REFLECTION ESSAY: “BILLY GRAHAM’S AMERICA”
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Submitted to Dr. Todd Buck
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
THEO650_B02
Public Theology
by
Dennis Depre
October 13, 2022
Speaking the word of God to Christ’s followers but being able to not only speak the word
to Christ’s followers is a lot easier than to those who do not know Jesus. This is something that
Billy Graham set out to make an impact on, to be an evangelist to someone who is not
evangelical. Billy Graham is known for a lot, but by far how he presents Jesus Christ to anyone,
and everyone is one of the most impactful and inspiring things he has done. Bill Graham was
born in 1918, in a small village that was near Charlotte, North Carolina. As he grew and leaned
into his purpose, he quickly became a household name to many Christians around the world. He
was a profound influence not only in the US but all around the world.
Billy Graham was a man after Jesus’ heart, he embodied the core values of a Christian of
compassion and love for those who were lost. When it came to the messages that he was
delivering to the world, he had a quite common theme; see those who were lost saved and come
into a new life with Jesus Christ. I say that he made an impact on the world because that is
exactly what he did. Acts 1:8 tells us “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on
you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth.” Billy Graham embodied this scripture, “Reverend Graham traveled almost all over
the world to Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and Australia preaching the gospel of
repentance to 215 million plus people in person, and more than 185 countries and territories.”1
Billy Graham often used one of the most notable scriptures around to re-enforce his messages,
that verse was John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
As popular as he was with millions of people around the world, Christians were
not the only ones that sought his counsel. Mr. Graham also met with numerous heads of state
from various countries all around the world. They knew that he was not just someone who was
1 Grant, Wacker, Billy Graham’s America, (Church History, 00096407, Sep 2009), Vol. 78, Issue 3.
preaching a message but that there was something special about him, he had an anointing that
allowed him to provide spiritual advice to world leaders from all around the world. Billy Graham
started his preaching in 1949 in Los Angles and turned into a Historic life lived for eternity, not
the present. This trip was supposed to be for 3 weeks, but this ended up lasting 8 weeks instead.
This started a movement that saw millions of people come to Jesus through his messages.
Billy Graham was not a traditional evangelist by no means, he stepped into and
over lines that most evangelists would not cross over. Politically he transcended lines that were
not always popular. For example, His support of the Vietnam war in the late 1960s’ and support
for Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal were criticized by many and caused some to even
lost the respect, they once had for the evangelist No matter what criticism he came under, he had
an anointing under God and was known as America’s evangelist.
Although he was loved by millions of people, some people thought he may have
overstepped some boundaries that were normally reserved for evangelists. For example, he
allowed his love for God to grow cold as he moved toward a compromising gospel, and as he
moved toward being more open-minded toward other traditions and surrounding cultures there
are plenty of examples in the bible of how God has called us to set our selves apart from other
cultures and cultural pitfalls. For example, God called the Israelites to not fall into a different
culture after they were saved, Romans 12:2 tells us Do not conform to the pattern of this world
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to evaluate and approve
what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
I think that one thing we all must understand is that no matter how big the platform is we
must remain humble and work to help those around us. Jesus when he walked the earth was not
afraid to focus on the less fortunate, he was very willing to walk with and heal those who were
less fortunate. Jesus fought for those who could not necessarily fight for them. This is one thing
that some critics of Billy Graham wished me may have done more of. He had a huge platform as
we all know and he had the ear of many, many Presidents, and influential people in the United
States. Jesus would not shy away from stepping into a tough conversation to show the love and
grace that God has for all of us. If there was one thing that Graham could have impacted more
could have been some social injustices that were going on during his time. Jesus and the bible
call us to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Regardless of looking back on his life,
what we may or may not feel he could have done. There are millions and millions of people who
would have not known Jesus if it had not been for Billy Graham.
Bibliography
Wacker, Grant, Billy Graham’s America, Church History, 00096407, Sep 2009, Vol. 78,
Issue 3.
Billy Graham Biography. Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. 2020. Retrieved from
https://billygraham.org/about/biographies/billy-graham/
