Billy Graham, 99, Dies – The New York Times

The Rev. Billy Graham, a North Carolina farmer’s son who preached to millions in stadium events he called crusades, becoming a pastor to presidents and the nation’s best-known Christian evangelist for more than 60 years, died on Wednesday at his home in Montreat, N.C. He was 99.

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Mr. Graham took the role of evangelist to a new level, lifting it from the sawdust floors of canvas tents in small-town America to the podiums of packed stadiums in the world’s major cities. He wrote some 30 books and was among the first to use new communication technologies for religious purposes. During his “global crusade” from Puerto Rico in 1995, his sermons were translated simultaneously into 48 languages and transmitted to 185 countries by satellite.

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He was not without critics. Early in his career, some mainline Protestant leaders and theologians accused him of preaching a simplistic message of personal salvation that ignored the complexities of societal problems like racism and poverty.

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Mr. Graham pledged to local church sponsors that all donations would be used for crusade expenses, with any excess going to his Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. His own compensation, he said, would be limited to his expenses plus “the salary of a fairly well-paid local minister,” or about $50,000 in 1980 (the equivalent of about $142,000 today). The association’s books were always open to inspection.

By maintaining fiscal integrity and personal probity — he stuck to his rule never to be alone with a woman other than his wife — Mr. Graham kept himself untarnished by the kind of sex and money scandals that brought down evangelists and religious broadcasters… more…

We are sorry to hear the news of anyone’s passing – death is part of the curse, after all. But Billy Graham is one who played a tremendous role in shaping the Christianity we all experience today. Praise the Lord for the souls who will meet with us in the resurrection because they responded to a Billy Graham call for salvation.

Many observers will know that differences existed between fundamentalists and Billy Graham. Today is not the day for accentuating those differences. Graham’s life shaped Christianity in that way as well, giving definition and clarity to supportive and opposing points of view. We trust, however, that today perfect clarity has come to Billy Graham as he is welcomed by his Lord. May God give grace to his sons and daughters and extended family. [dcsj]