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A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of preaching include exposition, exhortation and practical application.

In Christianity, a sermon (also known as a homily within some churches) is often delivered in a place of worship, most of which have a pulpit or ambo, an elevated architectural feature. The word "sermon" comes from a Middle English word which was derived from an Old French term, which in turn came from the Latin word sermō; ("discourse"), although links have been made between the Latin word serere, which means 'to join together', so this leaves the modern Latin definition open to interpretation. The word can mean "conversation", which could mean that early sermons were delivered in the form of question and answer, and that only later did it come to mean a monologue. In contrast to this are examples from the Bible, where sermons are speeches without interlocution: Moses' sermon in Deuteronomy 1-33 [1]; Jesus' sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 [2]; Peter's sermon after Pentecost in Acts 2:14-40 [3].

In modern language, the word "sermon" can also be used pejoratively in secular terms to describe a lengthy or tedious speech delivered with great passion, by any person, to an uninterested audience. A sermonette is a short sermon (usually associated with television broadcasting, as stations would present a sermonette before signing off for the night).

Sermons in the Christian tradition[link]

The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch.

In Christianity, the most famous sermon is the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus of Nazareth. This sermon was probably preached around 30 A.D. and is recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (5:1–7:29, including introductory and concluding material) as being delivered on a mount on the north end of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum. The Sermon on the Mount lays out many of the core principles of Christianity. Another rendition of much of the same material may be found in the "Sermon on the Plain" in the Gospel of Luke (6:17–49, including introductory material).

During the later history of Christianity, several figures became known for their sermons or a particularly significant sermon. Preachers of the early church include Peter (see especially Acts 2:14b–36), Stephen (see Acts 7:1b–53), Tertullian, John Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzus. Sermons in this era were used to spread Christianity across Europe and Asia Minor. During the Middle Ages, sermons inspired the beginnings of new religious institutes (e.g., Saint Dominic and Francis of Assisi). Pope Urban II began the First Crusade in November 1095 at the Council of Clermont, France, when he exhorted French knights to retake the Holy Land in Palestine.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, the art of preaching has developed through the theological field of homiletics.

Many sermons have been written down, collected and published. Such sermons include John Wesley's 53 Standard Sermons, John Chrysostom's Homily on the Resurrection (preached every Easter in Orthodox churches) and Gregory Nazianzus' homily "On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ" (preached every Christmas in Orthodox churches). Martin Luther began a tradition of publishing sermons (Hauspostille) on the Sunday lessons for the edification of readers. This tradition was continued by Chemnitz and Arndt and others into the following centuries — for example CH Spurgeon's stenographed sermons, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit.^[1]

Role in Protestantism[link]

"The certain mark by which a Christian community can be recognized is the preaching of the gospel in its purity."—Luther^[2]

The Reformation led to Protestant sermons, many of which defended the schism with the Roman Catholic Church and explained beliefs about scripture, theology and devotion. The distinctive doctrines of Protestantism held that salvation was by faith alone, and convincing people to believe the Gospel and place trust in God for their salvation through Jesus Christ was the decisive step in salvation. In many Protestant churches, the sermon came to replace the Eucharist as the central act of Christian worship (although some Protestants such as Lutherans give equal time to a sermon and the Eucharist in their Divine Service). The goal of many Protestant's worship, as conditioned by these beliefs, was to rouse the congregation to a deeper faith, rather than have them just partake in rituals.

In the 18th and 19th centuries during the Great Awakening, major sermons were made at revivals, which were especially popular in the United States. These sermons were noted for their "fire-and-brimstone" message, typified by Jonathan Edwards's famous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" speech. In these sermons the wrath of God was clearly one to be afraid of, although fear was not the message Edwards was trying to convey in his sermons, he was simply trying to tell the people that they could be forgiven for their sins.

Sermons in the Jewish Tradition[link]

Rabbinic ordination often includes the phrase, Rabbi, Teacher, and Preacher in Israel, and there is a long history of using sermons in Judaism as part of education, ethics, a call to repentance, or as a message of hope, often during difficult times.

In 1939, Rabbi Philip R. Alstat, an early leader of Conservative Judaism, spoke and wrote about the lesson of hope that the festival of Passover could give to the Jewish people, despite the rising power of Nazism in Europe:^[3] he counseled hope, and even gratitude, as part of Jewish strength to withstand the pain of events in Europe:

Perhaps in our generation the counsel of our Talmudic sages may seem superfluous, for today the story of our enslavement in Egypt is kept alive not only by ritualistic symbolism, but even more so by tragic realism. We are the contemporaries and witnesses of its daily re-enactment. Are not our hapless brethren in the German Reich eating "the bread of affliction"? Are not their lives embittered by complete disenfranchisement and forced labor? Are they not lashed mercilessly by brutal taskmasters behind the walls of concentration camps? Are not many of their men-folk being murdered in cold blood? Is not the ruthlessness of the Egyptian Pharaoh surpassed by the sadism of the Nazi dictators?
And yet, even in this hour of disaster and degradation, it is still helpful to "visualize oneself among those who had gone forth out of Egypt." It gives stability and equilibrium to the spirit. Only our estranged kinsmen, the assimilated, and the de-Judaized, go to pieces under the impact of the blow....But those who visualize themselves among the groups who have gone forth from the successive Egypts in our history never lose their sense of perspective, nor are they overwhelmed by confusion and despair.... It is this faith, born of racial experience and wisdom, which gives the oppressed the strength to outlive the oppressors and to endure until the day of ultimate triumph when we shall "be brought forth from bondage unto freedom, from sorrow unto joy, from mourning unto festivity, from darkness unto great light, and from servitude unto redemption.

