Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411220011
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Long
Graham has communed with every U.S. president from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton, yet he has deftly avoided the tincture of partisanship.
Even though he was singed by his association with Richard Nixon, Graham generally has walked through the fiery furnace of politics unscorched, his reputation as "God's man" unsullied.
The public focus on Graham's associates is different these days. It isn't his political friends who are being scrutinized as much as his religious companions.
Though he still is conducting record-setting crusades around the globe - including his most recent one here, he is 76 years old and afflicted with Parkinson's disease, the most obvious symptom of which is a slight tremor of the hands.
So, even as he continues his lifelong calling of "bringing the world to Christ," there is a steady barrage of speculation about "Who will be the next Billy Graham?" - and specifically who, if anyone, will receive Graham's anointing for the job.
So far, Graham has been as adept at exercising the delicate art of politics in his own house - the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association - as he has at the White House.
He refuses to speculate on who his successor might be.
An often mentioned possibility is evangelist Greg Laurie, the 41-year-old pastor of the 12,000-member Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif. Laurie was on the platform in Atlanta and was recognized by Graham as an "evangelist of the future" on the third night of the Atlanta crusade.
Laurie has led five evangelistic meetings this year, totaling 15 nights and drawing 323,000 participants. By contrast, Billy Graham's Atlanta crusade drew almost 313,000 in five nights.
The man most consider the front-runner for the job, however, is 42-year-old Franklin Graham, Billy and Ruth Graham's fourth child and older son. On the same night Laurie's presence was noted in passing, Franklin Graham was called to the podium to introduce his father.
Franklin Graham heads an independent Christian disaster relief organization called Samaritan's Purse. He also holds eight to 10 crusades a year, coordinated through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, on whose board he serves.
Another name that is sometimes mentioned is Anne Graham Lotz, one of Franklin Graham's older sisters. Lotz runs AnGeL Ministries in Raleigh, N.C., and is highly touted as a preacher and teacher.
A primary obstacle for her, however, is her sex. The Oklahoma Baptist Convention, for instance, withdrew an invitation for her to speak last year when conservatives protested having a woman preach to them.
Despite all the speculation, Billy Graham has made no announcement about retiring, even going so far as to tell reporters, "I plan to be around a long time."
Franklin Graham, for one, believes him.
"I've told Daddy, 'Daddy, as long as you have strength and breath, you need to be in charge of your ministry. You need to be making the decisions and running this thing like you always have. As your son, I'll back you and I'll be behind you and I'll help hold your arms up if need be, because I love you.'"
In an interview at the Boone, N.C., headquarters of Samaritan's Purse, Franklin Graham said his father's health continues to be good and his Parkinson's symptoms under control.
Just as importantly, Franklin Graham said, his father continues to be dedicated to his ministry and engaged with the world around him.
Billy Graham "watches several hours of news each night," his son said. He also tries to keep up with the latest films "because he wants to know what people are interested in."
"Daddy wants to be fresh. When he stands up to give the message, he'll have new quotes out of today's paper."
"The Bible is the same" as it was when his father preached 10 years ago, Franklin Graham said. "The word of God is the same, but it is important to have new illustrations. People want to know 'how does it apply to me today? ' That's one of the reasons why people want to come to hear him."
Another attraction is Billy Graham's untarnished reputation for sexual fidelity and financial integrity.
Both issues were addressed by Graham and his team early in their careers.
In the book, "Prophet with Honor," Graham biographer William Martin recounts that Graham and his team members pledged to avoid potentially compromising situations, going so far as to shun having dinner or a car ride alone with a woman. To this day, Graham's hotel rooms are inspected before he enters to ensure that no one is there, Martin said.
Since the early days, Graham has been paid a salary by a supervising organization with its own board of directors, rather than taking a percentage of the offerings donated to his crusades.
His salary is based on the comparable compensation for the pastor of a large church. This year that is $101,250, plus a $33,750 housing allowance. With one exception since 1960, all the royalties from Graham's books have gone to a trust fund from which they have been distributed to his ministry and other charities, according to Graham spokeswoman Mary Becker. Portions of one year's royalties were set aside in a trust to help pay for the educations of Graham's 19 grandchildren and their children, Becker said.
Graham's model for financial accountability has rarely been challenged; even when it has, Graham has never been linked to any impropriety.
That refreshingly clean reputation apparently helps Graham continue to draw record-setting numbers of young people.
At both a Cleveland, Ohio, crusade earlier this year and in Atlanta, youth nights were packed houses. In both places, almost 80,000 attended the youth emphasis events, which featured high-powered Christian rock and rap acts like D.C. Talk and Michael W. Smith.
The Atlanta youth night audience broke by 10 percent the Georgia Dome's attendance record, which had been set at the Super Bowl earlier this year.
Though Billy Graham might prefer the music of his long-time crusade partner George Beverly Shea, he understands the loud contemporary sound helps draw in youngsters - as many as 10,000 of whom responded with "decisions for Christ" at the end of the services.
"His heart is with youth." said Jonathan Lotz, a crusade worker and one of Billy Graham's 19 grandchildren.
For months before the Atlanta crusade, Lotz, 24, recruited high-school and college students to attend.
His grandfather "likes to go to college students, high schools. ... People stereotype him as an old man with nothing to give us," but that obviously is untrue, based on the turnout, Lotz said. "The music may be too loud for him, but he's willing to give it a try. He wants to reach out to kids."
Even on the first night of the Atlanta crusade, which did not appear to draw a particularly young crowd, 40 percent of the 2,700 people who responded to Graham's message were under age 25, Lotz said.
Still, Graham's age and physical health are issues that the family cannot avoid.
"One of the hardest things for me to come to realize is that he may need me to help him stand up or climb stairs," said Lotz, a 6-foot-8 former basketball player.
"But in the pulpit, the Holy Spirit supernaturally strengthens him. ... When he proclaims the word, he gets strength from within. ... If you understand Jesus, you know this is not from vitamins or stimulants or braces."
Even with that help, though, "It is very taxing. It's hard on him emotionally, spiritually and physically. It makes my head spin."
Graham admitted from the pulpit on the third night of the Atlanta crusade that he had been physically drained by the end of the services the night before.
That third night, though, he was feeling stronger, he said.
Family members also have to deal with not being able to spend as much time with their patriarch as many of them would like.
"The time it takes to put together crusades takes away from family time," Lotz said, "but we know that's what God wants him to do."
Midway through the Atlanta Crusade, Lotz said he had seen his grandfather only twice. "I know that's not the way he wants it," Lotz said, but both men had jobs to do.
Franklin Graham also describes his relationship with his father as a mixture of business and family.
"I try not to bug him. I don't take problems to him. I try to solve them for him."
That's not to say that Franklin Graham now feels like he has to take care of a doddering father.
"I appreciate the advice and wisdom he has; the understanding he has. I've learned a lot from him and continue to learn a lot from him.
"He's been a friend, not only my father. I'm thankful for that kind of relationship."
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