Why Billy Graham was a media pioneer as much as he was an evangelist

Following the passing on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, 99, presumably a veritable cottage industry of books will arise overnight attempting to place his unique legacy in perspective. In assessing his lasting mark on the American consciousness, Graham was best-known for his direct, accessible presentation of the Gospel, which he preached to a collective audience of nearly 2l5 million people in live audiences in 185 countries and territories on six continents.

And yet, what is likely less-known was the astounding intuition of the late preacher in recognizing the impact that various forms of media had on people and culture, both as a method for communication and as a means to influence opinion and perceptions – or more viscerally, to impact hearts and minds.

For more than 33 years, over one-half of his public ministry, I had the privilege of serving as director of media and public relations and personal spokesperson and media representative for Billy Graham, beginning in the early 1980s at a time of increasing media interest in the evangelist. Back then, some might have argued that Graham’s best ministry work was behind him – in truth, I don’t think Graham himself believed he would minister publicly beyond his 60s – but history has proved that claim to be false.


Source : foxnews