Can I make a point without being labeled a compromiser? To open I am an IFB preacher to the core who stands unashamedly for the KJV, a local soul winning church with standards, and sound doctrine, but, something has been bothering me:
Billy Graham has been vilified before and since his death. Some of this is justified as he did clearly compromise on his separation standards and it appears of his stance in some crucial doctrines....BUT.....he left a morally spotless legacy of being an honorable man, especially, when it came to being a father and husband. He NEVER was accused of infidelity or any such thing that was reported. There was NEVER a hint of financial misuse in his ministry or even an accusation of it that I recall. There was NEVER a hint of attack on his character by any of his "minions" that I can find. ALL of his children, and his wife, seemed to love and respect him. All of his children are at least walking in Christian beliefs, though maybe not doctrinally sound on every area to be honest. Yet his name is an absolute scourge, almost a villain, among IFB preachers....
HOWEVER....
How many Baptist preachers are exalted because they built big works, won thousands of souls, preached hard messages against sin, stood for personal dress standards, yet their personal lives were a DISASTER? Some of these "exalted" men were accused again and again of adultery or even child molestation, yet they are still revered. Some of them had ALL their children completely turn on God or at least fundamentalism, but of course, this is often explained away by the phrase "free will" not parental failure. (Which free will in children is true, by the way. Proverbs 22:6) Some of these preachers divorced and remarried two and three times, yet they are quoted again and again as experts on just about every subject in the Bible. Some of these men have books written about them, but all those close to them know that they knowingly covered up their own sin and sometimes the sins of others so that they could stay in the ministry. They were doctrinally sound yet sometimes morally empty in portions of their lives.
So in this I am confused?!?!
Now, I get that pastors are human and make mistakes. I also understand that sound doctrine is CRUCIAL and that immoral events can be overcome. But what about the pastoral qualification found in 1 Timothy 3:2 of being blameless? Doesn't that mean anything today or is it just unsound doctrine that disqualifies men and allows us to attack-attack-attack?
I agree that Billy Graham compromised and I would NOT have him in my church to preach, but why is he more besmirched than some IFB who were clearly not blameless in their lives? I would not have certain of these IFB preachers in my pulpit either, but for a very different reason. Yet if I were to name those IFB preachers here I would be literally attacked for holding up Graham while attacking these "men of God." Sound doctrine bears eternal consequence, but so does ignoring or even excusing the immoral behavior of "God's men."
Please know that this post is not asking for more attacking of the IFB men who failed, but, a request for more personal introspection of why we are over-exalting them in the first place. It should never be about the MEN of God, but the GOD of men! Yes, Graham compromised, and yes, some IFB preachers failed, but God uses His Word and it will not return void. We ARE to honor pastors who preach truth but we are also to honor those who walk faithfully. No preacher is above the God whom they serve! Thus we must accept that there was a time when Billy Graham did clearly preach the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, people genuinely were saved, and he did this without the scourge of a marred personal testimony. He may not have been a IFB preacher doctrinally, but he was a proper role model in his home.
Does doctrinal purity override all personal moral qualifications? No! But these two things should be in conjunction not exclusively one or the other? Graham did compromise, which is not sound, but we should still recognize that he left a legacy in his home and "ministry" that we IFB preachers could learn from too.
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