This weekend, Franklin Graham will come to Coca-cola field with a roster of musicians to "Rock the Lakes." Many of my friends and colleagues are promoting the event and attending. I wish them well, but I will not be there.
The first reason I will not attend is the things Mr. Graham has said away from events like this. At the event, Graham will tell people about Jesus, and invite people to consider turning their lives over to him. I've got no problem at all with that. In fact, I like it.
However, he simultaneously continues to stand by his statement calling Islam "a very evil and wicked religion." He believes that the Muslim brotherhood has infiltrated "every level of our government," because the president has allowed it. He campaigned for amendment 1 in North Carolina, and perhaps dragged his Father's name into politics in a way the the elder Rev. Graham avoided most of his life.
However, he simultaneously continues to stand by his statement calling Islam "a very evil and wicked religion." He believes that the Muslim brotherhood has infiltrated "every level of our government," because the president has allowed it. He campaigned for amendment 1 in North Carolina, and perhaps dragged his Father's name into politics in a way the the elder Rev. Graham avoided most of his life.
Franklin Graham is entitled to his opinions and to his speech, but I do wish he continued the tradition of his Father, who--while committed to a strict personal piety--avoided partisan politics, sought to love his enemies, and left it to God to judge other faiths. (The link is to a 2006 Newsweek story on Billy Graham. I highly recommend it.)
It's not that politics aren't important--they are. The elder Graham, however, did not want politics to stand in the way of faith. The younger Graham makes it harder to share my faith when he adds to a perception of Christians as bigoted and/or hateful.
Secondly, I fear that the medium may become the message. If people find faith through weeks of promotion, a line-up of bands, and a packed stadium (and I am glad that many likely will) will they sustain it in its absence?
Finally, I want to invest in Buffalo. A friend of mine was invited to a fundraising meeting for the event, and the sponsoring organization was seeking to raise an additional $850,000 from local churches. Where is that money going to go? Certainly some will stay in the local economy as the stadium is leased, and hospitality is extended to out of town guests. But the organization, the speaker, and the bands are all from outside Western New York. What greater difference would the church make if we decided to spend that much money entirely in our neighborhoods? Why is it that our locaI churches are paying an organization from North Carolina to do what we can do ourselves?
Now, many would be content to simply take apart the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and leave it at that. Not me. My faith was formed, in a significant way, by Billy Graham's efforts, and I am better for it. If I am going to suggest people opt out of what was good for me, it is my responsibility to provide an alternative.
So here's what I encourage Christians to do, instead of inviting their non-Christian friends to "Rock the Lakes." Buy them dinner (at a local establishment, of course), and enjoy the night with them. If you have a chance to talk about faith, listen more than you talk, and always be kind. If you don't get a chance, don't worry. Simply plan on enjoying more meals together. If your faith is transforming your life, it will show, probably sooner rather than later. Work on that transformation, instead of your "pitch."
A decentralized sharing of meals seems less likely to change the world than fundraising, promotion, big events, and political power, but it is the method that Jesus chose. I'm going to skip the stadium, and give local, kind, and personal a try.
Great, courageous post Rev. Drew. You will do more to bring people into the church fold (again), than any intolerant hate-monger, like Graham, will ever do.
Some concrete examples of why Graham stands for everything I abhor about organized religion:
-http://atheism.about.com/b/2011/06/02/dear-billy-graham-youre-a-hateful-bigot.htm
-http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/07/31/billy-graham-god-should-destroy-america/
-http://atheism.about.com/b/2010/08/20/billy-graham-responds-to-atheist-kindness-with-bigotry-hate-mongering.htm
Rev drew may have more people in his church but so what. It sounds like his church is luke warm at the very most and afraid to preach the truth. There is only one way and that is found in excepting Jesus as your personal savior . Islam is evil and a lie , Mohammad is a false profit and a total fake . If you do not want to preach the truth find another job and don't lead you congregation to hell. Did you not see what just happened in the middle east, Americans were killed and it was by the islamic brothrerhood that was behind it and allowed to take control by our muslim influenced president. Or was it the movies fault? I am not a hater just truthful and I pray for the lost everyday with a love and understanding not known with- out Christ in you life .
