GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) - For decades, it was Billy Graham's job to bellow a hearty "No!" across the stage when asked, "Hide it under a bushel?" when the song "This Little Light of Mine" was performed at one of his epic crusades.
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(Photo: AP: Alan Marler)The Rev. William Franklin Graham IV, the grandson of the Rev. Billy Graham, in his office at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove near Asheville.
But on this night, it was Billy's grandson - William Franklin Graham IV - who responded with that emphatic "No!"
A crowd of 4,000 cheered with delight as they watched Will Graham, on the final evening of his first American revival, pick up the evangelical torch carried for decades by his grandfather, the famed evangelist whose last crusade was in New York in 2005.
"Man, what a great privilege it was," Will Graham recalled a few weeks later, still touched that Billy Graham's longtime musical directors, Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea, showed up to lead the singing.
Graham family observers have speculated that Will Graham, 31, is the most logical successor to carry on the tradition of crusades begun by his grandfather, who is now 88 and in declining health. Will's father, Franklin, has taken over the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association but has long seemed more comfortable leading international Christian relief efforts through his Samaritan's Purse charity than speaking from the pulpit.
"Outside observers seem to like to play the heir-apparent game, and it's not a game that's being played internally," said association spokesman Mark DeMoss. "What Franklin has told me, and his son, is that the most important thing right now for Will is to make sure he feels called by God to preach evangelical meetings."
At Will Graham's first such meeting in the United States, it was hard not to be struck by the strong physical resemblance between him and his grandfather. During his sermon, the view on the giant television screens on either side of the stage emphasized a shock of hair falling over his forehead and a wide mouth with lips that seemed to curl around each word as he pronounced it - both echoes of a young Billy Graham.
"We're all wormy-looking, I think," Will Graham said, laughing when asked about the similarities, insisting he does not dwell on them. "A lot of it's in our mannerisms. I don't try to imitate my granddaddy."
Still, while the Gastonia event was billed as a "celebration" and included the fun and casual atmosphere of one of his father's evangelical "festivals," the three-day revival also offered some of the hallmarks of a Billy Graham crusade - including appearances by Barrows, 83, and Shea, 97, singing "This Little Light of Mine."
With Franklin Graham watching from a tent reserved for family members, Will Graham finished his sermon and asked those in the crowd to step forward and dedicate their lives to Jesus during the traditional "altar call." He urged those listening to make a decision about Jesus and reminded the crowd about the indecisiveness of Pontius Pilate when he was asked to judge Jesus.
"Here's a man that has interviewed the living God. ... Pilate was impressed with Jesus, and yet he was undecided about Jesus. Some of you tonight have heard the truth over and over again," Graham declared. "There is no way to stay neutral about Christ."
That night, 125 people responded to the call.
"This is where I'm supposed to be," Will Graham said. "This is needed, and I want to be a part of it. I felt like this is what the Lord was calling me to do." Continue >>
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