ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, October 1, 1996 TAG: 9610020008
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
For more than a half century, Billy Graham - a country boy reared on a dairy farm not far outside this city - has been using every means he could find to call unbelievers to faith in Christ and believers to a recommitment to that faith.
Saturday, an 18-year-old Hillsville woman named Carla Caviness heard him give that call again.
"I'm going to ask you to do something that we've already seen thousands of people do in the last two nights," Graham said. "Come and stand in front" in a public confession of sinfulness and trust in Jesus' forgiveness of sin.
Caviness found herself with more than 7,000 other people - mostly teen-agers attending a special "Concert for the NeXt Generation" - drawn to answer that invitation on the floor of Ericsson Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers football team.
Though she considered herself a Christian before the meeting, Caviness said, "it made me realize that I didn't have Christ in my heart." So two friends from church "went down with me and I turned my life over to the Lord, something I've needed to do for a while.
"It made me feel a lot better."
She recalled it as a simple, direct answer to a simple, direct invitation. But to Rita and Scott Creed - adult leaders of the youth program at Coulson Church of the Brethren in Hillsville - it represented an answered prayer.
Coming to the crusade with nine youths, including Caviness, from their church, the Creeds were hoping the young people "would have an experience they would remember," Rita Creed said. "And hoping and praying that one would be saved."
"Thank the Lord," said Scott Creed.
The Creeds, some other adults from their church, and their youth contingent were among almost 150 Western Virginians who rode three buses chartered by Spirit-FM (WRXT, 90.3 FM), a Christian radio station in Roanoke, to attend Saturday's crusade. The station also sponsored three busloads to attend Friday night's crusade event.
That caravan was only a part of the torrent of buses, church vans and cars heading down Interstates 81 and 77 out of Virginia ferrying hundreds seeking to satisfy their curiosity and a spiritual longing many felt only Graham could fill.
Barry Lineberry of Woodlawn, another member at Coulson Church of the Brethren, expressed the honest sentiments of crusaders of all ages when he pointed out "it was a chance to see Billy Graham before he dies."
Graham is 77 and has Parkinson's disease, a slowly progressive neurologic condition whose symptoms include trembling, muscular stiffness and difficulty carrying out voluntary movements. Though it is not life-threatening, Graham also has had other health problems in recent years, as has Ruth, his wife of 53 years.
His last crusade in Charlotte was in 1972, and though he doesn't speak of retiring, not even Graham expects there to be another in his hometown.
This crusade began Thursday and ended Sunday night.
On Saturday, some 75,000 crusade-goers were crammed inside the stadium, and another 13,000 or so stood and sat outside watching a giant TV screen projecting the activities within.
Despite drenching rain, a fairly tight schedule, and difficulty finding seats, the crusade generally received high marks from those polled on one of the Spirit FM buses that stayed overnight.
Most on the bus were adults, though Saturday's service was billed as a teen night - with free-admission tickets that actually billed Graham third, after Christian rappers/rockers dc Talk and contemporary singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith.
"It was awesome to see so many teens not ashamed to show their allegiance and enthusiasm for Christ," said Kemper Humphries of Troutville, a member of First Baptist Church in Roanoke.
"I think the altar call proves [Graham] has not diminished with age" or from the effects of Parkinson's disease, Rita Creed said. "The Lord continues to use him to reach many people, and last night he used him to reach more young people than I could ever have hoped for."
The Creeds, attending their first Graham crusade, also considered the music "fantastic," Scott Creed said.
That was a sentiment shared by all of the youths on the trip, as well as many adults.
The hard-charging music "was great," said Eric Hall of Riner, a member of the Grace Brethren Church there.
"It was a spiritual feeling for me being with so many other people who love Christ," and to see "the decisions so many people made for Christ," Hall said. "It was an unforgettable experience."
Though that was the dominant response from this busload, there were some adults who found the experience unforgettable for other reasons.
Richard and Sylvia Archer of Max Meadows, members of a Pentecostal Holiness congregation, both said they were "very disappointed" by the crusade - in particular, by the music.
"This was for the teen-agers - and I'm a little past my teens," said Sylvia Archer. She also concluded that the teens in the crowd "sure didn't have their minds on God."
In front of the stage, thousands of teen-agers and preteens jumped, clapped, swayed - one group of boys displayed the letters J-E-S-U-S painted on their bare chests - all to ear-blasting, hard-rocking music. Even after the evening's concert was over, Graham pursued the music theme in his sermon, referring to the Smashing Pumpkins hit, "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." He denied that song's premise that anyone is "a rat in a cage," beyond salvation.
"My opinion is that dc Talk has no place in Billy Graham's crusade," said the Rev. Carl Ratcliffe, pastor of the Riner Grace Brethren Church. But he did enjoy Graham's preaching, Ratcliffe said.
