Will is the grandson of Billy Graham and the oldest son of Franklin Graham. [103] He did not completely ally himself with the later religious right, saying that Jesus did not have a political party. [citation needed] He would rent a large venue, such as a stadium, park, or street. During his first crusade there in 1973, he openly denounced apartheid. He was a retired farmer. [75] During the apartheid era, Graham consistently refused to visit South Africa until its government allowed integrated seating for audiences. Near Palatka", "Profile: William (Billy) F. Graham, Jr., Evangelist and Chairman of the Board". [6] He was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson (one of Graham's closest friends),[7] and Richard Nixon. [209], Graham authored the following books;[210] many of which have become bestsellers. William Franklin (Will) Graham IV January 30, 1975 Longmont, Colorado. The grandson of Billy Graham and the oldest son of Franklin Graham, Will has shared the hope of Jesus with more than one million people across six continents since beginning his evangelistic ministry in 2006. He was a retired farmer. [24] At this time he was influenced and inspired by Pastor Charley Young from Eastport Bible Church. Longmont, Colorado, Christine Jane (CJ), Rachel Austin, William Franklin V (Quinn), 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201 January 30, 1975 After one semester, he found that the coursework and rules were too legalistic . [71], Graham played multiple roles that reinforced each other. [2], As a preacher, he held large indoor and outdoor rallies with sermons that were broadcast on radio and television; some were still being re-broadcast into the 21st century. In 1998, Graham spoke to a crowd of scientists and philosophers at the Technology, Entertainment, Design Conference. He still look young in his age. [84][85], On February 28 and March 1, 2018, Graham became the fourth private citizen in United States history to lie in honor at the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.[86][87] He is the first religious leader to be so honored. In Durban, South Africa, in 1973, the crowd of some 100,000 was the first large mixed-race event in apartheid South Africa in which he stated that "apartheid is a sin. "There was never an idea of a career for us," she said. 2006-2012: Assistant Director, Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove (Asheville, N.C.) 6. [115] Though a registered Democrat, Graham also maintained firm support of aggression against the foreign threat of Communism and strongly sympathized with Nixon's views regarding American foreign policy. [106] Shortly after, apparently in order to accommodate Romney, who is a Mormon, references to Mormonism as a religious cult ("A cult is any group which teaches doctrines or beliefs that deviate from the biblical message of the Christian faith.") According to his website, Graham preached to live audiences of 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings, including BMS World Mission and Global Mission. [33] Graham had crusades in London, which lasted 12 weeks, and a New York City crusade in Madison Square Garden in 1957, which ran nightly for 16 weeks. "[24], In 1937 Graham transferred to the Florida Bible Institute in Temple Terrace, Florida. [10] He attracted national media coverage, especially in the conservative Hearst chain, although Hearst and Graham never met. "[58] Graham's advisor, Grady Wilson, replied to King that "even though we do not see eye to eye with him on every issue, we still love him in Christ. Launching the new radio program on January 2, 1944, still called Songs in the Night, Graham recruited the bass-baritone George Beverly Shea as his director of radio ministry. [55] After King's "Beyond Vietnam" speech denouncing US intervention in Vietnam, Graham castigated him and others for their criticism of US foreign policy. [80] In August 2005, Graham appeared at the groundbreaking for his library in Charlotte, North Carolina. [24] House Speaker Sam Rayburn convinced Congress to allow Graham to conduct the first religious service on the steps of the Capitol building in 1952. [156] However, Graham appeared to take a more tolerant approach to issue of homosexuality when he appeared on the May 2, 1997 episode of 20/20, stating "I think that the Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, but the Bible also teaches that pride is a sin, jealously is a sin, and hate is a sin, evil thoughts are a sin, and so I don't think that homosexuality should be chosen as the overwhelming sin that we are doing today. ", "When worlds collide: politics, religion, and media at the 1970 East Tennessee Billy Graham Crusade", "Billy Graham, the Last Nonpartisan Evangelical? [129] His alma mater, Wheaton College, has an archive of his papers at the Billy Graham Center. The first Billy Graham Crusade, held September 13–21, 1947, in the Civic Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was attended by 6,000 people. Toll Free: 1-877-247-2426. He also said that Graham visited him in prison. He often quoted a six-word phrase that was reportedly written in the Bible of William Whiting Borden, the son of a wealthy silver magnate: "No reserves, no retreat, no regrets". [73] He appeared as a guest on a 1969 Woody Allen television special, where he joined the comedian in a witty exchange on theological matters. Raised in a log home in the Appalachian Mountains outside Asheville, North Carolina, Franklin now resides in Boone, North Carolina, with his wife Jane. Reverend Billy Graham Memorial Park was later 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 practice preaching to the birds, alligators, and