The famous evangelist Billy Graham was born on this date in 1918. Here are ten things you might not know about him:
He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the eldest of four children. His father was a dairy farmer.
As a boy he dreamed of being a Baseball player after he met Babe Ruth. Graham imagined playing in Wrigley Field in Chicago and Yankee Stadium in New York, but he wasn’t a good enough player to realise that dream. However, he did appear at those venues later, when they would be packed out with people who came to hear him preach.
As a youth he got turned down by a local youth group for being "too worldly". At 16, though, he was converted during a series of revival meetings led by evangelist Mordecai Ham.
At 18, Graham was working as a door to door brush salesman to raise money to go to college. He combined selling brushes with promoting Christianity which wasn’t always well received. Allegedly a woman once threw a bucket of water over him. However, Graham himself viewed that time as important for his personal and professional development, in that he gained confidence and financial independence.
Graham’s first crusade was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1947. Between then and his final one in Madison Square Garden, New York in 2005, he preached to more than 215 million people in more than 185 countries. While it’s impossible to know exact numbers, it’s estimated that at least 3.2 million people became Christians as a result of listening to him.
On August 13, 1943, Graham married his college classmate Ruth Bell, whose parents were Presbyterian missionaries in China. The couple were married for almost 64 years. The marriage only ended when she died. Graham is said to have pledged never to be alone in a room with a woman other than his wife so he would never be tempted to be unfaithful. He was also a great believer in the idea that a woman’s place is in the home and wouldn’t let any of his daughters pursue higher education.
He was dubbed “America’s pastor” and had meetings with 12 consecutive Us Presidents from Harry S Truman in 1950 to Barack Obama in 2010. He’s said to have helped George W Bush stop drinking; received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan; advised Richard Nixon about the Vietnam war (surprisingly, perhaps for a prominent Christian, it wasn’t “end the war” but “if the peace talks fail, bomb the dikes in North Vietnam and destroy their economy” an action which would have killed a million people). His political views were generally conservative although he once stated in a TV interview that he was a registered Democrat. He said, “I’m for whoever the best candidate is.”
He got on very well with Queen Elizabeth II and was a regular guest of the British royal family. He first met the Queen in 1955, and preached at Windsor Chapel at the Queen's invitation the following year. It’s thought they both held similar views about the practice of the Christian faith. In 2001, Graham received an honorary knighthood from Sir Christopher Meyer, the British ambassador to the U.S., on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. “He is being honoured for his huge and truly international contribution to civic and religious life over 60 years,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.
He once “went undercover” to attend a music festival featuring the Grateful Dead, Canned Heat, Johnny Winter, and Santana, because he wanted to understand the concerns of young people in the 1960s. He eavesdropped anonymously on conversations, presumably so he could later tailor his crusades in order to reach them.
Graham died of natural causes on February 21, 2018, at his home in Montreat, North Carolina, at the age of 99.
NEW!!
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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