A uniquely interesting TLS by Billy Graham while on his important revivalist – evangelistic tour of England in the 1950’s.

Interestingly, many in the Press and in the Church believed Graham, then 36 years old, would fall flat on his face in England, that the the Gospel-hardened British would not respond well to his combination of homespun charm and authoritative “Americanized” preaching. They were wrong. The London meetings of 1954 are often considered to have been the most influential of Graham’s long career, described as a revival by J. Edwin Orr. It has been thought of as the beginning of the crusade-style ministry that dominated the remainder of his career.

On a personal level, the aside regarding the tension of a busy evangelist between the call to preach and the call to be a faithful husband, father, etc., are evident and provide important insight into the young husband’s personal life.

From a historical perspective, this letter interacts with perhaps the most controversial feature of Graham’s later ministry. We see Billy here in 1954 wrestling with the issue of how to interact with the Roman Catholic Church and individuals. Three years later, Graham would preach in New York City at Madison Square Garden and the local priests rallied together to warn their parishioners against attending.

Somewhere between 1954 and 1957, things began to shift. In response to the priests' opposition to him in New York, Graham began making it a policy to preach out personally to influential Catholics in the communities he was about to visit, inviting them to participate together as Christians. This stance led many of his fundamentalist supporters to abandon and/or oppose him.

He had yet to become fully engaged as an ecumenical though. In 1960, he publicly expressed concern about John F. Kennedy’s run for President because of his Catholicism. In Just as I Am, his autobiography, Graham asserts that this inconsistency was a product of his own internal processing of how Evangelicalism and Roman Catholicism relate to one another from the perspective of Christ. Over time, he grew more consistently favorable of the Catholic Church and is today viewed as one of the most influential bridge-builders between the two in America. Some of course will view that as a cause for celebration and others as a compromise.

In fine condition with original mailing folds. Boldy autographed.

Complete, as follows:

5^th February 1954

The Rev. O.E. Keene,
S. Nicholas Vicarage,
Purrett Road, S.W.18

Dear Mr. Keene,

Many thanks for yours of 2^nd February. I would loved to have come to you but I am afraid it is really quite impossible. I already have three weekends away in May, and with all the missionary meetings and our annual Boys’ Brigade Rally at the Albert Hall, and an invalid wife who does expect to see me occasionally, I just feel I cannot undertake it.

Leslie Wright has forwarded your letter to me on the subject of dealing with Roman Catholics who may find their way to the Counselling Room at the Billy Graham Crusade, and I am discussing it with my colleagues at our Executive on Monday, and I hope to be able to give you a reply after that.