Graham refused, Branch wrote, because he was concerned about becoming too political. Billy Graham, one of the most influential American religious leaders of the 20th century and a towering figure in American Christianity, politics and culture, has died at age 99. Perhaps Billy, could have learned something from her. Indeed, Graham was a zealous advocate for full financial disclosure. Graham was notorious for never spending time alone with any woman other than his wife-this became known as the "Billy Graham Rule." Jesus rode a donkey as an example of humility. How did evangelist Billy Graham make his money before he died? He then urged him to take his integrated crusades to the Deep South, according to a letter collected in the King Papers Project, a collection of Kings speeches, unpublished manuscripts and other written works held at Stanford University in California. His total compensation in 2013: $240,641. Throughout his career, Billy Graham sponsored, organized, and paid for massive training conferences for Christian evangelists. In 1952 his salary was $15,000, according to Martin; by the late 1990s he earned nearly $200,000 a year from his organization, according to MinistryWatch, a North Carolina-based group that rates the financial health of Christian ministries. $25 million is no chump change. Then he would venture out to preach. He had established "checks and balances" at the BGEA via an independent board of directors that established his salary and housing allowance, which is believed to have been under $150,000, according to the Los Angeles Times. I think well not see anybody replace him.. Dorado, PR 00646, Metro Office Park The times, though, called for confrontation, King preached, and that belief produced tension between the civil rights leader and Graham. There were dreams of a King-Graham alliance but it never came about, Miller says. I have never met an envious or greedy person who was at peace. I believe that God has purposely embedded these verses in the Word to give us a choice: Should we go with personal prosperity or should we choose to feed and medicate the poverty-stricken? How are these hypocrites different than common thieves??? I was a great fan of Billy Graham, until I found out he was a very rich man in his latter years. His message was relentlessly focused on one goal: saving souls for Jesus. In 1984, he led a series of summer sermons in the United Kingdom called Mission England where he used outdoor soccer fields as venues. Even after he retired in June 2005, he still preached at his son's crusades in New Orleans and Baltimore months later. After that, he continued with the practice and his sermons A private funeral service was held on March 2, 2018. No, thats language, says Vivian, who was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his civil rights activism. One scholar says Graham tried to undermine the movement. The Rev. It's a spiritual retreat center that hosts groups and individuals for special events like "Navigating Life's Challenges," a two-night seminar that costs $109 to $447 per person, with meals included. The Quotable Billy Graham 20 Copy quote The greatest legacy one can pass on to one's children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character and faith. High among them: The Congressional Gold Medal awarded to Billy and Ruth in 1996, the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to him in 1983, and the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion in 1982. "He actually proved to be a natural and by the end of the summer he was the most successful salesman in two states," David Aikman wrote in Billy Graham: His Life and Influence. Of course he could have spoken out more forcefully against segregation, but he spoke out more forcefully than anybody expected him. It actually went on sale recently and was described as a humble home. It was stymied by his theology, several scholars say. William Martin, author of "A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. One showed him in a suit, the other in his favorite blue denim jacket, a gift from close friend Johnny Cash. Required fields are marked *. His first crusade there was in 1973. The evangelist's net worth is surpassed by religious figures such as televangelists Kenneth Copeland and Pat Robertson, who are reportedly worth $760 million and $100 million, respectively. Legacy:How Franklin Graham took the reins from a legendary preacher, Crusades:How the evangelist reached millions, Books:A look at all the books Billy Graham wrote, Quotations:Billy Graham's most notable quotes, The unknown:16 lesser-known facts about the legendary evangelist, Gratitude:Why almost everyone wants to say thank you to Billy Graham. For decades, Billy Graham had never missed a crusade. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton /Landov, William "Billy" Graham at age 17 on his graduation from Charlotte High School in June 1935. In 2001, George W. Bush invited him as well, but Grahamwas recovering from surgery the month before. Much is unknown about the famous evangelist's wealth. And, according to Martin, Graham once told a Southern newspaper that the Bible has nothing to say about segregation or non-segregation.. And so the sort of wall of separation of church and state that has been around as an option is going to be gradually, gradually whittled away in this period.. That would make the Gospel more palatable to others.. (Photo by Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images). Rusty Leonard, the founder and CEO of MinistryWatch, said the BGEA consistently won an A rating for financial transparency. