Billy Graham at 92: Faithful Honor the Man and His Message

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Billy Graham has been called "America's pastor." That notion might seem odd in a pluralistic society where Constitution, law and custom guarantee freedom of and from religion. But consider the 12 presidents -- including President Barack Obama, who visited his Montreat, N.C., mountaintop home in April -- that the Rev. Graham has met or ministered to, and you recognize the power of the message and the man.

He is a man of faith spreading the gospel, one who has been honored by heads of state across continents. Early on, he recognized the pull of mass media and used it to reach millions of people, and also to trade jokes with the likes of Woody Allen and Phil Donahue.

Those apparent conflicts are on display in the Billy Graham Library, appropriately located off the Billy Graham Parkway in Charlotte, where visitors enter the barn-like structure through a giant cross. In 2007, three former presidents -- Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton -- attended the dedication.

On Saturday, many who traveled from as far away as Alberta, Canada, stood in line to sign greetings on a poster that celebrates the 92^nd birthday on Sunday, Nov. 7 of the Billy Graham. It is to be delivered to the evangelist. Even though he has been frail and has trouble seeing and hearing, family members say Graham has been feeling a little better recently.

"Thank you for your service to our Lord and Savior," read one message. "Our entire family came to Christ with you in Atlanta," said another. Verses from Proverbs dotted the over-sized birthday card. To those who spoke of Graham with reverence and respect, America is a Christian country, no doubt.

"He's true to his calling," said Cindy Owen of Fayetteville, N.C. "He's stayed on the straight and narrow, from the beginning to the end, and you can't say that about all of them," she said, referring to well-known preachers who have strayed. "He's managed to keep the Lord in the spotlight."

An animatronic cow starts you on the journey of faith of "a farm boy from Charlotte, N.C.," who went on to counsel the poor and the powerful. Graham dipped into politics, and occasionally regretted it. He favored Richard Nixon in 1960, warning against the election of the Catholic John Kennedy. But he made peace with the new president from Massachusetts. In a 1961 picture with Kennedy in a convertible in Palm Beach, Fla., the shockingly handsome young evangelist with the wavy mane and piercing eyes wins the charisma battle. Later, Graham said Nixon's taped Watergate profanities sickened him; Graham himself apologized for taped statements he made that were judged anti-Semitic. He always seemed to recover.

"I am amazed every time I think of how many years the Lord has given me on this earth," Graham says in a birthday message released through the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. "I am grateful for His blessing on our ministry for more than six decades, but wonder if there is something more He has for me to accomplish."

The 2007 death of Ruth, his wife, hit him particularly hard. "While I don't know what the future holds for me, I still look for ways to serve the Lord," his message continued. "Most of all, I look forward to serving Him in Heaven one day, alongside my dear wife Ruth, who I miss more every year."

His son, Franklin Graham, now makes the headlines, for his charitable Samaritan's Purse, but also for his muscular statements about Islam, a religion he has called "evil" and "wicked." During a library walking tour in 2007, the younger Graham told me he believed the president was "born a Muslim," a statement he has repeated since, though he said he accepts Obama's Christianity.

Sharon Sparlin, who drove with her husband, Jim, from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to visit the Billy Graham Library, said she wishes the elder Graham would spend more time in the White House to offer "spiritual guidance" to the president "so he will trust the Lord in every aspect." The world, said Jim Sparlin, is "going downhill more than ever." On Saturday, the Sparlins were content to walk through the history of the man they said has been "healing souls" for many years.

On display are the Presidential Medal of Freedom from 1983 and the honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, as well as pictures of Graham comforting victims of natural and man-made disasters.

In a video presentation at the library, Franklin Graham promotes a message of outreach while warning of a "Godless secular society." In an old video played on a loop, Billy Graham lectures an argumentative Donahue on the importance of faith. "If you try to reason it out," he says, "you're sunk."

As Graham turns 92, the discussion on the role of Christ outside the confines of this Christian oasis continues. Who's winning the culture war? Depends on whom you ask.