When Billy Graham came to Manchester way back in the fifties he spoke at a large meeting place several times.
My friends went to hear him and came back excited and ready to confess Christ at every opportunity.
I didn’t go. I listened to my friends description of what had happened and it sounded extremely noisy and not the sort of Christianity I was used to.
I had already found God. I went to church in the morning and evening as well as teaching at the Sunday school all afternoon.
I was happy with my Christianity. But not excited by it. The girls who went to listen to him came back very hyper and excited by the whole experience.
I’m afraid I was not then a good Christian in my thoughts..I felt no excitement in their new found religion. In fact I felt rather disapproving of all the noisy expression ...I had become a Christian snob I’m afraid.
I still wonder how much of it lasted in those teen age girls. Since I’m not in touch with any of them now I have no way of knowing....
Now, listening to people speaking of this man I realise that I might have experienced something wonderful if I’d gone...but I’d already found my God...
I realise that he really did reach thousands of people and that is something that I can’t fault...I just hope that all those young people are still happy with their religion now in old age. I am....mostly .
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1 comment:
I had never heard of Billy Graham, having been raised a Catholic, I knew who the Pope was, and that was about it. Anglicans were a foreign country "Non-Catholics" as the Nuns who were our carers disparagingly called them.
A couple of years ago, I did a Placement with an Evangelical Church, where when exploring their history, I discovered that once upon a time, they'd been a middle of the road parish, with Robed Choirs and organist and a decore which resembled many Victorian Churches built in the 19th Century to cope with expanding urban populations.
That all Changed when as a large Group, they went to a Billy Graham rally, and it seems that they were all born again as Evangelicals?
Everything changed, when an Evangelical Incumbent was appointed, followed by two more following, this changed both the theology and the nature of the worship and evangelism of the parish. Out went the old and in came a complete reorder, event the installation of a dipping baptistry for immersion baptisms and a music group and modern song book (not hymn book). And who is to say, that Billy Graham's conversion wasn't responsible? Certainly not me - the evidence speaks for itself. I could still feel their excitement as they described the impact of the changes and how they still believed in it. I could personally see some issues, but nothing the decried their spirit led worship and theology. As I am Catholic by conviction and persuasion, I still feel that there needs to be room in the church for all brands of Anglican, and I find it quite painful the discussions about headship and sinners (pointing the finger at LGBTI) that is leading to schismatic type posts from Evangelical leaders. They have a legacy from Billy Graham, which seems to me to be being exploited (or wasted) in politics, which Jesus never engaged in. Perhaps an infusion of the Sacramental would change things, but somehow their scriptural foundation is being interpreted in ways that I am unable to agree with. Sad and divisive.
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