Robin Dickerson, a "20-something" member of Emanuel Church of the Nazarene in Lynchburg, also found the music "too much like 'pop.' I wanted to hear old-fashioned hymns and I was really looking forward to hearing a choir sing 'Just As I Am' for the invitation."
Numerous other people also mentioned missing that closing hymn - a staple of Graham crusades since they began in the 1940s.
Crowding in the stadium was a problem for many. An hour before the crusade began the stadium was already near capacity and the gates were closed a half-hour before the scheduled opening time. Some found it impossible to find a seat.
The crowding and lack of organization inside the stadium led Jack and Ruth Hall of Riner to vow to "never go again without seats assigned."
Despite the chaos, "it was well worth it in the end," for Clorene Brokofsky of Christiansburg. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me," said the member of Blacksburg's Harvest Baptist Church.
"Billy Graham is a great man of God doing God's work," said Lula Anders, one of the adult volunteers with the Coulson Brethren youth. "It will be nice to say I was a part of that."
The "crusaders" continued their Graham experience Sunday morning with a trip to the home where he grew up.
The two-story brick house was moved - brick by brick, and board by board - when its previous site was overtaken by Charlotte's urban sprawl. Now it rests on the grounds of the Radisson Grand Resort Charlotte - formerly known as Heritage USA, and New Heritage - just over the state line in South Carolina.
Rose Adams, live-in companion with Graham's mother during the two years before her death in August 1981, led an emotional, Scripture-laden tour of the Graham house.
Many in the tour group, touched by Graham's sermon the night before, were moved to tears by Adams' personal recollections of the spiritual life of Graham's mother, Morrow Coffey Graham.
Adams helped the new owners decorate the house as it had been at the time of "Mother Graham's" death, and placed mementos of the entire family throughout.
Adams insisted on greeting visitors with a handshake, and sending them on their way with a hug.
The tourists also got to see the latest incarnation of "Heritage USA."
The 2,200-acre resort was started by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker during the heyday of their PTL - "Praise the Lord" - empire.
After the couple's fall from power, and Jim Bakker's subsequent incarceration on fraud charges, the property was eventually sold to a Malaysian cement and concrete magnate.
One high-rise condominium tower remains unfinished, and the shops of "Main Street USA" adjoining the lavish Grand Hotel - though still mostly occupied by clients - receive relatively few customers, said a hotel employee who did not want to be identified.
The resort is "coming back," insisted tour guide Ron Beach, but he acknowledged it has seen difficult times.
The Creeds, who live in Galax, have visited the resort several times - including a trip with a different youth group when Heritage was "going strong" in 1984.
"It's sad," to compare the current facility with the vital, vibrant place they first visited then. "You could feel the spirituality here" on that visit, Rita Creed said.
But the Bakkers' fall is evidence of the frailty of human beings, the couple said.
It is a history they said stood in striking contrast to Graham's.
Graham's "whole life" has shown his "steadfast commitment" to his calling, Scott Creed said.
"He's respected by everyone," Rita Creed added.
In fact, not a few people noticed that the rain that had been soaking everyone the evening before stopped just as Graham came on the stage. It did not resume until after the crowds had moved back into the parking lot and traffic jams exiting the stadium.
Nobody was claiming that as a miracle, exactly, but it did draw peoples' attention.
Mostly, though, what they talked about the next day was the message and the messenger.
"I am going home with a refreshing of the soul," said Sandy Polumbo of Roanoke, a member of the Household of Faith congregation in Salem.
"Reverend Graham's messages still make me tingle all over," said Lora Davidson of Woodlawn. "He makes me feel that good. ... It was truly a blessing."
LENGTH: Long : 195 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER. 1. At 77, Billy Graham is suffering fromby CNBParkinson's disease and has had other health problems. Though he
doesn't speak of retiring, not even Graham expects to hold another
crusade in his hometown of Charlotte. 2. A group of friends watches
as Michael Smith and his band perform. Some adults, who favor
traditional hymns, were unhappy with the music at the teen crusade.
3. An impromptu line dance forms while Smith is on stage. The line
is quickly stopped by security personnel. 4. Graham, seen on a large
television screen, says some final prayers as hundreds answer his
call to give their lives to Christ. 5. Christian rock singer Michael
Smith wows the teen-age crowd at the "Concert for the NeXt
Generation." 6. Clorene Brokosky of Christiansburg chats with
friends on the bus ride home. She saw the crusade as as "a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. 7. The "crusaders" from Virginia also
took a trip to the home where Billy Graham grew up. The two-story
brick house was moved - brick by brick, and board by board - when
its previous site was overtaken by Charlotte's urban sprawl. 8.
Bibles and other religious items connected to Graham's life are
found throughout the house. color.