10 Notable Christian Deaths in 2017

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Bob Harrington – July 4

Cover art for one of Bob Harrington's records from his heyday. | (Photo: Music Stack)

Bob Harrington, a popular preacher during the 1960s and '70s known as the "Chaplain of Bourbon Street" for his ministry in New Orleans, died at age 89 due to kidney failure.

A frequent debater of atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Harrington is often cited in evangelical circles as a cautionary tale, as his fame and prominence led to a highly publicized fall from grace.

"Money gets to flowing and you find yourself riding in a big customized bus, you find yourself flying in a Lear jet, and you find your staff members picking up your briefcases. Unless you've got a solid base, you can really fall into this," recalled Harrington in a 2000 interview.

"Frolic — after a while you got those Bathsheba's, Delilah's, and Jezebel's out there in the church world ... All those things — fame, finance, and frolic — led me to catch a pass that Satan threw at the peak of my success."

Nevertheless, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Charles S. Kelley Jr. said that at his peak as an evangelist, Harrington was "second only to Billy Graham."