Billy Graham, the evangelist who has probably reached out to the most number of people face to face than any other preacher in Christian history, has been called home to be with his Lord.

He was 99.

Billy Graham dead at 99

Much will be written about him in news carried by international media and Christian news channels. Most would be positive reflection. Some might be critical.

I have met him and heard him in Singapore and in Hong Kong and, over the years, I have grown to respect this servant of God. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. He preached the plain and yet powerful Gospel of Christ crucified and risen.

He was consistent in proclaiming the Good News beginning in USA, then England and gradually all over the world. He was not ashamed of the Gospel.

2. While he was an internationally recognised evangelist, he did not claim to be a theologian or thought leader. Yet he was instrumental in helping to launch Christianity Today, an influential news magazine which provided thoughtful articles and responsible news coverage.

In the initial 20 years, the contributing editors at Christianity Today included some of the leading evangelical leaders/theologians who helped to set the tone for the cultivation of the Christian mind and encourage confidence among evangelical scholars and pastors.

3. Billy Graham stayed clean and accountable while other “successful” preachers, especially the tele-evangelists and health-and-wealth teachers, got themselves corrupted by fame and fortune and embroiled in scandals.

Graham was once quoted as saying that he never dined with any woman alone except for his wife. His lifestyle was not ostentatious. He did not build a personal empire.

In fact the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association was one of the driving forces that set up the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, which promotes responsible financial stewardship and accountability, at a time when some Christian organisations were involved in dubious practices that enriched their founders.

4. When others were still preoccupied with American-centric issues and short-sighted vision, his organisation spearheaded the 1st International Congress on World Evangelisation in Lausanne, which gave birth to the Lausanne movement.

That Congress started an intentional engagement with Christian leaders from the Majority World and helped the Western evangelical churches move away from an unhealthy emphasis on evangelism while neglecting their social responsibility, to a more biblical understanding of evangelism and a commitment to assume greater social responsibility.

It was also at the international gathering where some leading voices, among them John Stott and Rene Padilla, helped to frame the Lausanne Covenant, now widely regarded as an important evangelical-ecumenical document of the Church that encapsulates the essential belief of the Church Universal.

Farewell, faithful servant of God. Time for you to be received by angels into the presence of God.

Billy Graham dead at 99