In the same way, he preached a message of hope in 1938 when he said that,^[4] "Undaunted, we confidently expect that some day, somehow, the present low ebb of liberty and democracy will be followed by a rising tide whose onrush will irresistibly wash away the ramparts of tyranny." His sermons and articles targeted the Jewish community, the United States, the "family of nations," the "Jewish homeland in Palestine," and frequently described the importance of the "Jewish State" -- a nation yet not created, but which he supported with both his words and his actions. He shared his vision of that State by proclaiming that, "Whether the Jewish State be large or small, its importance in the family of nations will be determined, not by its limited area, but by its creative genius and cultural contributions to mankind. Like Judaea and Athens of old, it may be only a small vessel, but exceedingly rich in precious content."^[5]

Types[link]

There are a number of different types of sermons, that differ both in their subject matter and by their intended audience, and accordingly not every preacher is equally well-versed in every type. The types of sermons are:

• Topical sermons - concerned with a particular subject of current concern;
• Liturgical sermons - sermons that explain the liturgy, why certain things are done during a service, such as why communion is offered and what it means.^[6]
• Biographical sermons - tracing the story of a particular biblical character through a number of parts of the Bible.
• Historical sermons - which seek to portray a biblical story within its historical perspective.^[7]
• Evangelistic sermons - seeking to convert the congregation or bring them back to their previous faith through a recounting of the foundational story of the religion, in Christianity, the Good News.
• Expository preaching - exegesis, that is sermons that expound and explain a text to the congregation.^[8]
• Redemptive-Historical Preaching - sermons that takes into consideration the context of any given text within the broader history of salvation as recorded in the canon of the bible.
• Narrative sermons - which tell a story, often a parable, or a series of stories, to make a moral point.
• Illuminative sermons, also known as proems (petihta) - which connect an apparently unrelated biblical verse or religious question with the current calendrical event or festival.^[9]

It is worth noting that sermons can be both written and spoken out loud.

Delivery methods[link]

Sermons also differ on the amount of time and effort used to prepare them.

• Scripted preaching — preaching with a previous preparation, it can be with help of notes or a script, or rely on the memory of the preacher.
• Extemporaneous preaching — preaching without overly detailed notes and sometimes without preparation. Usually a basic outline and scriptural references are listed as notes.
• Impromptu preaching — preaching without previous preparation.

With the advent of reception theory, researchers also became aware that how sermons are listened to affects their meaning as much as how they are delivered. The expectations of the congregation, their prior experience of listening to oral texts, their level of scriptural education, and the relative social positions — often reflected in the physical arrangement — of sermon-goers vis-a-vis the preacher are part of the meaning of the sermon.

See also[link]

Look up sermon or preach in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Preaching

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Sermon.

• Preacher
• List of preachers
• Expository preaching
• Extemporaneous preaching
• Popular Sermon of the Medieval Friar
• Khutba, Muslim analog
• Kerygma
• Theology
• Midrash
• Christian Virtues
• Redemptive-Historical Preaching

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• American Sermons: The Pilgrims to Martin Luther King Jr., Michael Warner, ed. (New York: The Library of America, 1999) ISBN 1-883011-65-5

• Edwards, O. C., Jr. A History of Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004. ISBN 0-687-03864-2

• Sullivan, Ceri, 'The Art of Listening in the Seventeenth Century', Modern Philology 104.1 (2006), pp. 34–71

• Georgiana Donavin, Cary J. Nederman, and Richard Utz, eds. Speculum Sermonis: Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Medieval Sermon. Turnhout: Brepols, 2007.

• Willimon, William H. and Richard Lischer, eds. Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995. ISBN 0-664-21942-X

Paul Washer
Nationality	American
Education	Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Occupation	Founder/Director, Missions Coordinator, Pastor
Religion	Christian (Calvinistic Baptist)
Spouse	Charo Washer

Paul David Washer (born 1961) is the Founder/Director & Missions Coordinator of HeartCry Missionary Society which supports indigenous missionary work.^[1] He is also a Southern Baptist itinerant preacher. Washer's sermons tend to have an evangelistic focus on the gospel and the doctrine of the assurance of salvation, and he frequently speaks against practices such as the sinner's prayer, and a focus on numerical church growth.

Biography[link]

Washer had a born again experience while studying to become an oil and gas lawyer at the University of Texas. Upon graduation, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and achieved a Master of Divinity degree. He then moved to Peru to become a missionary for 10 years, after which he returned to the United States. Washer resides in Radford, Virginia,^[2] where he lives with his wife and three children.

Washer's sermons often focus on the character of Christ and how a person is saved from hell. According to Washer, a person is saved through faith alone, but the evidence of a person's repentance is by walking with Jesus. Washer claims that most people who profess a belief in Christianity aren't truly saved. Washer blames preachers, as he claims many preachers often say a person is saved without looking for evidence of repentance in that person's life.

