Evangelist Billy Graham concluded four nights of preaching
June 30 – his first such appearance in nine months – standing strong
after an earlier bout with faintness and delivering his age-old message, while
touching on such contemporary themes as racial reconciliation.
Evangelist Billy Graham concluded four nights of preaching
June 30 – his first such appearance in nine months – standing strong
after an earlier bout with faintness and delivering his age-old message, while
touching on such contemporary themes as racial reconciliation.
Invited to Cincinnati by religious leaders in search of racial
healing in their community, Graham mentioned every night how God can help people
learn to love individuals who are different from them.
“Weve heard about some of the troubles that they
have, but I want to tell you, weve all come together around the throne
of God, and we love each other,” he said, directing his comments about
the city to a television audience that may hear taped portions of the service
in December.
An estimated 201,600 people filled Paul Brown Stadium during
the four days, with about 11,000 coming forward to make first-time or reaffirming
commitments to Jesus Christ. Sunday nights crowd of 65,600 broke a stadium
record, officials said.
Throughout the crusade, the 83-year-old evangelist attempted
to draw attention away from himself and toward the gospel.
“Youve come not to me,” he told the throngs.
“Youve come to Jesus.”
Graham – who has suffered from Parkinsons disease
and other ailments – entered the stage with a cane and dark sunglasses
on Saturday.
He handed the cane to an assistant but kept the sunglasses,
saying the late day sun was hurting his eyes.
Graham spokesperson Larry Ross said the evangelist reported
feeling faint on the hot stage on Friday, when temperatures soared past 100
degrees.
However, Graham grew stronger on the next two nights, when
a fan was placed on the stage to blow on him as he preached, Ross said.
Each night, Graham was guided to and from the podium by his
son Franklin, who the older evangelist said stood ready to preach if he was
unable to do so.
But the longtime Southern Baptist evangelist stood for each
sermon, slowly taking a seat behind the podium as he waited for the crowds to
gather on the field before him at the conclusion of his messages.
Sometimes, his sermons meandered, but when he urged people
to become Christians, his invitation was steady and sure.
On Sunday, he said the New Testament story of the prodigal
son reveals the personality of God.
“This story touches all of us,” he explained. “Weve
aimed for our personal happiness and missed the mark of Gods plan for
our lives. (But) You can come home tonight to God.”
Graham has delayed deciding about future missions until he
sees how he is feeling after completing the years commitments. He has
a second mission scheduled for October in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“I think Mr. Graham wants to make sure that he doesnt
make commitments he cant fulfill,” Ross said.
He added that the evangelist can find no reference to retirement
by “Gods servants” in the Scriptures. “Hes repeatedly
said that he has no plans to retire,” Ross noted. “He plans to continue
preaching as long as he has strength.”
Organizers of the Cincinnati event said they hope it can help
heal the troubled city. However, at least a few of those supporting an ongoing
boycott of downtown Cincinnati appeared to protest the crusade. For instance,
a small plane circled over the stadium as Graham spoke Saturday, pulling a banner
in support of the boycott.
Riots erupted in the city more than a year ago after a white
police officer was charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen-ager.
The officer was acquitted.
In addition to highlighting the need for racial reconciliation,
Graham also condemned all forms of bigotry. “Bigotry of any kind is a sin
in Gods eyes.” he said.
For many in the audience, the presence of the legendary Graham
is what brought them to the stadium and would stay with them long after the
mission concluded.
“Hes such a beloved figure in our nation and such
a faithful minister,” said Lisa Chubb of Cincinnati, who previously had
only seen Graham on television.
“Its just a wonderful thing to witness historically but most of
all spiritually and in light of the problems in our nation, our world and in
our little city.” (RNS)