Graham's Gravity

We are continuing to remember the incredible work of evangelist Billy Graham - a man who was
faithful to God's call and faithful to the cross. 1st Corinthians 1 states:
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

I don't believe that Paul was minimizing the importance of baptism here; rather, he was just reinforcing the work that God had called him to do.  He was devoted to preaching the Word in power - the power of God, not His own.  He was true to that message of salvation and had a desire to see people come into a saving knowledge of Christ.  We can pursue God's call on our lives and recognize that we are His representatives, charged with living out the gospel.

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Even though his earthly body was laid to rest in North Carolina almost two weeks ago, the legacy of Billy Graham and the impact of his ministry continue to produce fresh insight.  Not only can we each be inspired to "be like Billy" in our personal obedience, but we can also seek to identify and follow God's call for us and to be bold in sharing our faith.  The gospel, as presented by Billy Graham, contained within the Scriptures, is powerful for us today - the Bible says in Romans 1:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Billy Graham undoubtedly believed this; do we?

Mr. Graham was a figure who transcended culture.  The Barna Group, in a retrospective look at data collected throughout the years on Graham, published these statistics:

In 2007, Barna asked American adults about their opinion of Billy Graham:

• 36 percent of American adults said they have a “very favorable” view of Billy Graham.

The survey also included public figures like George Clooney (30% very favorable), Bono (18%), Pat Robertson (6%), Chuck Colson (4%) and Donald Trump (8%).

In 2011, Barna asked American adults who they consider to be the single most influential Christian leader in the U.S. today:

• 19 percent of American adults chose Billy Graham.

This is particularly striking considering only 9 percent chose the Pope. The survey also included figures such as Barack Obama (8%) and Joel Osteen (5%).

In 2014, Barna asked American adults how familiar they are with Billy Graham:

• 34 percent of American adults said they were “very familiar” with Billy Graham.

Other religious leaders in the survey included Pope Francis (28% very familiar), the Dalai Lama (21%) and Andy Stanley (4%).

The concluding sentence of Barna's summary stated: "His death will be felt not only among the Christian community but the broader public who recognized his leadership and courage and admired his humility and love."

And on the day of the funeral, the website for Christianity Today, the magazine which was founded by Mr. Graham, published this headline: "Congrats, Billy: Stats Show Your Evangelical Movement Is Still Going Strong."

Despite the pundits who are fond of proclaiming the death of evangelicalism as we know it, there is strong evidence that the movement and practice are still impactful.  CT cited the General Social Survey (GSS), which it states, "has tracked religious affiliation biannually, beginning in 1972. It provides an unmatched summation of a generation of religious movement."

The story says:

Since the early 1980s, the Jewish share dropped by about a single point; black Protestants stayed relatively stable; and those with “other faith” remained about 6 percent of the US population.

Similarly, evangelicals and Catholics have almost the same proportions of the population as they had back in 1972. While evangelicals saw a surge in the early 1990s, that number has essentially stabilized to where it is today (23.6% in 2016). The Catholic share, which was reliably 23 percent to 25 percent in the 1990s, has dipped recently to 22.6 percent. That’s about a 2 percent drop in total share, which is largely in line with the findings from the Pew Research Center’s massive Religious Landscape Survey (RLS) from 2007 to 2014.

The article then makes a bold statement: "The nones are rising quickly. And a lot of that gain is coming from moderate Protestants."  The Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), which was done between 2010 and 2014, backs this up:

The total share of the US population that indicated they were born again did not change: 26 percent in 2010, compared to 26.1 percent in 2014. Of those who said they were born again in 2010, 94.6 percent were still Protestants in 2014 while just 3.3 percent became a none.

On the other hand, of Protestants who said they were not born again in 2010, 15.6 percent had left Protestantism by 2014. Of that group, nearly two-thirds had become nones by 2014.

And the article says that according to CCES, "Of Americans who moved from born again in 2010 to not born again in 2014, 26 percent became a none. This indicates a significant number of individuals who renounced a born-again status did not take a small step away (i.e., becoming mainline Protestant); instead, they moved toward no religion at all."  Now, this is not an examination of the doctrine of eternal security; rather a statement of self-identification of people who were surveyed.

So, even though Billy Graham may be dead, in the earthly sense, the movement with which he was closely identified, evangelical Christianity, is very much alive.  And, those of us who wear that label can seek to be challenged to testify to the gospel so that people will come to know Christ.

We can remember that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.  Billy Graham preached the word of God in power, in a compelling way, but it was about more than delivery or presentation - the words he spoke were the words of life, the uncompromising gospel, not shaped by society but instrumental in shaping society.

Finally, we recognize that Christianity is not about a man or woman, other than the man, Jesus Christ.  While we pay tribute to Billy Graham, we can deeply appreciate the way God used him and how he allowed himself to be used of God.  We can be careful to submit to the teaching and example of those whom God has called to proclaim His truth, but we should never idolize them and always make sure that we - ourselves - are in the Scriptures consistently, allowing the Holy Spirit to direct us in our walk with Him.