Washer cites Thomas Watson, R.C. Sproul, John F. MacArthur, George Muller, John Piper, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Leonard Ravenhill, John Wesley, A.W. Tozer and Martyn Lloyd-Jones among others, as influences.^[3] He has frequently appeared on Christian radio to discuss how people are saved.^[4]

Books[link]

• Washer, Paul (2004). The One True God. HeartCry Missionary Society. ISBN 978-0-9770234-0-0. 
• Washer, Paul (2009). Truth About Man. Granted Ministries Press. ISBN 978-0-9817321-1-4. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• HeartCry Missionary Organization Official site of Washer's organization.
• Shocking Message Transcript: http://www.scribd.com/doc/789/The-Truth-About-Christianity
• Regeneration vs. Idolatry of Decisional Evangelism: http://adidab.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/paul-washer-transcript-01-regeneration-v-the-idolatry-of-decisional-evangelism/
• Ten indictments video & transcript: http://adidab.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/paul-washer-transcript-03-ten-indictments/
• Truth About Man Workbook: http://www.heartcrymissionary.com/resources/online_books
• Brief Washer Biography: http://www.hcmissions.org/about/staff/2
• Paul Washer Bible Study Video Series Studies: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8872D3C0103E8568
• Paul Washer Biography on Theopedia: http://www.theopedia.com/Paul_Washer
• Paul Washer en Español: http://salvacioneterna.com/pwasher.html

Bishop T.D. Michael Jakes
Personal details
Birth name	Thomas Dexter Jakes
Born	(1957-06-09) June 9, 1957 (age 55) South Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Nationality	United States
Spouse	Elder Serita Ann Jakes
Occupation	Minister Evangelist Life Coach Author SpeakerActor

Thomas Dexter "T. D." Jakes, Sr. (born June 9, 1957) is the bishop/chief pastor of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch, with 30,000 members, located in Dallas, Texas.^[1] T. D. Jakes' church services and evangelistic sermons are broadcast on The Potter's Touch, which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Black Entertainment Television,^[2] the Daystar Television Network, The Word Network and The Miracle Channel in Canada. Other aspects of Jakes' ministry include an annual revival called "MegaFest" that draws more than 100,000 people, an annual women's conference called "Woman Thou Art Loosed", and gospel music recordings.

In the fall of 2009, Jakes planned on launching a secular daily talk show, syndicated through the CBS Television Distribution group; however, economic troubles in the industry may put his new program into jeopardy.^[3]

In 2005 Jakes accompanied President George W. Bush on his visit to the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In his book Decision Points, President Bush describes Jakes as "a kind of man who puts faith into action."

On January 20, 2009, Jakes led the early morning prayer service for President Barack Obama at St. John's Church in Washington, D.C., according to NBC News.

Early life and history[link]

On June 9, 1957, Thomas Dexter Jakes was born in South Charleston, West Virginia to Ernest Jakes, Sr., a janitor and entrepreneur,^[2] and Odith, an educator. Even as a child, he was known in his West Virginian neighborhood as "the bad Bible boy." He was also told he would never be able to preach because of his "bad" lisp.^[4] Shortly after his father's death from kidney failure, Jakes decided to go into ministry.^[2] In 1979, with very little funds of his own and with only ten initial members, he founded Greater Emmanuel Temple of Faith as a storefront church in Montgomery, West Virginia. Jakes maintained his day job digging ditches in order to support his ministry until the church was able to support him. During its first 10 years, the church grew to over 1,000 members.^[5] In 1982, Jakes turned to full-time ministry.^[2]

By 1990, his church had moved twice, first from Montgomery to the nearby community of Smithers, and from there to his hometown of South Charleston. In 1993, the church moved yet again within the Charleston area, to Cross Lanes; the building having been formerly a bank.^[6]

In 1995, when he was 38 years old, Jakes started his television ministry.^[4] In 1996, Jakes founded The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, with about 50 families that had relocated with him from his former congregation in Cross Lanes. Jakes purchased the property, which was previously Eagle's Nest Family Church, from W. V. Grant, after Grant was sentenced to 16 months in prison for tax-related crimes.^[7] In its 12 year existence, it has grown to over 30,000 members.^{[citation needed]} Both Jakes and his Potter's House church are unrelated to the Potter's House Christian Fellowship, a Pentecostal denomination founded in Arizona in 1971.

Family and heritage[link]

When he was 24 in 1981, he married Serita Ann Jamison.^[2] They have five children together (Jermaine, Jamar, Cora, Sarah, and Thomas Jakes, Jr.) Jakes is a strong advocate of abstinence and has made appearances on the subject ranging from Good Morning America to Dr. Phil.

On the PBS program African American Lives, Jakes had his DNA analyzed; his Y chromosome showed that he is descended from the Igbo people of Nigeria.^[8][9] According to his family history, it was also suggested that he is descended from them through his grandmother.^[10][11] He is a second cousin once removed of vocalist Will Wheaton and first cousin twice removed of actor James Wheaton.

Christian ministry[link]

Jakes' sermons are broadcast nationally and internationally over television and satellite television. He has written over 30 books, many of which have been featured on the New York Times best-selling list. Jakes is also a songwriter, a playwright, and performer. He founded the Christian record label Dexterity Sounds ^[12] as well as a theater and movie production company.^[13]

Jakes' church, The Potter's House, is active in ministry and outreach both locally and internationally. The Potter's House sends drugs and alcohol counseling to the inner city, volunteers to the elderly, to prostitutes and victims of domestic violence.^[4] Jakes also has a special interest in the continent of Africa, and The Potter's House launched an initiative that brought water wells, medicine, and ministry to thousands of people in and around Nairobi in Kenya.^[13]

