I used to think resting from work was selfish, until I considered the example of Jesus. Nearly 10 years ago, as a college pastor at the University of Oregon, I toiled nearly 80 hours a week doing the “work of the Lord.” No boundaries. No rhythms. No intention. No rest. Every crisis was my crisis. …
What kids’ letters to Graham reveal about his place in society. While researching a book on Billy Graham's life and legacy, we discovered a cache of answered but apparently long-forgotten letters that children had posted to him in the early 1970s. The letters reveal that these children saw Graham as a combination of friend, confidant, …
Lin Zhao’s faith led her to embrace China’s Communist movement—then pay the ultimate price for opposing it. Nelson Mandela. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Martin Luther King Jr. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. When we think of 20th-century political dissidents who were people of faith, these are the names that spring to mind. And for good reason: These men left an …
Can the spiritual dimensions of reality be probed by science? This past weekend, millions of moviegoers saw A Wrinkle in Time and joined a group of tessering travelers as they warped through higher dimensions in pursuit of the heroine’s missing father. The film is, of course, based on the classic Newbery Award–winning children’s novel written …
Graham preached behind the Iron Curtain, driving his critics crazy. The Billy Graham of the 1950s reflected the political mood of the United States of that era. His visceral anticommunism expressed itself during the Greater Los Angeles crusade of 1949 in his assessment of the looming Soviet threat. "Sleek Russian bombers," he said, were poised …
Graham’s London crusade birthed an evangelical ministry of global proportions. In March 1952, while still a layman, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a gathering of 750 evangelical leaders, not-quite-leaders, and not-yet-leaders at Church House in central London. We gathered to hear a 35-year-old American evangelist speak and answer questions about his burgeoning …
Fans of Madeleine L’Engle’s novel are wondering whether the film will do justice to the “cosmic questions” the book raises. You’ve heard the buzz: A Wrinkle in Time, based on the classic children’s book by Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007), hits theaters this week as a $100 million Disney movie. A lot more than money is riding …
Journalist Nancy Gibbs recalls Graham’s relationship with six decades of American presidents. In 2007, Time magazine veterans Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy coauthored The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House. The best-selling book chronicled Graham's influence on American presidents from Harry Truman to George W. Bush. On April 25, 2010, Graham …
The glorious gospel needs ordinary people. Perhaps you are one of the blessed few who are entirely content with their appearance. Perhaps you never stand in front of the mirror, as I did this morning, wondering as you take in the image before you, “Why didn’t God improve on that?” While we’re at it, why …
As new religious regulations go into effect and the government ends presidential term limits, what does this mean for the church? Last week, China announced that it would drop presidency term limits, effectively allowing current president Xi Jinping to serve indefinitely. The leader is currently concluding his first five-year term, one not particularly positive for …