[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Kelly J West) writes:
Franklin's comment "We're not having a church meeting here; I want to put
on a show that people will enjoy" disturbs me. Since when did religion
turn into entertainment? Is F. Graham wanting to save souls or win
Oscars???
Thanks Sue for posting this. It is causing me to rethink my earlier
impression of the future leader of Billy Graham's ministry......
Kelly J.
Sticks and Stones may break bones, but words can shatter a soul
On Wed, 06 May 1998 11:21:58 -0700 Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
writes:
>Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
>
>Billy Graham's Son Carries Message
>
>> ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- In many ways it's a typical,
>> old-fashioned revival, with talk of heaven and hell,
>> saints and sinners and a chance to be saved after the
>> sermon.
>>
>> This isn't Billy Graham. The preacher is more likely to
>> be dressed in jeans and cowboy boots and the choir
>> sounds more like ZZ Top, the hard-rocking trio from
>> Texas.
>>
>> ``We're not having a church meeting here; I want to put
>> on a show that people will enjoy,'' said Franklin
>> Graham, 45, son of one of America's most admired
>> evangelists.
>>
>> Thousands of people were expected to watch today as the
>> younger Graham opened New Mexico Festival '98, an
>> upbeat version of his father's celebrated revivals.
>>
>> Billy Graham is expected to attend the festival this
>> weekend to speak to the crowds. Father and son have
>> spoken at each other's crusades in recent years, and
>> preached together in Canada in 1995, but this will be
>> their first joint crusade in the United States.
>>
>> The elder Graham, 79, has struggled with Parkinson's
>> disease and has trimmed down his schedule in recent
>> years. Some reports have speculated that the
>> Albuquerque event is a passing of the Graham torch.
>>
>> ``I don't think that's the case,'' Franklin Graham said
>> Tuesday. ``He is slowing down, but it gives us a chance
>> to do more meetings together. ... He has no intention
>> of quitting.''
>>
>> In fact, he said, his father's health has improved and
>> lately feels better than he has in years.
>>
>> But sooner or later, the older Graham will have to
>> surrender the stage. And Franklin, who was named two
>> years ago as senior vice president of his father's
>> evangelistic organization, is prepared to carry on.
>>
>> ``My message is going to be the same as what my father
>> has preached, it's God's message,'' Franklin said.
>>
>> It's also a message delivered with a little more
>> glitter and little less of the fire-and-brimstone that
>> has made his father famous around the world.
>>
>> High-energy music and short sermons are more Franklin's
>> style. He brings in magicians, ventriloquists and even
>> karate experts to help deliver his message to children.
>>
>> ``It's something that people who are not church people
>> will enjoy coming to. I want to draw the people who
>> have never stepped foot in a church,'' he said.
>>
>> Franklin makes no effort to hide his status as a
>> reformed rebel. His own press packet boasts the tale of
>> an adolescence marked by drinking, smoking and a
>> disdain for school.
>>
>> Despite his casual appearance, Franklin said he's still
>> delivering a serious message to fill the public's
>> spiritual void.
>>
>> ``People don't take sin seriously, they don't realize
>> they can be separated from God for their sins,'' he
>> said.
>>
>> And at the end of each festival, Franklin -- like his
>> father -- invites people up to the stage to make a
>> commitment to Christ.
>>
>> ``Religion cannot save you -- you must confess your
>> sins and turn and leave your sin. You have to believe
>> that Jesus died for your sins,'' he said. ``That's the
>> only way God will save you.''
>
>
>--
>Two rules in life:
>
>1. Don't tell people everything you know.
>2.
>
>Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
>
_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