Jakes hosted several popular national conferences, including "Woman, Thou Art Loosed," "G Unit: ManPower," and "God's Leading Ladies." Recently, Jakes combined those into a single event called "Megafest." Jakes regularly draws capacity crowds at his conferences and ministry events.^[13]

Awards and accomplishments[link]

Jakes has received numerous honors, including 13 honorary degrees and doctorates. He has also received Grammy and Dove Award nominations for Gospel album "Live at The Potter's House." PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly named Jakes among America's "Top 10 Religious Leaders." Time magazine featured Jakes on the cover of its September 17, 2001 issue with the provocative question: "Is This Man the Next Billy Graham?".^[5]

Writings[link]

• Intimacy With God
• Loved by God
• Can You Stand To Be Blessed?
• Naked And Not Ashamed?
• Loose That Man And Let Him Go
• Loose That Man And Let Him Go Work Book
• Positioning Yourself To Prosper
• Reposition Yourself: Living a Life Without Limits
• He-Motions: Even Strong Men Struggle
• Help! I'm Raising My Children Alone: A Guide for Single Ladies and Those Who Sometimes Feel They Are
• Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment
• Promises From God For Single Women
• Woman, Thou Art Loosed: Healing the Wounds of the Past
• Woman, Thou Art Loosed Devotional
• The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord
• Maximize the Moment : God's Action Plan For Your Life
• So You Call Yourself a Man?: Finally Devotional for Ordinary Men With Extraordinary Potential
• God's Leading Lady
• His Lady
• Jesus Walks (with me)
• Lay Aside the Weight
• Daddy Loves His Girls
• The Greatest Investment
• Mama Made the Difference
• TD Jakes Speaks To Men
• Overcoming the Enemy
• Life Overflowing: Six Pillars for Abundant Living
• Not Easily Broken, 2006
• Before You Do: Making Great Decisions That You Won't Regret, Atria Books, 2008. ISBN 978-1-4165-4728-0
• The Memory Quilt: A Christmas Story for Our Times, 2009
• Let it go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven , 2012

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

• 2004: Woman Thou Art Loosed — As himself (based on Jakes' novel of the same name)^[14]
• 2009: Not Easily Broken — Allen (based on another Jakes' novel).^[15]
• 2011: Jumping the Broom — Reverend James
• 2010: Munya — Reverend Brian

Further reading[link]

"Biography". Bishop T.D. Jakes. — T.D. Jakes Web site. http://www.tdjakes.com/bishops-bio/. Retrieved 11-24-2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• www.tdjakes.com — official site
• T.D. Jakes at the Internet Movie Database

Billy Graham
Billy Graham in 2008.
Born	William Franklin Graham, Jr. (1918-11-07) November 7, 1918 (age 93) Charlotte, North Carolina
Education	Diploma in Biblical Studies, Florida Bible Institute (Trinity Bible College), 1940 B.A. in Anthropology, Wheaton College, 1943
Occupation	Evangelist
Religion	Evangelical Christian
Spouse	Ruth Graham (m. 1943–2007; her death)
Children	Franklin, Nelson, Virginia, Anne Ruth
Signature
Ordained	Southern Baptist[1]
Offices held	President, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Title	Doctor (Honorary)
Website
www.billygraham.org

William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. (born November 7, 1918) is an American evangelical Christian evangelist, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status with national media backing of William Randolph Hearst and Henry Luce in 1949. His sermons were broadcast on radio and television, with some still re-broadcast today.

Graham is notable for having been a spiritual adviser to several United States Presidents; he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon.^[2] During the civil rights movement, he began to support integrated seating for his revivals and crusades; in 1957 he invited Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to jointly preach at a huge revival in New York City, where they appeared together at Madison Square Garden, and bailed the minister out of jail in the 1960s when he was arrested in demonstrations.

Having built an evangelical empire and organized huge events worldwide, Graham has personally preached the Gospel to more people than any other person in history. His institutions include a variety of media and publishing outlets.^[3] 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. As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion.^[3]

With his renown and international travel, Graham has repeatedly been on Gallup's list of most admired men and women. He has appeared on the list 55 times since 1955 (including 49 consecutive years), more than any other individual in the world.^[4]

Early life[link]

Named after his father and born November 7, 1918, he is the first son of Morrow Coffey (1892–1981) and William Franklin Graham, Sr. (1888–1962); he grew up on the family dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina. Called Billy, he was raised in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church by his parents and was of Scottish descent.^[5][6] In 1933, when Prohibition in the United States ended, Graham's father forced Billy and his sister Katherine to drink beer until they got sick, which created such an aversion that both avoided alcohol and drugs the rest of their lives.^[7]

After Graham was turned down for membership in a local youth group because he was "too worldly,"^[7] Albert McMakin, who worked on the Graham farm, persuaded the youth to go see Mordecai Ham, an evangelist.^[3] According to his autobiography, Graham was converted in 1934 at age 16 during a series of revival meetings in Charlotte led by the evangelist.^[8]

After graduating from Sharon High School in May 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College, located in Cleveland, Tennessee. After one semester, he found it too legalistic in both coursework and rules.^[7] At this time, he was influenced and inspired by Pastor Charley Young from Eastport Bible Church. He was almost expelled, but Bob Jones, Sr. warned him not to throw his life away: "At best, all you could amount to would be a poor country Baptist preacher somewhere out in the sticks.... You have a voice that pulls. God can use that voice of yours. He can use it mightily."^[7]