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. The Rev. It is godless communism versus a God-fearing America, historian Frank Lambert says in the below excerpt from God In Americaexploring Grahams early rise. In June 1995, Graham collapsed during a speech before a crusade in Toronto. Better known as Franklin Graham, he received a whopping total of $1.2 million in 2008 and $880,000 in compensation in 2014 for running the two charities, according to the Charlotte Observer. Franklin Graham (L) sits with his father Billy before preaching during the Celebration of Hope on March 12, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The New Republicreviewer Andrew Delbanco called the 1997 book unreflective celebrity fluff that "rattles off the great public events of the last 50 years with the hero in ubiquitous attendance, a kind of clerical Forrest Gump.". So have you ever wondered how rich Billy Graham was, at the time of his death? During the apartheid era, he refused to visit South Africa until its government allowed integrated seating for audiences. While Graham's income hasn't received widespread media scrutiny, there has been recent attention on his son's $880,000 pay, split between two nonprofit agencies. He insisted that crusade accounts be audited and published in the local papers when the crusade was finished. In the summer of 1936, the 17-year-old Billy threw himself into the job. On Templetons deathbed his wife talks about his Acknowledgment and love of Jesus. They ignore these basic Christian teachings because they dont like them. As he got older, his vision, hearing and balance became worse, and on the 21st February 2018, Billy passed away from natural causes at his home in Montreal, North Carolina. Joel Osteen $100 million. C.T. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. Franklin Graham, the president of Samaritans Purse and the son of legendary evangelist, Billy Graham, put out a call to Christian churches to deem the day a day of prayer for President Donald Trump. can separate even those that are close to God. According to Martin in A Prophet with Honor, Graham appeared to signal some regret during an address to students in Hawaii in the mid-1960s. Graham condemned the civil disobedience tactics they used during the 1965 campaign in Selma, Alabama, Martin wrote in A Prophet without Honor. An act of civil disobedience produced one of the most galvanizing moments in the movement: Unarmed demonstrators marching for the right to vote were filmed being beaten by Alabama state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge for refusing an order to disperse. They had five children together; their first child, Virginia Leftwich was born in 1945 and she is now an inspirational speaker and author. And why it wasnt stopped sooner. There are a few new covenant verses that support it. If Graham had come out vocally for King and the movement early on, he could have made a huge impact in advancing equality for all Americans.. Celebritynetworth.com reports the preacher was worth approximately $25 million. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". New Autobiography from Greg Laurie regarding Billy Graham talks about this. Soon, Graham was a media darling. This is where Graham missed the mark.. Graham gestures during his message to the capacity crowd at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 27, 1996. Born William Franklin Graham Jr. on the 7th November 1918, in Charlotte, North Carolina USA, and was an evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist preacher. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. ", In his letter, also in the King Papers Project, Wilson told King that Graham has never engaged in politics on one side or the other. He also told King that Graham loved the governor despite his views and frankly, I think that should be your position.. You realise he still selling books into his old age. In 1979, he was among the founders of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. His parents, highly devoted to the church, raised him in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Submit a correction suggestion and help us fix it. I am constantly shocked at the high salaries of the religious speakers, some a million a year ! Theres no question that Billy Graham has always been very open and transparent, said Leonard, who has been tracking ministries since the early 1990s. He was the oldest of four children. Graham missed a chance to change history because he could have made a major difference if he had become an ally of the movement, Long says. Footage of that march shocked the nation and eventually led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Mayo Clinic initially diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease in 1989. Explore FRONTLINEs collected and ongoing reporting on Russia's war on Ukraine. Second, once he had accepted an invitation his team took months, sometimes as many as two years, to plan a crusade. A Warner Bros. In 1972 the association bought more than 1,000 acres in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, where the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove now stands. In Parting the Waters, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of King, author Taylor Branch wrote that King once approached Graham with a proposal: Ill participate in your crusades if you speak out more against segregation. He responded to letters of invitation from local pastors. A year later, Kings tone shifted. