Billy Graham, Part One

Being Christian was an important part of my great-grandmother’s existence. In her later years, she converted to Roman Catholicism. This was because she was in a senior residence managed by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic order, and wanted not only to worship, but also partake in the worship. During this time (the 1970s), ecumenism was nowhere near as prevalent as it is today, so she basically had no other choice.

However, she watched with great attention the television broadcasts of the “Billy Graham Crusades.” Like many people and over several decades, the preacher’s dynamic nature, clarity and charisma enraptured her.

According to Wikipedia, Graham was born in 1918, raised as a Presbyterian and became a Southern Baptist as a teenager during a series of revival meetings. After graduating from high school in 1936, he went to Bob Jones College (yes, the one that is now the infamous Bob Jones University), but for only one semester. It was too formally strict for him. Graham then transferred to the Florida Bible Institute (now Trinity College of Florida), but eventually graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, with a degree in Anthropology.

All during this time, however, he was preaching wherever he had the opportunity. While at Wheaton, for example, he became the preacher at a nearby United Gospel Tabernacle and also had other preaching engagements. Upon graduation, he focused on his preaching

While serving as the pastor of a small church in Illinois, Graham took over a failing radio broadcast program, officially re-launching Songs in the Night in January 1944. But he left the show after only a year.

During the late 1940s, he started his evangelism crusade as a traveling preacher for the new Youth for Christ International (YFCI). In 1949, he put up some circus tents in a parking lot and presented a series of revival meetings in Los Angeles. This revival introduced Graham to the nation, particularly because he caught the attention of media mogul William Randolph Hearst. Although the two never met, Hearst was attracted to Graham’s combination of patriotism and conservative values, which aligned closely to his own anti-communist viewpoint. In 1954, Graham was on the cover of Time.

In 1950, he launched his radio program, “The Hour of Decision” which ran weekly (for 30 minutes) until (50 years).

According to the Museum of Broadcast Communications, Graham’s successful use of television began on Saturday, June 1, 1957, while leading his annual summer crusade at Madison Square Garden. The first live broadcast posted an 8.1 Trendex rating, which translated into approximately 6.4 million viewers.

Those first telecasts were quite simple. A sizable chorus sang familiar hymns, George Beverly Shea sang "How Great Thou Art," a celebrity or two gave a testimony of the power of Christ in his or her life, Rev. Graham preached and hundreds of people streamed toward him when he offered the invitation at the conclusion of his sermon, “Just As I Am” serenading them. Remarkably, Graham has stuck to that same basic formula for nearly forty years. Sometimes his shows were not live, however, and he never broadcast on Sunday mornings. Usually, he was on Saturday nights, right after “The Lawrence Welk Show,” making it a full night of television for my great-grandmother, and anyone she was babysitting.

But I digress.

To Be Continued.