[Magdalen] Church as Personality Billy Graham

[Jay Weigel]

Billy Graham I don't have a problem with, other than his association with
Richard Nixon......although I think he honestly believed he could save the
man from himself. Now his son Franklin, on the other hand, I think may be
possessed. Or maybe just plain evil. He is a nasty piece of work, to be
sure.
A really good example of the Church as Personality, IMO, is Joel Osteen.
Yecccchhhh.

I have had my own experience, somewhat tangential to be sure, watching the
rise and fall of a would-be dynastic megachurch. (Those of you who have
heard this before may skip this part, it's for Martin's benefit). A number
of years ago when I was estranged from the church I began attending a small
full-gospel church in my neighborhood, having been invited by a neighbor
woman of about my age. It was a very welcoming church with an interesting
blend of older folks and enthusiastic young newcomers, some with ties to
the state university. The pastor was a fairly young man who was a very
gifted preacher and an excellent Biblical scholar as well, with a vision
for that church to grow into something more than just a small neighborhood
congregation.  And grow it did; by the time I left that city they had
already outgrown their second building. I'd returned to the Episcopal
church by then but kept some ties in that church because I'd made many
friends there; it's just that I'd found that I was, after all, happier in
the church I'd grown up in. Even after I moved away, I kept up with it via
my friends who were there as it became a congregation of several thousand
with a huge building and the school that Pastor H. had dreamed of and
numerous "ministries" to all sorts and conditions of people, from young
mothers to  seniors to bikers. His three children grew up and went to
college and seminary and married well and then....just as it all looked SO
perfect, the son-in-law who was being groomed to succeed him was found to
be having an affair with a woman he had been counseling and had to b e
shipped off to someplace in Oklahoma to "receive counseling". There was
some doubt about whether the pastor's daughter would stick by him (divorce
being frowned on, especially for clergy) but apparently she did, though I
gather she's never been the same. Then there were financial irregularities
with the school and a semi-scandal involving the eligibility of a
basketball player there. People began to drift away, by ones and twos and
then in droves. Soon they could no longer support their operation. The
school closed, except for the preschool which had always been profitable,
and some of the property was sold. The congregation had gotten so small
that a couple of years ago it finally merged with another congregation
which had never had its own church building. It's now led by one of the
former assistants who used to be the minister to the bikers. It looks like
it might be on its way back at last, but in a more subdued fashion. Pastor
H. has retired, but is still available for assistance when called on, I
gather. I can't help wondering if he wonders how he screwed up.
(Addendum--I've learned that the school has reopened, but it's now run by
another church of the same general  persuasion and outlook based on the
other side of town.)

On Sat, Apr 4, 2015 at 2:47 PM, ME Michaud <michaudme at gmail.com> wrote:

> I believe Jay is talking about the children of these evangelicals.
> Both the young Schuller and the young Graham have come to grief
> (although in different ways) in "inheriting" their fathers' churches
> and legacies. As David said, "O Absalom."
>
> Not a problem among Catholics, usually. Except for folks like
> the Borgias and the Medici.
> -M
>