In 1937, Graham transferred to the Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity College of Florida). (Today's Florida College is now located at that site in Temple Terrace, Florida.) In his autobiography, Graham wrote of receiving his "calling on the 18th green of the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club," which is immediately in front of today's Sutton Hall at Florida College. Reverend Billy Graham Memorial Park was established on the Hillsborough River directly east of the 18th green and across from where Graham often paddled a canoe to a small island in the river, where he would preach to the birds, alligators, and cypress stumps. Graham eventually graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois with a degree in anthropology in 1943.^[9]

It was during his time at Wheaton that Graham decided to accept the Bible as the infallible word of God. Henrietta Mears of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood (Hollywood, California) was instrumental in helping Graham wrestle with the issue. He settled it at Forest Home Christian camp (now called Forest Home Ministries) southeast of the Big Bear area in Southern California.^{[citation needed]} A memorial there marks the site of Graham's decision.

Family[link]

On August 13, 1943, Graham married Wheaton classmate Ruth Bell (1920–2007), whose parents were Presbyterian missionaries in China. Her father L. Nelson Bell was a general surgeon. Graham met Ruth at Wheaton: "I saw her walking down the road towards me and I couldn't help but stare at her as she walked. She looked at me and our eyes met and I felt that she was definitely the woman I wanted to marry." Ruth thought that he "wanted to please God more than any man I'd ever met."^[10] They married two months after graduation and later lived in a log cabin designed by Ruth in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Montreat, North Carolina.^[7] Ruth died on June 14, 2007, at the age of 87.

They had five children together: Virginia Leftwich (Gigi) Graham Tchividjian (born 1945; an inspirational speaker and author); Anne Graham Lotz (born 1948; runs AnGeL ministries); Ruth Graham (born 1950; founder and president of Ruth Graham & Friends, leads conferences throughout the U.S. and Canada); Franklin Graham (born 1952), who serves as president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and as president and CEO of international relief organization, Samaritan's Purse^[11]; and Nelson Edman Graham (born 1958; a pastor who runs East Gates Ministries International,^[12] which distributes Christian literature in China). Graham has 19 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. His grandson Tullian Tchividjian is senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

To ensure no one mistook his actions, Graham had a policy to avoid being alone with any woman other than his wife Ruth. This has come to be known as the Billy Graham Rule.^[13]

Ministry[link]

Career[link]

While attending college, Graham became pastor of the United Gospel Tabernacle and also had other preaching engagements.

Graham served briefly as pastor of the Village Church in Western Springs, Illinois, not far from Wheaton, in 1943-44. While there, his friend Torrey Johnson, pastor of the Midwest Bible Church in Chicago, told Graham that his radio program "Songs in the Night" was about to be canceled for lack of funding. Consulting with the members of his church in Western Springs, Graham decided to take over Johnson's program with financial support from his parishioners. Launching the new radio program on January 2, 1944, still called Songs in the Night, Graham recruited the baritone George Beverly Shea as his director of radio ministry. While the radio ministry continued for many years, Graham decided to move on in early 1945. In 1947, at age 30, he was hired as president of Northwestern Bible College in St. Paul, Minnesota, the youngest person to serve as college president. Graham served as the president of Northwestern Bible College from 1948 to 1952.^[14]

Initially, Graham intended to become a chaplain in the armed forces but, shortly after applying for a commission, contracted mumps. After a period of recuperation in Florida, Graham was hired as the first full-time evangelist of the new Youth for Christ International (YFCI), co-founded by Torrey Johnson and the Canadian evangelist Charles Templeton. Graham traveled throughout both the United States and Europe as an YFCI evangelist. Unlike many evangelists, Graham had little formal theological training. Templeton applied to Princeton Theological Seminary for an advanced theological degree and urged Graham to do so as well, but the evangelist declined. He was already serving as the president of Northwestern Bible College.^[7][14]

Hearst bubble[link]

Graham scheduled a series of revival meetings in Los Angeles in 1949, for which he erected circus tents in a parking lot.^[3] He was given national coverage by the news mogul William Randolph Hearst. Scholars such as Ben Bagdikian believe that Hearst liked Graham's patriotism and appeals to youth; he thought the evangelist would help promote Hearst's conservative anti-communist views.^[15] The scholar Randall E. King notes that Hearst and Graham never met.^[16] Hearst sent a telegram to his newspaper editors: "Puff Graham" during the Los Angeles crusade and within five days, he gained national coverage.^[16][17] With such media attention, the crusade event ran for eight weeks—five weeks longer than planned. Graham became a national figure.^[18] Henry Luce also promoted Graham with coverage at this time, and by 1954 featured him on the cover of his magazine TIME.^[19]

Crusades[link]

Since his ministry began in 1947, Graham conducted more than 400 crusades in 185 countries and territories on six continents. The first Billy Graham Crusade, held Sept. 13-21, 1947, in the Civic Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Mich., was attended by 6,000 people. Graham was 29 years old. He called them crusades, after the medieval Christian forces who tried to conquer Jerusalem. He would rent a large venue, such as a stadium, park, or street. As the sessions got larger, he arranged a group of up to 5,000 people to sing in a choir. He would preach the gospel and invite people to come forward (a practice begun by Dwight L. Moody). Such people were called inquirers and were given the chance to speak one-on-one with a counselor, to clarify questions and pray together. The inquirers were often given a copy of the Gospel of John or a Bible study booklet. In Moscow in 1992, one-quarter of the 155,000 people in Graham's audience went forward at his call.^[7] During his crusades, he has frequently used the altar call song, "Just As I Am".^[20]

Graham was offered a five-year, $5 million contract from NBC to appear on television opposite Arthur Godfrey, but he turned it down in favor of continuing his touring revivals because of his prearranged commitments.^[10] Graham 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.

