From the stage to the streets

While the flooding and inexorable spread of CoVid into the U.K. hold the attention of most of us here, the reaction to the planned Franklin Graham tour should not go unnoticed. All of the original venues booked to host Graham’s preaching tour have cancelled, after numerous complaints of the American preacher’s alleged homophobia, Islamophobia, and right wing politics.

A Creeping Prejudice

We are seeing the accelerating trend of Christians being the ones against whom such discrimination is happening. Some have argued convincingly that the cancellations of venues on Franklin Graham’s crusade are examples of such discrimination, and of violations of religious freedom/free speech. Can there truly be free speech when a self-labeled ‘inclusive’ worldview bans people who have convictions different from their own? When we (in this case, Christianity in a nation with centuries of having a state-sponsored Church) are no longer the bully but the bullied, there is a powerful cognitive dissonance. This is happening, not just in the U.K., but across much of the English-speaking world.

Christians in the U.K. should be alarmed at the rapidity of this reversal, and indeed the willingness – eagerness even - of secular society to look the other way, or to pile on, when it’s Christians suffering discrimination. History has taught us, that when these things turn, they often turn fast.

Astute observers will also have noted that there has been a rapid tonal shift from the LGBTQ+ activists. Only a few years ago, such activist groups were pointing out cruel violence and persecution against a small minority, and asking to be allowed to simply exist, to be left alone, to be accepted for who they were. Today, entities like Stonewall and PinkNews are on the offensive. They demonstrate no mercy to those who do not agree to their manifestos. Savvy manipulation of our media and of outrage/victim culture, the weaponization of vocabulary and of Karl Popper’s “Intolerance Paradox”  are just some of the tools of the trade.

How, then, do we respond? Well, tens of millions of Christians who have lived in countries with fundamentalist Muslim, Hindu or atheistic governments are deeply familiar with the experience of persecution and of suffering at the hands of an intolerant majority. Some of these communities have endured for generations, or even centuries, in such contexts. It may be that in the years to come we will have much to learn from these brave sisters and brothers in Christ. It may be that our recourse to lobby groups, legal actions, and culture wars will be exposed as fruitless. It is likely that our most important lesson will be to learn how to turn the other cheek, and how to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt 5:44).  Jesus did promise his disciples, “you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake” (Matt 24:9).

However, the disruption to Franklin Graham’s intended crusade cannot be laid entirely at the feet of those who oppose his visit.

Franklin Graham is not his father

There are two important aspects to Franklin Graham’s approach that are worth noting. Firstly, how the two men made their choices about where and when to do preaching tours differs. Church of England ministers Ian Paul and Paul Eddy write about how Billy Graham “would only go preach in cities after considerable prayer, and after invitations from a wide spectrum of churches in those cities.” An admirable, spiritual, consultative process! The article goes on to explain that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) no longer operate that way. It appears that Franklin Graham’s decision to come to the U.K. was a private decision between him and God, rather than a relational process involving the U.K. church.  The lack of an outcry about the cancellations by the U.K. church is hardly a surprise, then.

Public politics is another issue where the two Grahams significantly differ. One of the hallmarks of Billy Graham’s preaching is that he focused on the gospel.  Billy learned to avoid most politics and kept the main thing, the main thing (after well-publicized and painful lessons through his relationship with Richard Nixon).  It is a part of why he had the respect of and access to so many communities and leaders around the world. Who else could have had the chance to share his faith personally with everyone from Queen Elizabeth to Johnny Cash to Martin Luther King Jr. to Kim Il Sung to the King of Jordan?

Politics and religion

Regardless of whether you agree with his convictions or not (and he makes no bones about hiding them), it is undeniable that Franklin Graham has very deliberately chosen to mix his politics with his faith. This politicization of religion is controversial enough in America; it sits less well in a Europe that suffered through some incredibly destructive religious wars before the USA even existed. In addition to his right wing politics, Franklin Graham has also been outspoken on his views about LGBTQ+ and on Islam – two already charged issues.

Franklin Graham is certainly entitled to air his views, and the truth is that many faithful Christians in Europe will actually agree with most of them. Yet there needs to be a recognition that the European context, and specifically the U.K. context, requires its own approach for evangelists, especially for high profile ones. One size never fits all when it comes to spreading the good news of Jesus cross-culturally. This is lesson number one for all aspiring missionaries! You wouldn’t try to evangelize a Muslim while eating a pork sausage and drinking a beer, after all. Europe is profoundly different from America, and our evangelism must reflect that. Remember, this is a Europe that has endured centuries of deep antipathy between religious powers, the spiritual baggage of state churches, and the trauma of state-sponsored atheism.

Franklin promised to focus on the gospel in his evangelistic endeavours in the U.K., and I have confidence that he would keep his word if he gave it. He is a gifted evangelist when he preaches the good news. However, the unfortunate truth is that Graham’s evangelistic platform – in Europe, at least – will never be free from the impact of his very public politics. It appears that influential groups in the U.K. are intent on letting Franklin Graham know that they consider him a homophobic, Islamophobic, right wing, Trump-idolizing crackpot and if that’s the Jesus he offers, then thanks-but-no-thanks.