I really hope your comment was some sort of joke; but I couldn't find the sarcasm.
If you were really serious and you really like Christianity, then you should start by ACCEPTING.
"found in excepting Jesus as your personal savior"
There actually aren't all that many people that go to Lafayette Church. The number is growing, thankfully, but mostly my theology appeals to non-Christians, and they don't go to church much. Trying to please Christians is a much better way to fill a church. But I don't do that, either. Instead, I try to tell the truth--the thing you say I don't do!
Please tell me what was not true in my article. As for me leading my congregation to hell!? I have no idea where you got that idea.
It seems that your biggest problem with me is that I don't attack Islam, and that I find such attacks unhelpful.
If that is your standard for a preacher, then yes, I do fail. So do Billy Graham and Jesus. I think they make good company.
Anyway, I am glad that you pray for "the lost." I pray for them, too, and I also actually spend time with them and get to know them. They don't like being called "lost," but many are genuinely interested in Jesus even if they are turned off by Christians concerned more with attacking Islam than loving their neighbor.
Drew first of all I want to commend you for the good it seems you are doing in the community and it sounds like you truly are a caring person and I agree with you trying to reach the none Christians , remember it is the sick that need the physician . When you say they don't like to be called lost , remember we are all born lost and sinners and need a Saviour and it is only by excepting Christ that we can receive eternal life, there is no other way. I hope that is also what you believe. As far as what I don't think you are being truthful about is islam and the Muslim religion is evil because it points away from Jesus , he is the only way . It is not the people in different faiths it is their misguided religion that I dislike because it is a false teaching . You also said you hope that people at the rock the lakes that except Christ do not forget it when the leave the stadium, you can not lose your salvation because it was a gift and Jesus paid the price on the cross all you have to do is except the free gift. As far as what your church teaches and believes I wish I knew more and I visited your web site and could only find out things like how to go about getting married there or where the church was located. Nothing about salvation or even the mention of Christ. Just want to say that I think all religion is man -made and leads people straight to hell. Hell will be full of good people that rejected Christ.
Thanks.
I know that we have all been "lost," but the people hearing it haven't.
I never said anything about Islam, except that I wish F. Graham hadn't said what he said. Regardless of the truth (or mistruth) of the statement, it only serves to heighten the conflict between the West and Islam. It does not bring anybody closer to Jesus, Christian or Muslim, it is simply not helpful.
As for the question of whether salvation can be lost, I happen to agree with you, but I also believe that there is more to the change then the prayer that may or may not be said at the end of the event. We probably also disagree about what salvation actually IS, but that would take us WAY off topic.
As for the website--it used to have quite a bit more about Jesus, but I've stripped it down. I want to invite people to be discipled in person. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is impossible via the web, but I would say that it isn't what we are about right now.
We also don't do the "statement of faith" or other things that people sometimes put on church websites, because only Christians tend to care about those things. I'm really not interested in using the webpage to start arguments with other Christians or to take people out of other churches.
We do belong to the Presbyterian Church (USA). That means that I, along with every other officer, states that we "receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Confessions
Rev drew may have more people in his church but so what. It sounds like his church is luke warm at the very most and afraid to preach the truth. There is only one way and that is found in excepting Jesus as your personal savior . Islam is evil and a lie , Mohammad is a false profit and a total fake . If you do not want to preach the truth find another job and don't lead you congregation to hell. Did you not see what just happened in the middle east, Americans were killed and it was by the islamic brothrerhood that was behind it and allowed to take control by our muslim influenced president. Or was it the movies fault? I am not a hater just truthful and I pray for the lost everyday with a love and understanding not known with- out Christ in you life .