White Bread Gospel

Being raised outside of the Christian church – much less an evangelical church – I had very little knowledge of who Billy Graham was before reading Wacker’s account.  With my limited knowledge I expected Billy Graham to be a loud, conservative, Baptist mega-preacher.  My expectations were not entirely met by the man Wacker describes.  Wacker presents an American evangelist and Christian public figure who was relatively scandal free in his personal and public life.  Billy Graham is presented as being far enough ahead of changes in America’s culture to not be seen as retrograde or behind the times.  At the same time Billy Graham is never too far ahead of the culture to be seen as a radical.  Billy’s views on divisive issues seemed to mature just a little before the moment the American people were at a tipping point.

In all I’m left scratching my head a little.  How did Billy Graham become one of the most popular Christian figures during the second half of the 20^th century?  He wasn’t a radical and his preaching wasn’t all that spectacular.  Billy Graham is a glass of milk and white bread.  But, maybe that’s the secret.  With all the conflict and cultural upheaval of the late 20^th century the comforting, white bread gospel of Billy Graham is exactly what people wanted to hear.  Billy Graham brought his polished product to the American market at the right time, built a modern organization to support it, and tweaked his product over the years to meet America’s changing demands.