The Elephant in the Evangelical Room
A Visit to the Billy Graham Library Reveals Contradictions
Last Wednesday, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our feelings upon doing so were mixed. On the one hand, Billy Graham is unquestionably an important figure, not only in the history of American Christianity, but also in history itself. He left a seismic impact that continues to be felt. I have personally met people who experienced religious conversions at one of his crusades, the word he typically chose for his evangelistic events.
Yet, to engage with Billy Graham the man is to engage with American evangelicalism as a whole. His own story is intertwined with that of important evangelical institutions: Wheaton College, Youth for Christ, Christianity Today, Samaritan’s Purse. His style of ministry was very much in the evangelical mode, and it is among this group that his legend continues to be supersized. You could say that 20th century American evangelicalism was Billy Graham, and vice versa.
Therefore, the way a person perceives Billy Graham will inevitably be affected by how they perceive the complicated behemoth that is the American evangelical movement.
Many hallmarks of that movement were present at the library: shelves upon shelves of devotional books for sale, an idealistic presentation of a bygone era of American history, great pride taken in a famous preacher’s humility, and a final exhibit that literally shut us in a room to hear a gospel presentation amid the resounding notes of “Just As I Am.” (We were chided when we opted to skip an earlier video presentation.) The doors then opened to a cross-shaped passage through which we were escorted into a prayer area, where employees stood ready to assist anyone who wished to receive Jesus Christ.
All of this was presented with what seemed to be the best of intentions. The employees and volunteers were very welcoming to us, nearly all of them greeting us in a characteristic North Carolinian accent. They do what they do because they believe in Graham’s message. The question is, does the rest of the world still believe in it? Specifically, do those of my generation who grew up in evangelical churches still see all of this with sympathetic eyes, or are we now too cynical for such things? For as surely as we have seen great preachers, we have seen great preachers fall.
The Elephant in the Room
As we made our way through Graham’s reconstructed childhood home, stood beside his grave, and passed by the display cases full of memorabilia, there was a constant contradiction before our eyes. On the one hand, we saw the photos of Graham meeting every sitting president from Truman to Obama. On the other, we saw his son Franklin Graham, the current president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, appearing frequently in family photos and featured videos. It was Franklin who digitally welcomed us to the museum (after our brief visit with an animatronic cow), and it was Franklin who wished us a final farewell.
The man who is now the chief keeper of his father’s legacy is rather more controversial than his forbear. While the elder Graham met with both Democratic and Republican politicians, the younger Graham has made no secret of his preference for conservatives of a certain variety.1 He has been one of Donald Trump’s greatest supporters, denouncing the former president’s critics2 and portraying him as a great defender of Christianity.3 (Though with all Trump’s troubles of late, Franklin is choosing not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 Republic primary race.)4
Although Billy never really went on the record about Donald Trump (the 2016 campaign coming at a time when Billy was quite elderly and frail), Franklin has publicly stated that his father voted for Trump,5 a revelation that seems to suit his own political agenda as much as anything else. If Trump is the defender of Christianity, does his behavior not matter? After all, Billy Graham famously refused to be alone with a woman who was not his wife. It is safe to say that former President Trump has not followed that rule to the letter.
Thus, the Graham family legacy now has another thing in common with American evangelicalism as a whole: an elephant in the room. We felt the elephant’s presence everywhere we went on the property. The elephant is not really Trump himself or even Franklin Graham’s support for Trump, but that thing of which evangelicals are so often accused: hypocrisy.
Billy met with every president, regardless of party affiliation. Franklin has not met with Joe Biden, but is happy to condemn him publicly.6 Even if Billy did vote for Trump, his approach to politics seems rather different from his son’s.
A Simple Gospel?
This leads one to wonder, what is the real purpose of the Graham initiative now? In video presentations at the museum, prominent public figures of various backgrounds praised Billy Graham’s legacy of love, compassion, sincerity, and a simple gospel for all.
