may be rather called "churchianity" and exclusively denominational, and declining especially after WWII.
While I am aware of a couple of BGEA "Crusades" there, they produced a temporarily fevered response at the moment, but was quickly subsident for lack of substantive ongoing support of the denominations afterward. One should note that TV (1950+) and televangelism had a marked deleterious effect on church attendance, as well as on the power of radio broadcasting.
Right now, the whole area is full of drugs and Satanism even, maybe especially, in the rural and semi-rural areas. I don't feel that I would want to go back and live there now, it has changed so much for the worse in every area of life. Unless I felt a special call, I wouldn't even try to mount a self-conceived ongoing evangelical effort there.
New York State needs prayer for live-in "tent-makers" called to go and establish their secular work income, whilst reaching out to form up regular students from Bible-thirsty seekers who have no hope from the main-line denominations. It would not be wrrong to go and wrangle some of those sheep away from the dead churches as one aspect of an outreach.
Finneyism or Grahasmism quick-turnover mass say-a-prayer evangelism will not and cannot work in these last days before the Lord's Return for His Own.
It is only steady recruiting and induction of discipling studiers with each diligently growing from spiritual babes to children to overcomers, that will show any hope of success.
I agree with the “Grahamism” statements, I have read about and observed what you are saying about the after-effects of his crusades.
Admittedly I have only read a couple of Finney’s books, but what I’ve read is solid.
You have a heart for the people of God, be encouraged that with Him nothing is impossible. I pray for fresh vision for you... “without a vision, people perish” ... in His name.
Except for Rome's Joseph; who; apparently; put up with at LEAST 12 years worth of Rome's Mary's rejections.
Might as well; as I copied it from somewhere myself.
John 6:67-69 ESV
So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
1 Timothy 4:12 KJV
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+32&version=NIV
See verse 6...
I have found; over the years of leading bible studies; that it is not so hard to teach folks what is in the Bible; as it is SO hard to UNTEACH what AIN'T!!
NOW you've aggravated our FR Catholics!!
We have enough of those on FR anyway!
A little along the line of Reagan’s quote?
“It isn’t so much that liberals are ignorant. It’s just that they know so many things that aren’t so
Someone has to ‘snatch them from the fire’!
Remember fellow Christians...
We seem to be like the blind men who inspected the elephant.
None had the complete picture of just what was before them.
Ther ya go!
I am not sure why Catholics would be offended, if Jesus is their Savior? Here is clear link to WHY a Christian would not want to be in Free Masons. And we cannot serve two Masters, plus Jesus Christ is Lord; First Commandment...no other God’s before him!
https://www.namb.net/Resources/PDF/Comparison_Chart_Freemasonary_and_Christianity.pdf
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