Pastor Chris' Letter March2018
Dear Trinity,
Today as I write my letter, I mourn a hero of our faith. The Rev. Billy Graham passed away this week at 99 years old. A friend of mine on hearing the news exclaimed the way many of us did, “so close (to 100).” He is perhaps best known for his preaching and unique ability to speak above the things that divide us as Christians. In fact he was one of the only evangelicals to be able to meet with Catholics and Protestants and share the good news with a unity that Jesus calls for in John 17:20-26. This preaching has led so many to faith. And I earnestly say he called them to faith because his crusades were more than just responding to a call because his teams connected those who came forward to the resounding call of “Just as I am” to local churches so that the spark that God brought forth through the crusades could grow into a relationship. Now I also know that Rev. Graham was not a saint as none of us are, I still admire his faith, teaching, and pure love that showed in his teaching that could only come as an output of a deep relationship with Jesus Christ.
I met Rev. Graham (along with thousands of others) when he was 80 years old. It was 1999, I was a freshman in high school and Billy Graham brought his last crusade to Indianapolis. I had the great honor to get to sing in the thousand plus choir, directed by Cliff Barrows, and singing with the great George Beverly Shea. I remember hardly being able to sing the famous “Just As I Am,” as Rev. Graham spoke of the love of Jesus Christ. In fact members of my own family came down on those nights at these calls. The choir sang at every night except for youth night. This was the only time I sat in the general arena and not with the choir. And on that night I got one of my first tastes of full contemporary Christian music and I followed Rev. Graham’s call to the altar, as he was the first person outside my church and family to share God’s love for me. It is a moment I will not forget and I will never be same. In fact that has a lot to do with why I do what I do.
My memory of Rev. Graham draws me back into our teaching series “For.” It reminds me that we should be a church and a people “for” our community, as Christ is “for” us. It reminds me of my favorite story about Rev. Graham. He went to England a few times. He went in 1954 and 1955. Over the course of these two crusades 64,000 people made a commitment to Christ. The news media started the rumor that the only reason for this amazing production was the Billy Graham production. Meaning that it was the show with the great hymn “Just as I Am” that drew people to come to the love of Jesus. So when Rev. Graham returned in 1966, he prepped Cliff Barrows to have the choir ready to either sing or not sing. The first night Rev. Graham asked them not to sing and he sent out the call to come. A few seconds of awkward silence with no one moving started followed by the creaking of one or two chairs. People then came to the love of God in the same way. In fact the same media that said it was the show then begged him to “Bring back ‘Just as I Am.’ The silence is killing us!” That crusade 40,000 people came to Christ all without a single note of music. It is not the method, it is the message. God is “for” all of us, and we need to share that with the world. We will miss you Rev. Graham. We know that you are home. May we continue to show God’s love as you did.