Can this simple gospel be combined with partisan polemics without losing something of its focus? Can we condemn those who cite the wrong way and expect them to then come as they are? In one video, Billy Graham insisted that God was not standing in judgment over those in the audience, but welcoming them with open arms. He spoke of the gospel overcoming barriers and reaching to every man, woman, boy, and girl.
But the evangelical leaders of today are often preaching a different message. They speak of things on earth rather than things in heaven. They hope to win converts to a kingdom of this world rather than the kingdom of our God and of his Christ. They speak of humility, but promote themselves endlessly. They speak of love, but treat their opponents with scorn and malice.
My conclusion after visiting the museum is that Billy Graham was, for the most part, a man who truly loved Jesus, lived faithfully, and was used powerfully. But sin touches even the best of us, and the lure of power is strong. The elder Graham managed to walk a fine line politically. His son has been rather more clumsy, and now one cannot hear the name Graham without thinking of that elephant.
How do you get rid of an elephant? One bit at a time. Elephants have their place, of course, but the preaching of the gospel is not meant to be a circus. No, we must not be the emperors of old, tossing our listeners a little bread of heaven along with the show. Leave the elephants where they were meant to be, and serve the people bread and wine: the body and blood of a crucified Savior who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
And yes, he will take you just as you are.
https://www.newsweek.com/over-16000-christians-want-franklin-graham-fired-helping-incite-capitol-riot-1562632
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/franklin-graham-calls-for-june-2-prayer-for-trump/
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/inside-donald-trumps-relationship-rev-billy-graham/story?id=53448191
https://news.yahoo.com/franklin-graham-defies-trump-warning-093041128.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKCwW0prYP2WesQxpOqYDrTIk2HHEuBKL8u3LfSk4AiIMYFSKbn16jw6cHI6O_Rc_SeVrY_5o0ZCfetFk8evVeyy9es7FexFdWcZjREKMdMY1iSMbSKyFBaxV0V5FyMhKZ0wTql4AhH8PIsvl40zOSzam1WPxmzyAO7T2uhKkuO-
https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/billy-graham-voted-for-donald-trump-in-2016-son-franklin-reveals#:~:text=It's%20been%20revealed%20that%20the,should%20be%20removed%20from%20power.
https://www.newsweek.com/franklin-graham-says-biden-bringing-onset-socialism-says-america-doesnt-need-rebuilding-1587899
Amy, thanks for this post. I had some similar observations when I stayed at the retreat center for a week-long seminary class about 5 years ago. Didn't spend much time at the library, but there was a lot of weird pressure to adhere to a certain form of conservative evangelicalism I guess? And while Graham deserves a measure of respect, there was a lot of adulation that bordered on celebrity worship. (If we're honest, we all have someone we do this to, but we should try to temper it.)
I will use it to share regular essays on history, theology, and life in general.
My personal Substack page will be used for short essays, typically 1,500 words
or less. It will have a wide range of focus and minimal theological terminology.
I hope that people of various backgrounds and religious/philosophical persuasions
will find it helpful and accessible.
Good intentions, refrigerator contents = no comment by me.
Some history best forgotten = no comment no comment by me
Unvisited Tombs = I felt you unfairly portrayed George Washington
The Altar of Faith = no comment by me
Imagining the Fall = You see one thing and I see it differently, however, I did take issue with
the term "embracing Jesus" as being less than accepting the fininshed
blood bought salvation Christ purchased.
The Elephant in the Evangelical Room = I said the elephant is in your head, because the majority
of evangelical Christians I know appreciate his work on
behalf of the unborn, and, installing justices that do a
better job of sticking to the Constitutional ideas.
I've pictured you as a considerably younger person than myself and because you want to express
your ideas, I thought listening in would give me more insight on this world. It has, but as you see,
I differ, as "a person of various background and religious/philsophical persuasion." I haven't seen
comments from any other people, nor do I care if anyone else sees mine. You write to teach and I
do as well. Can you live with that?