Europe - white unto harvest?

Yet, the U.K.’s reticence to welcome Franklin Graham’s own crusade should not be associated with a rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ. True, the fires of religious fervour burn most weakly in Europe among all continents. However, for a number of years, missionaries, ministers, and youth workers in “the prodigal continent” have been saying that there has been more openness to the person of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit – especially among the younger generation – than there has been in a long time. This is not even including the many on-fire migrant churches from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, nor the spiritually hungry and desperate migrant populations from places like Afghanistan and Iran (oddly enough, all the above are the groups most likely to resonate with Franklin Graham’s particular blend of religion and politics!) In many places in Europe, the spiritual harvest is ripe. Many who live on this continent will question, though, whether an American mass evangelist with conspicuously right wing politics is going to be the most effective worker in that harvest field.

Franklin Graham has stated that he intends to come to the U.K. anyway. I am glad that my brother in Christ is not cowed into cancelling his campaign simply due to the cancellation of public venues. We can all hope that his visit brings much spiritual fruit, even if the venues are churches instead.

So now what?

It’s OK to mourn the perceived loss of opportunity and freedom for this type of high profile ministry.

It’s OK to grieve that both political correctness/identity politics and the politicization of Christianity can prevent the gospel from being heard by many thousands.

It’s essential to recognise that human hearts and fallen societies will usually resist the spread of the gospel, and often, hate the messenger.

It’s vital to acknowledge that the powers and principalities desire to corrupt and oppress humanity, and suppress the spread of the good news of Jesus and the life and freedom only He can bring.

This chapter is far from over, though. In fact, I would argue that even if we regard this development as a setback, far better opportunities await.

Let’s imagine that Franklin Graham’s crusade had been an unexpected success. Nine venues, with 20,000 unique attendees at each venue. Including residual participants, and other smaller events, we could hypothesize that 200,000 different people would be physically present at such events. Naturally, non-believers usually do not attend these gatherings on their own. Of that 200,000 a significant number would already be believers. Even only 100,000 would be an impressive number to evangelize. 200,000 – even better!

The power of grassroots

The esteemed Christian researcher/pollster George Barna once wrote that for people who embraced Christianity, only 4% listed “non-church religious events” (such as evangelistic crusades, concerts, etc.) as the dominant influence in their acceptance of Christ. Church events were listed by 20%, and personal relationships (including friends, family, and relatives) were attributed by 50%. Rarely does anyone come to Christ due to a single factor, but we cannot overstate how important church activities and personal relationships are in influencing people toward Christ. Face to face evangelism is not only more organic and relational, but allows us to avoid much of the tone-deafness that can undermine the effectiveness of speaking cross-culturally to 20,000 unique individuals all at once!

In May of this year, the global initiative Go2020 will launch. It aims to see 100 million Christians around the world reach 1 billion with the gospel in the month of May. It is the 2020 expression of a long-standing initiative called Global Outreach Day. The principle of “Every believer a witness” is a key part of this wonderful vision.  The goal is to see each participant share Jesus with 10 people over the course of the month. Go2020 provides all kinds of resources to help believers do this in their own local context.

So let’s do the math. Operation World estimates the U.K. to be 8.8% “evangelical” Christian. That means nearly 6 million evangelical believers in the U.K. A 100% uptake would yield 60 million times that Jesus is shared! Of course, realistically the large majority of us will not share our faith with 10 different people. If only 10% of us do this, then that’s 6 million “shares”. And even if only 1% manage it, that’s still 600,000 times Jesus would be shared, one on one, face to face, with another person. That’s still a number that far eclipses anything a mass evangelism crusade in the U.K. would achieve.

There is far greater reach and impact in the mobilisation of the grassroots church than in the platform ministry of any one individual. There is no government body, no immigration policy, no identity politics, and no lobby group that can stop a grassroots movement of passionate believers sharing their faith, one on one, face to face, person by person.

How do you believe God might want to use you as part of Go2020 vision? With the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, may the rallying cry ring true: “Every believer a witness!”

How can we pray?

Pray that U.K. Christians would become aware of the accelerating secularization happening in their midst – not to engage in fruitless culture wars, but to redouble their efforts to fearlessly share the good news of Jesus, no matter the consequences.

Pray that the schemes of the enemy to attack the body of Christ and to degrade British society would be exposed. The devil prefers to fight dirty. May the people of Jesus wage war in the spirit of Jesus, who sent His disciples out “as lambs among wolves”.

Pray for great wisdom, discernment, and humility for public Christian figures in the U.K. This includes people like Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby, Evangelical Alliance CEO Gavin Calver, British evangelist J. John, and even visitors like Franklin Graham.

Pray, as always, for a spiritual awakening in this nation with a history of spiritual awakenings. The U.K. needs revival on the scale of the Wesleyan or Welsh revivals. May the Holy Spirit pour Himself out on His people once again!

Jason Mandryk, Operation World (United Kingdom).