cypress stumps. Graham was offered a five-year, $1 million contract from NBC to appear on television opposite Arthur Godfrey, but he had prearranged commitments. [31][32] A memorial there marks the site where Graham made his decision. [14] Because of his crusades, Graham preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. Here's why", "Here's what is special about Billy Graham's casket", "How Donald Trump is bringing Billy Graham's complicated family back into White House circles", "Rev. Graham went on to note that although he had never met Kim's son and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, he had "exchanged gifts with him. Frank and Morrow Graham had four children: William, Jr., Melvin T., Catherine, and Jean. This took place in Lausanne, Switzerland (July 16–25, 1974), and the movement which ensued took its name from the host city. He turned down the offer in order to continue his touring revivals. [24] He gave his support to various political candidates over the years. We have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left. They do not reflect my views and I sincerely apologize for any offense caused by the remarks. [9], Graham operated a variety of media and publishing outlets. [46], At each Urbana conference, he challenged the thousands of attendees to make a commitment to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of their lives. 1950), founder and president of Ruth Graham & Friends, leads conferences throughout the US and Canada; Franklin Graham (b. [74] "[102], Graham leaned toward the Republicans during the presidency of Richard Nixon, whom he had met and befriended as Vice President under Dwight D. [10] Graham recalled in his autobiography that during this time, he and King developed a close friendship and that he was eventually one of the few people who referred to King as "Mike", a nickname which King asked only his closest friends to call him. On May 31, 2007, the $27 million Billy Graham Library was officially dedicated in Charlotte. Roy Austin Graham is famous and well known as Franklin Graham's son. William Franklin Graham, Jr., to be known generally as Billy Graham, was born near Charlotte, North Carolina, to William Franklin and Morrow (Coffey) Graham. Then 86, he used a walker during the ceremony. [18] When he was eight years old in 1927, the family moved about 75 yards (69 m) from their white frame house to a newly built red brick home. [20][21] Graham attended the Sharon Grammar School. Will is the grandson of Billy Graham and the oldest son of Franklin Graham. Graham spoke at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Urbana Student Missions Conference at least nine times – in 1948, 1957, 1961, 1964, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1984, and 1987. He is the executive director of the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove and associate evangelist of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. During his early life William Franklin was a frontiersman, soldier, a captain in the Pennsylvania militia, and aide-decamp to his father. [13] As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. "[138], In 1970, Graham stated that feminism was "an echo of our overall philosophy of permissiveness" and that women did not want to be "competitive juggernauts pitted against male chauvinists". In 1983, 1986 and 2000 he sponsored, organized and paid for massive training conferences for Christian evangelists; this was the largest representation of nations ever held until that time. He can use it mightily. President Donald Trump said Graham was "an ambassador for Christ". Davies, Caroline. Graham has been spiritual adviser to several United States Presidents and has met with 12, dating back to Harry S. Truman. Monroe Billington, Oral History Interview with Billy Graham, First International Congress on World Evangelization, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, Unknown Soldiers for World War II and the Korean War (1958), Unknown Soldier for the Vietnam War (1984), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billy_Graham&oldid=1004060909, 20th-century American non-fiction writers, 21st-century American non-fiction writers, Heads of universities and colleges in the United States, Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire, People from Buncombe County, North Carolina, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from February 2018, Articles with dead external links from December 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from March 2018, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles having same image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from December 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2018, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CINII identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Mission television specials broadcast in almost every market in the US and Canada, Passageway.org, the website for a youth discipleship program created by BGEA, 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, National Citizenship Award by the Military Chaplains Association of the United States of America, 1965, Philip Award from the Association of United Methodist Evangelists, 1976, Jabotinsky Centennial Medal presented by The Jabotinsky Foundation, 1980, Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame award, 1981, North Carolina Award in Public Service, 1986, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award, for monumental and lasting contributions to the cause of freedom, 2000, This page was last edited on 31 January 2021, at 22:28. 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