Growing Edge: Book Reviews
January 1, 2002
Any assessment of twentieth-century American Christianity will have to include an evaluation of Billy Graham's life and ministry. While other biographies tell the story of Graham's rise to fame, Lewis Drummond's The Evangelist (Word, 2001) assesses whether Graham's ministry is "a genuine historical phenomenon that finds itself in the mainstream of evangelicalism." In effect, Drummond answers this question by testing Graham against 12 essential doctrines and beliefs of evangelicalism. I found nary a fault or deficiency in the book's evaluation of Graham's beliefs, methods, or impact. Graham clearly passes the test. Drummond favorably quotes Reverend Maurice Wood, member of Britain's House of Lords, who puts Billy "in line with the Wesleys and Saint Augustine" and extols him as "the most spiritually productive servant of God in our time." We must admit that it simply might not be possible for those of us who admire Billy Graham to evaluate him objectively. It would have been interesting for Drummond to assess Graham's uncanny ability to preach the gospel without offending those who hear him. Indeed, an intriguing question might be: is it possible for a man to be absolutely true to the gospel in a post-Christian culture, and yet be among the most admired men in America, year after year? Nor does Drummond analyze questions such as whether Graham's overtures to and cooperation with Roman Catholics and liberal Protestants will have the unintended long-term effect of obliterating important doctrinal distinctions. We do not know how future historians will view Graham. Will his legacy be his leadership of unifying evangelicals and challenging them to engage the culture? Will it be the worldwide impact of his Evangelism Congresses that ...
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