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association[link]

In 1950, Graham founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association with its headquarters in Minneapolis. The association later relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. BGEA Ministries have included:

• Hour of Decision, a weekly radio program broadcast around the world for more than 50 years
• Mission television specials broadcast in almost every market in the US and Canada
• A syndicated newspaper column, My Answer, carried by newspapers across the United States and distributed by Tribune Media Services
• Decision magazine, the official publication of the Association
• Christianity Today was started in 1956 with Carl F. H. Henry as its first editor
• Passageway.org, the website for a children's program created by BGEA
• World Wide Pictures, which has produced and distributed more than 130 films

Civil rights movement[link]

Graham with Martin Luther King

Graham had shown little concern for segregation until the civil rights movement began to receive national attention in the early 1950s. Many of his early crusades were segregated. In response to the civil rights movement, Graham began to adjust his approach but was inconsistent, refusing to speak in some segregated auditoriums, while speaking to segregated audiences at others. In 1953 he tore down the ropes that organizers had erected to separate the audience into racial sections; he recounted in his memoirs that he told two ushers to leave the barriers down "or you can go on and have the revival without me.".^[21] But, he later acceded to segregated seating at Dallas, Texas and Asheville, North Carolina. He sometimes preached that the Bible said nothing about segregation,^[22] but another time warned a white audience, "we have been proud and thought we were better than any other race, any other people. Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to stumble into hell because of our pride."^[23] After the 1954 US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that public school segregation was unconstitutional, Graham insisted on integrated seating at his revivals. His inconsistent approach in the early years has led to differing assessments by historians of his career and complicated his legacy.^[24]

From the mid-1950s on, Graham became increasingly opposed to segregation and racism, while keeping his eye on public opinion. For instance, in 1957 he invited Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to join him in the pulpit at his 16-week revival in New York City, where 2.3 million gathered at Madison Square Garden, Yankee Stadium, and Times Square to hear them.^[3] Graham never appeared publicly again with King, but he posted bail for the minister to get him released from jail in 1963 during the civil rights protests in Birmingham.^[25]

Graham's faith prompted his maturing view of race and segregation; the minister told one member of the KKK that integration was necessary primarily for religious reasons: "there is no scriptural basis for segregation," Graham argued, "The ground at the foot of the cross is level, and it touches my heart when I see whites standing shoulder to shoulder with blacks at the cross."^[26]

Later years[link]

Graham with his son, Franklin, at Cleveland Stadium, June 1994

Graham's visibility and popularity extended into the secular world. He created his own pavilion for the 1964 New York World's Fair.^[27] He appeared as a guest on a 1969 Woody Allen television special, where he joined the comedian in a witty exchange on theological matters.^[28] During the Cold War, Graham became the first evangelist of note to speak behind the Iron Curtain, addressing large crowds in countries throughout Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union, calling for peace.^[29] During the Apartheid era, Graham consistently refused to visit South Africa until its government allowed integrated seating for audiences. During his first crusade there in 1973, he openly denounced apartheid.^{[citation needed]}

Billy Graham at the Feyenoord-stadion in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (June 30, 1955)

In 1984, he led a series of summer meetings in the United Kingdom, called Mission England, using outdoor football grounds as venues.

Graham was interested in fostering evangelism around the world. In 1983, 1986 and 2000 he sponsored, organized and paid for massive training conferences for Christian evangelists from around the world; with the largest representations of nations ever held until that time. Over 157 nations were gathered in 2000 at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. At one revival in Seoul, South Korea, Graham attracted more than one million people to a single service.^[10] He appeared in China in 1988—for Ruth, this was a homecoming, since she had been born in China to missionary parents. He appeared in North Korea in 1992.^[26]

On September 22, 1991 Graham held his largest event in North America on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park. City officials estimated more than 250,000 in attendance. In 1998, Graham spoke at TED (conference) to a crowd of scientists and philosophers.

On September 14, 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Graham was invited to lead a service at Washington National Cathedral, which was attended by President George W. Bush and past and present leaders. He also spoke at the memorial service following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.^[26] On June 24–26, 2005, Billy Graham began what he has said would be his last North American crusade, three days at the Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City. But on the weekend of March 11–12, 2006, Billy Graham held the "Festival of Hope" with his son, Franklin Graham. The festival was held in New Orleans, which was recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

Retirement[link]

Graham said that his planned retirement was because of his failing health. He has suffered from Parkinson's disease for about 15 years, has had hydrocephalus, pneumonia, broken hips, and prostate cancer. In August 2005, Graham appeared at the groundbreaking for his library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then 86, Reverend Graham used a walker 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.

There had been controversy over his proposed burial place; he announced in June 2007 that he and his wife would be buried alongside each other at the Billy Graham Library in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Graham's younger son Ned had argued with older son Franklin about whether burial at a library would be appropriate. Ruth Graham had said that she wanted to be buried not in Charlotte but in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, where she had lived for many years; Ned supported his mother's choice.^[30] Novelist Patricia Cornwell, a family friend, also opposed burial at the library, calling it a tourist attraction. Franklin wanted his parents to be buried at the library site.^[30] At the time of Ruth Graham's death, it was announced that they would be buried at the library site.