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Support Provided by: Learn More. When he was bitten by a lethal brown recluse spider shortly before one event, he ignored doctors' orders to stay in bed and preached every night. "Basically, they are saying if Satan pays well, God should pay better," she told the Post. Wed 21 Feb 2018 10.51 EST. Bush and Bill Clinton. Later, when his symptoms did not progress like those of other sufferers such as Pope John Paul II or Muhammad Ali, the diagnosis was revised to focus on effects of hydrocephalus, water on the brain. The same went for his crusade team. In 1952 his salary was $15,000, according to Martin; by the late 1990s he earned nearly $200,000 a year from his organization, according to MinistryWatch, a North They say King asked Graham to call him Mike, a name reserved for Kings closest friends. Matt 19:31 Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. He preached his first sermon that year at Bostwick Baptist Church in Palatka, Florida while still a student. When provided, we also incorporate private tips and feedback received from the celebrities or their representatives. Graham hired his first black evangelist to help staff his 1957 crusade, integrating evangelism back when football-coach-turned-stadium-evangelist Bill McCartney, famous in the 1990s for preaching racial healing to Promise Keepers, was still in high school. Instead, they claim Jesus didnt really mean what he said about the end coming soon. If yes, then stay with us as we are about to bring you closer to one of the most renowned preachers of the USA. Furthermore, he expanded his Christian crusades, visiting 185 countries on all continents, reportedly reaching more than 2.5 billion people across the world, both live and through radio and television broadcasts. 2. This is why Jesus told people to give away their possessions, and Paul taught people should not marry. Your email address will not be published. 4 min read. The very best anybody could ever do is write about it, and hope that somehow old Temple tick had the testicular fortitude to read the note, and ruminate on the matter for a time span. Note that all Scriptures given below are from the new covenant (New Testament). Graham occasionally preached racial tolerance and held integrated crusades during the civil rights era. That particular crusade partnered with 1,400 area churches. But his name became nationally famous in 1949 in Los Angeles. There were times that Graham took a stand against racism, according to Martin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Billy Graham made his money from his preaching ministry. There wasnt a major Protestant leader in America who obstructed Kings Beloved Community more than Billy Graham did. William Franklin Graham was born on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina on November 7, 1918. Remembering Rev. Graham would go on to share his pulpit with President Richard Nixon, and would advise presidents from both parties over the ensuing decades including George W. Bush, whose relationship with Graham was explored in the 2004 FRONTLINE documentary The Jesus Factor. It points to Grahams limits, his humanity. Web Site Copyright 1995-2023 WGBH Educational Foundation. Historians say he perfected a system that began as a tent revival and was ultimately copied by many other Christian leaders with varying degrees of success. I agree wholeheartedly that Franklins dad would not agree with him on many issues, namely his involvement in politics, especially right-wing deception that centered around abortion, homosexuality and womens rights. W hen Billy Graham stands before the judgment seat of God, he may finally realize how badly Billy Graham was also a wealthy man, leaving behind a fortune of real estate holdings, book royalties, and morethough biographers say his humility made him turn down opportunities to earn much more. How Graham thought about his actions during those turbulent years is difficult to tease out from the historical record. He launched a radio program in 1945 called Songs in the Night. Last modified on Tue 24 May 2022 11.49 EDT. It seems to great surprise that Graham has chosen the prosperity position. According to Samaritans Purse (the nondenominational evangelical Christian organization led by the late pastors son, Franklin), Graham died peacefully surrounded by family. While many believe that pastors make a modest living, Graham was an unusually wealthy man who preached to millions of people who traveled to hear him speak. He became the fourth private citizen in U.S. history to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., and the first religious leader to have been bestowed the honor. Leonard said he expected the ministry to retool and survive possibly as an organization that provides training for future evangelists. Over the years, Graham preached the Gospel on TV and radio as well as arenas, presidential funerals, post-tragedy prayer services, and more. Franklin Graham, left, escorts his father Billy Graham prior to the funeral for Ruth Graham on June 16, 2007 in Montreat, North Carolina. Billy and his wife Ruth were married in 1943 and they remained together until her death in 2007. Sincerity, he said, is the biggest part of selling anythingincluding the Christian plan of salvation. Another memorable Billy Graham quote along these lines: I am selling the greatest product in the world; why shouldnt it be promoted as well as soap? he told TIME in 1954. In 1991, Graham held his largest event in North America on the Great Lawn of Manhattan's Central Park. I believe today that the battle is between communism and Christianity, he said in a speech that was excerpted in the documentary. Billy Graham lived for decades at a mountaintop compound in Montreat, N.C., near Black Mountain. Graham was never one to seek out controversy. Billy Graham met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower for a personal chat that lasted 45 minutes in Gettysburg on Sept. 8, 1961. His father used the n-word, whites were taught that blacks were inferior, and many evangelical Christians in the North as well as the South saw no contradiction between supporting segregation and being a Christian. (RNS) Two photos of evangelist Billy Graham ran prominently in the local paper after his successful 1950 Atlanta crusade. This is what the tax collectors in Christ;s day did,! Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History. Instead, Graham called for a council of several Protestant denominations, united by evangelist intent, to organize and fund the event and follow up with newborn believers. Graham spoke eloquently about the need for such an organization: If you give to any Christian charity (including the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association), and you dont insist on an understandable financial accounting of your gift, you are in danger of falling prey to (dishonesty), Graham was quoted as saying in Martins book, A Prophet with Honor.. Templeton made his personal choice, and the good little boys with horns, hooks, and pitch forks have reserved a special place for him somewhere on the back side of the celestial hot house. He became an author, columnist and wrote of his religious past and challenges in a book Farewell to God. We didnt care what denomination theyre from, said Kent Withington, a communications director for the 2005 New York City crusade. They say he distorted his relationship with King, that his nods to racial tolerance were token and inconsistent, and that he refused to risk his fame by championing the movement while other white ministers lost their jobs, and lives, for their activism. Besides Jesus, my favorite mentors have been Billy Graham, and Mother Teresa. He was back in the SkyDome three days later, where 73,000 greeted him with shrieks of "Bil-LY! Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Thatll help my ministry all over the world, Graham said of the resolution. Graham's first citywide crusade which he came to call his 417 all-out preaching and musical events was in 1947. The author of that book, Long, quotes Graham saying about King: He said, Billy I think you ought to do just what youre doing have integrated crusades in these stadiums. Producer of so many evangelical movies, films, videos and television programs that his associationclaims to be the world leader in this field. In addition, he had a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and was often invited by the Royal Family to special events. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Evangelist Billy Graham has died. February 21, 2018 at 1:01 p.m. EST. He framed the Cold War as a moral conflict. WebBilly Graham (1966). People confuse amassing money with security. For more information, read, Heres Why a Gas Tax Holiday Isn't as Great as It Sounds, Gas Prices Are Over $4 in Every State for the First Time, 7 Strategies People Are Using to Combat High Gas Prices, Gas Prices Just Passed $6 in a Major U.S. City for the First Time Ever, Your State Taxes on Groceries, Income, Gas and More Could Soon Be Slashed, 1,000 acres in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, Billy Graham Was One of America's Richest Pastors. The man lived in a house smaller than mine and Im not even middle class. Once he retired from the pulpit, his son and association successor, Franklin, recycled and repurposed thousands of video and film hours of Billy Graham sermons for 21st-century video outreach. (G.K. Chesterton 1874-1936 sums all of this up in his typical way by saying, It may be possible to have a good debate over whether or not Jesus believed in fairies, but it is impossible to have any sort of debate over whether or not Jesus believes that rich people are in big trouble.) In ending, my personal feelings are that there is no doubt that Billy Grahams soul is in Heaven. Graham was also a prolific writer. No where in the Bible does it say that he had to be poor. The crusades attracted much national media coverage and ran for eight weeks. Vivian, a close friend of King, chuckled. Third, each crusade was set up as a nonprofit organization in the city in which it took place, with the local committee raising money from offerings and donations from individuals and churches to pay for crusade expenses. Theres nobody I know of who can come in and get all the churches to cooperate, Martin said. Martin Luther King Jr. electrified the nation when he gave his I Have a Dream speech, but Olivia studied journalism at Cardiff University, graduating in 2010. I wonder why nobody reported that Billy Grahams travelling partner for 20 years, Charles Templeton, resigned to live as an agnostic. Bil-LY!". And at the same time he could have maintained himself as a, say, $5 millionaire. Pretty impressive, dont you think? Todd Sumlin/Charlotte Observer/MCT via Getty Images, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how companies may appear. ", Yet money is not necessarily a bad thing, according to Graham. Billy Graham Children, Character, Legacy 32 Copy quote The Rev. Rev. Those who were part of Kings inner circle, though, said they never heard of that conversation or any deal. He was a model of financial respectability, said Grahams biographer, William Martin, senior fellow for religion at Rice Universitys Baker Institute. So what? Billy attended Sharon High School and then Bob Jones college. Watch an excerpt from God in America about Grahams early rise below: Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. Billy Graham was also the official spiritual advisor to several Presidents including Nixon and Eisenhower and had a personal relationship with most sitting presidents he saw during his lifetime. He I wouldnt want to accuse a man who was trying as much as possible to win souls for Christ.. He privately urged segregationist Southern governors to consider the racial problem from a spiritual point of view.. Celebritynetworth.com reports the preacher was worth approximately $25 million. Sometimes he found these two convictions difficult to reconcile, Martin wrote in A Prophet with Honor.. Instead, it has divided the church down political lines, and anger, fear, hatred, self-righteousness, and hypocrisy are the expressions coming from the Christian right.. "Leaving all the worrying about such matters to God, he says, with a stoic and deeply American practicality, that we cannot know, and so should live one day at a time. He also published more than 30 books, and his World Wide Pictures has produced over 130 films, while his Hour of Decision, was a weekly radio program broadcast around the world for more than 50 years. