A Feb. 25 Christianity Today article highlighted pushback from within Vancouver, Canada’s Christian community about Franklin Graham speaking at the Festival of Hope, a Billy Graham Evangelical Association event.  Their collective opposition wasn’t about Graham’s faith, but rather his politics (or perhaps more accurately, his conflating the two).

When the Festival organizers sought the endorsement of four pastors and a Catholic leader, they responded with a letter.  One excerpt reads:

Given that the express goal of this event is evangelism, with the commitment of new believers to Christ, we do not believe that Rev. Graham, with his expressed broader belief system, should be the exemplar that impresses itself upon these new believers.  Moreover, we seek to share a joyful witness, distinguished by love, and therefore denounce the frequent incendiary and intolerant statements made by Rev. Graham, which he unapologetically reiterates.  Further, we do not support any words or actions that can needlessly create division among believers.  Rev. Graham is a polarizing figure: many evangelical and church leaders in the United States have denounced Graham’s remarks.  Finally, his ungracious and bigoted remarks have the potential to generate serious negative impact on the Christian witness in Vancouver.  For these reasons we are unable to encourage such an event in its current form.”

That strong denunciation also referenced these quotations by Graham to support their claims.

A second letter to Graham was written by a group of 34 pastors from area churches who articulated numerous concerns about Graham’s scheduled visit:

Our concern is that the contentious and confrontational political and social rhetoric that Mr. Graham has used has the potential to overshadow the message of Jesus and incite hostility in our highly charged social climate … Regrettably, Franklin Graham’s public comments appear to compromise Jesus’s mission of love and justice for all.  He has made disparaging and uncharitable remarks about Muslims and the LGBTQ+ community, while portraying the election, administration and policies of U.S. President Donald Trump as intrinsically aligned with the Christian Church.”

Read their entire letter here.

Graham’s response to the authors of the second letter was not made public, but he had earlier indicated that he planned to speak at the Festival, and to assuage concerns, would preach “the simple Gospel message.”

It says a lot that Graham’s fallback position is to simply proclaim the Good News without espousing divisive political rhetoric. That sounds exactly like what Jesus asked us to do (Matthew 28: 18-20). It’s not a trouble-free message, but it is the only one Christ commanded us to share.

The Bible has stood the test of time.  It doesn’t need the help of governments, kings, presidents, or politicians to transform lives or change the world.  The religious right sadly rejects that truth, preferring instead to manipulate Scripture to mirror the fickle whims of partisan politics.

Ironically Graham’s father – the Reverend Billy Graham – wisely refused to join Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority in 1979, saying:

I’m for morality, but morality goes beyond sex to human freedom and social justice. We as clergy know so very little to speak with authority on the Panama Canal or superiority of armaments.  Evangelists cannot be closely identified with any particular party or person.  We have to stand in the middle in order to preach to all people, right and left. I haven’t been faithful to my own advice in the past.  I will be in the future.  I’m not for the left wing or the right wing. I’m for the whole bird.” – Quotes from Billy Graham: A Legacy of Faith

The younger Graham chose to ignore his father’s experience and advice.  He discredits himself and the Christian faith by standing on the right and insulting those on the left (some of whom are – or were – sitting in church pews around the world).

Graham spoke at the Festival of Hope event earlier this month, and the three articles I read, cited no related problems.  Of course, we’ll never know how many people chose not to attend because of the controversy.

The one big takeaway from Vancouver is that Graham’s politics and rhetoric are a stumbling block to others (1 Corinthians 8:9).  He alone has the power to remove the impediment of politics from his discourse.

Unless he wants a repeat of Vancouver, Graham needs to commit himself to his only and highest priority: preaching “the simple Gospel message.”