Why I Like Franklin Graham
I read Franklin Graham's autobiography several years ago. If he wrote it without a ghost writer, he is a gifted author. It is very readable.
He was a youthful rebel. He got in a lot of trouble -- not front-page trouble, but trouble. He was always tugging at the end of his chain. He must have caused his parents a lot of grief.
But eventually he changed. He got his life back together.
He started a ministry of his own: Samaritan's Purse. It is a low-key ministry. It raises money for regions that are in the middle of a disaster. Its planes fly in food, medicine, and whatever else is needed to save lives.
He is a lot more conservative theologically than his father was after 1957. He is a lot more conservative politically, too. He doesn't waffle. He says things that anger people, such as Muslims. This upsets segments of the mainstream media. Here is an example.
Very quietly, he has taken over his father's ministry. He doesn't have the charisma his father had. But who does? He isn't a large crusade kind of speaker. But large crusades in arenas and football stadiums are no longer used by evangelists very often.
People used to ask his father, "Who will replace you when you retire?" He answered: "You will." That was a way to avoid answering the question. He didn't know. Now he does.
Transitions for major ministries are usually painful. Donors' support declines. The ministries lose their focus.
I hope the transition works.
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