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Jesus (and Paul) thought the world was going to end soon. Guaynabo, PR 00968. And I believe the only way that were going to win that battle is for America to turn back to God and back to Christ and back to the Bible at this hour! "They didn't exist. We dont know how much he gave away. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The notion that Graham and King would have been collaborators is far-fetched, says Miller, author of Billy Graham and the Rise of the Republican South. Miller says he also never found proof that Graham bailed King out of jail, as some Graham supporters have claimed. Caution: Prosperity gospel has taken firm root in modern times. It was Graham who helped advise Eisenhower on becoming a Presbyterian after it emerged in the 1952 campaign that Eisenhower had never been baptized. Your email address will not be published. 2023 Cable News Network. His fade from the public podium was a signal shift. Despite their differences, the two remained close and in the mid '60s traveled together to the tenth Baptist World Congress of the Baptist World Alliances. Grahams legacy is definitely tarnished by the way he approached racial justice.. He declared in a newspaper column that the Bible did not teach racial superiority. I agree to Money's Terms of Use and Privacy Notice and consent to the processing of my personal information. In 2005, Forbes listed Billy Graham as the highest-earning employee at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, with annual compensation slightly over $450,000. Joseph Lowery, who was also part of Kings inner circle at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, described Kings relationship with Graham as cordial but tinged with conflict. Too little, too late? Legions of everyday admirers named this willfully modest man among the Gallup Poll's "10 Most Admired Men in the World." He sometimes accepted segregated seating at his crusades for fear of offending whites. WebSalary Dec. 1995 Salary and housing allowance as the founder of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association $150,000 Earnings 1978 Earning Turned Donation Dec. 1978 Donation to various people for the year 1978 $600,000 Salary Dec. 1978 Annual salary from the the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for the year 1978 $39,500 Earnings 1977 But he grasped the unique appeal of Graham in an era when other preachers churned out books that stoked fears of the apocalypse. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. But the expression "Billy Graham Crusade" was so ingrained in the popular usage that by 2004 it was back in use. As the Soviet Union successfully tested an atomic bomb and Americans grew fearful of nuclear annihilation, Grahams message resonated, amplified by coverage from media baron and staunch anti-communist William Randolph Hearst. Just came across this. Graham clearly felt an obligation to speak against segregation, but he also believed his first duty was to appeal to as many people as possible. Typically, the Billy Graham association sent in a half-dozen employees a year ahead of the crusade to meet with pastors, choose a venue and begin training volunteers. After that, he continued with the practice and his sermons "We usually hold on to it tenaciously, yet it is uncertain in value and we cannot take it into the next world. Billy Graham, who passed away today at 99. pic.twitter.com/IsaAjgD9tN. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. That's Decadence is our decay of morality through out the world. Our insecurities and lack of faith make our path indirect. According to Martin, Graham would preach that all men are created equal under God, but backtracked when segregationists criticized him by saying he followed the existing social customs in whatever region of the country he preached. Martin Luther King Jr. electrified the nation when he gave his I Have a Dream speech, but there was another famous American pastor who was not impressed. In 1949, he held his now-famous crusades, or revival meetings, in Los Angeles for which he erected circus tents in a parking lot. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. In June 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention met in Atlanta for its annual assembly and passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and condemning racial injustice. Yet even when he no longer could trumpet, pace and point, the evangelist still came forward to close the sale, like the Fuller Brush man he once was. How his mind works is a mystery to me. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much That claim comes from a popular story told by Graham supporters. And Graham would wait for every soul who stepped forward, standing at the podium with endless patience, tenderly urging, "You come.". Ten years later, Graham updated the final chapters and added a new afterword for the book, published in 2007. Grahams response to the epic march raises a question about his legacy that some scholars and activists have asked for years: How can anyone call Graham a great pastor when he refused to take a clear, unequivocal public stand against the greatest moral evil America faced in his day: racial segregation?