Graham has been admitted to the hospital for treatment in 2007 and 2011.^[31][32]

In April 2010, Graham, at 91 and with substantial vision and hearing loss, made a rare public appearance at the re-dedication of the renovated Billy Graham Library.^[33]

Billy Graham has preached Christianity to live audiences of nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings, including BMS World Mission and Global Mission. Graham has also reached hundreds of millions more through television, video, film, and webcasts.^[34]

Politics[link]

Politically, Graham is a registered member of the Democratic Party.^[35] He leaned Republican during the presidency of Richard Nixon.^[16] He did not completely ally himself with the religious right, saying that Jesus did not have a political party.^[7] He did not openly endorse political candidates, but he gave his support to some over the years.^[16]

He refused to join Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority in 1979, saying: "I'm for morality, but morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice. We as clergy know so very little to speak with authority on the Panama Canal or superiority of armaments. Evangelists cannot be closely identified with any particular party or person. We have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left. I haven't been faithful to my own advice in the past. I will be in the future."^[26]

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.'".^[36]

Pastor to presidents[link]

President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan greet Graham at the National Prayer Breakfast of 1981

Graham has had a personal audience with many sitting US presidents from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama. Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton sought his counsel, as did the Bush family.^[18] After meeting with Truman in 1950, Graham told the press he had urged the president to counter communism in North Korea. Later he always treated his conversations with presidents as confidential.^[16] Truman disliked him and did not speak with him for years after that meeting.^[7] Graham was criticized by some for being too attracted to the seat of political power.

Merle Miller quotes Truman on Graham in his oral biography Plain Speaking:

But now we've got just this one evangelist, this Billy Graham, and he's gone off the beam. He's...well, I hadn’t ought to say this, but he’s one of those counterfeits I was telling you about. He claims he's a friend of all the Presidents, but he was never a friend of mine when I was President. I just don’t go for people like that. All he's interested in is getting his name in the paper.^[37]

Graham became a regular visitor during the tenure of Dwight D. Eisenhower. He purportedly urged him to intervene with federal troops in the case of the Little Rock Nine to gain admission of black students to public schools.^[7] At that time he met and would become close friends with Vice President Richard Nixon.^[16] After a special law was passed in 1952, Graham conducted the first religious service on the steps of the Capitol building.^[7] Eisenhower asked for Graham while on his deathbed.^[38]

The preacher enjoyed a friendship with Nixon and supported him over Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election.^[7] Graham was more sympathetic to Republican administrations.^[16][39] He spent the last night of Johnson's presidency in the White House, and he stayed for the first night of Nixon's.^[38]

After Nixon's victorious 1968 presidential campaign, Graham became an adviser, regularly visiting the White House and leading the president's private worship services.^[16] In a meeting they had with Golda Meir, Nixon offered Graham the ambassadorship to Israel, but he refused.^[7] In 1970 Nixon appeared at a Graham revival in East Tennessee, which they thought safe politically. It drew one of the largest crowds in Tennessee and protesters against the Vietnam War. Nixon was the first president to give a speech from an evangelist's platform.^[16] Their friendship became strained in 1973 when Graham rebuked Nixon for his post-Watergate behavior and the profanity heard on the Watergate tapes;^[40] they eventually reconciled after Nixon's resignation.^[16]

1966

Graham officiated at one presidential burial and one presidential funeral. He presided over the graveside services of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973 and took part in eulogizing the former president. Graham officiated at the funeral services of former First Lady Pat Nixon in 1993^[7] and the Richard Nixon in 1994.

Billy Graham meeting with President Barack Obama in Montreat, 2010

On April 25, 2010, President Barack Obama visited Rev. Graham at his home in Montreat, North Carolina where they “had a private prayer.”^[41]

Foreign policy views[link]

Graham has been outspoken against communism and supportive of US Cold War policy, including the Vietnam War. 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 had never met Kim's son and former North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, he had "exchanged gifts with him."^[42] Graham gave a globe surmounted with doves to the North Korean Friendship Museum.^[40]

In March 1991, Graham said in reference to the Persian Gulf War, "As our President, President Bush, has said, it is not the people of Iraq we are at war with. It is some of the people in that regime. Pray for peace in the Middle East, a just peace."^[43] Graham had earlier said that "there come times when we have to fight for peace." He went on to say that out of the war in the Gulf may "come a new peace and, as suggested by the President, a new world order."^[44]

Controversy[link]

Discussion of Jews with Nixon[link]

During the Watergate affair, there were suggestions that Graham had agreed with many of Nixon's anti-Semitic opinions, but he denied them and stressed his efforts to build bridges to the Jews. In 2002, the controversy was renewed when declassified "Richard Nixon tapes" confirmed remarks made by Graham to President Nixon three decades earlier.^[45] Captured on the tapes, Graham agreed with Nixon that Jews control the American media, calling it a "stranglehold" during a 1972 conversation with Nixon.^[46] He went considerably beyond that in offensive remarks characterized as anti-Semitic by Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League^[45] and evangelical author Richard Land.^[47]

When the tapes were made public, Graham apologized ^[48][49] and said, "Although I have no memory of the occasion, I deeply regret comments I apparently made in an Oval Office conversation with President Nixon ... some 30 years ago (...). They do not reflect my views and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks."^[50] According to Newsweek magazine, "[T]he shock of the revelation was magnified because of Graham's longtime support of Israel and his refusal to join in calls for conversion of the Jews."^[49]

In 2009, more Nixon tapes were released, in which Graham is heard in conversation with Nixon referring to Jews and "the synagogue of Satan." A spokesman for Graham said that Graham has never been an anti-Semite and that the comparison (in accord with the context of the quotation in the Book of Revelation) was directed specifically at those claiming to be Jews, but not holding to traditional Jewish values.^[51]

Fundamentalists[link]

After Crusade in New York (1957) fundamentalists criticized Graham for his ecumenism (he was even called "Antichrist").^[52]

North Carolina Amendment 1 (2012)[link]

Billy Graham ran an ad in 14 North Carolina newspapers expressing his support for North Carolina Amendment 1 (2012), which would define marriage in the state constitution as a union of one man and one woman.^[53][54]

Books[link]

Graham has written the following books:^[55] Many have become bestsellers and been extremely successful. For instance, in the 1970s, "The Jesus Generation sold 200,000 copies in the first two weeks after publication; Angels: God's Secret Agents had sales of 1 million copies within 90 days after release; How to Be Born Again was said to have made publishing history with its first printing of 800,000 copies."^[10]

Awards and honors[link]

Graham has frequently been honored by surveys, including "Greatest Living American" and has consistently ranked among the most admired persons in the United States and the world.^[10] He has appeared most frequently on Gallup's list of most admired people (.^[56] Since 1955, Graham was recognized by Gallup a record 55 times (49 times consecutively)—more than any other individual in history.

In 1967, he was the first Protestant to receive an honorary degree from Belmont Abbey College, a Roman Catholic school.^[57]

Graham received the Big Brother of the Year Award for his work on behalf of children. He has been cited by the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute for his contributions to race relations. He has received the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion and the Sylvanus Thayer Award for his commitment to "Duty, Honor, Country". The "Billy Graham Children's Health Center" in Asheville is named after and funded by Graham.^[58]

For hosting many Christian musical artists, Graham was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 by the Gospel Music Association.^[59] Singer Michael W. Smith is active in Billy Graham Crusades as well as Samaritan's Purse.^[60]

In 2000, former First Lady Nancy Reagan presented the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award to Graham. Graham has been a friend of the Reagans for years.^[61]

A professorial chair is named after him at the Alabama Baptist-affiliated Samford University, the Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth.^[45] His alma mater Wheaton College has an archive of his papers at the Billy Graham Center.^[3] The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth. Graham has received 20 honorary degrees and refused at least that many more.^[10] In San Francisco, CA, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, has often erroneously been called the Billy Graham Civic Auditorium and falsely considered to be named in his honor, but is actually named after the rock & roll promoter Bill Graham.

On May 31, 2007, the $27 million Billy Graham Library was officially dedicated in Charlotte. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton appeared to celebrate with Graham.^[62] A highway in Charlotte bears Graham's name,^[30] as does I-240 near Graham's home in Asheville.

The movie Billy: The Early Years premiered in theaters officially on October 10, 2008, less than one month before Graham's 90th birthday.^[63] Graham has yet to comment on the film, but his son, Franklin released a critical statement on August 18, 2008, noting that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association "has not collaborated with nor does it endorse the movie."^[64] Graham's eldest daughter Gigi, however, has praised the movie and has also been hired as a consultant to help promote the film.^[65]

Other honors

• The Salvation Army's Distinguished Service Medal
• Who's Who in America annually since 1954
• Freedoms Foundation Distinguished Persons Award (numerous years)
• Gold Medal Award, National Institute of Social Science, New York, 1957
• Annual Gutenberg Award of the Chicago Bible Society, 1962
• Gold Award of the George Washington Carver Memorial Institute, 1964, for contribution to race relations, presented by Senator Javits (NY)
• Speaker of the Year Award, 1964
• American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award, 1965
• Horatio Alger Award, 1965
• National Citizenship Award by the Military Chaplains Association of the U.S.A., 1965
• Wisdom Award of Honor, 1965
• The Torch of Liberty Plaque by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1969
• George Washington Honor Medal from Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, for his sermon "The Violent Society," 1969 (also in 1974)
• Honored by Morality in Media for "fostering the principles of truth, taste, inspiration and love in media," 1969
• International Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1971
• Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters, 1972
• Franciscan International Award, 1972
• Sylvanus Thayer Award from United States Military Academy Association of Graduates at West Point (The most prestigious award the United States Military Academy gives to a U.S. citizen), 1972
• Direct Selling Association's Salesman of the Decade award, 1975
• Philip Award from the Association of United Methodist Evangelists, 1976
• American Jewish Committee's First National Interreligious Award, 1977
• Southern Baptist Radio and Television Commission's Distinguished Communications Medal, 1977
• Jabotinsky Centennial Medal presented by The Jabotinsky Foundation, 1980
• Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame award, 1981
• Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion award, 1982
• Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award,1983
• National Religious Broadcasters Award of Merit, 1986
• North Carolina Award in Public Service, 1986
• Good Housekeeping Most Admired Men Poll, 1997, #1 for five years in a row and 16th time in top 10
• Congressional Gold Medal (along with wife Ruth), highest honor Congress can bestow on a private citizen, 1996
• Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award, for monumental and lasting contributions to the cause of freedom, 2000
• Honorary Knight Commander of the order of the British Empire (KBE) for his international contribution to civic and religious life over 60 years, 2001
• Many honorary degrees including Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Graham was once president, named its newest campus building the Billy Graham Community Life Commons.^[66]

Notes[link]