Posted June 24, 11 p.m. ET

Graham stays on message as New York crusade begins

By GARY STERN, The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News

NEW YORK — Billy Graham, opening what may be the last crusade of his 60-year ministry, told a truly diverse audience last night that the root of all the world's problems remains the same: mankind's straying from God and toward sin.

It was much the same message that he delivered during his first 416 crusades before more than 220 million people across the country and around the world. Accept Jesus, he told several hundred thousand people at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, then repent for your sins and be born again.

"The Bible says our problem is sin," he said. "We've broken the 10 commandments."

Despite his ailing health, the 86-year-old evangelist delivered a steady, half-hour sermon that was short on flash but seemed to please his audience greatly. His once fiery delivery has slowed to a folksy, carefully paced chat that mixes Scripture with old stories and sports analogies.

"I just had a picture taken with my grandchildren," he said shortly after taking the stage. "I didn't know I had that many."

The crowd roared its approval, moreso for Graham's lifetime of preaching than for anything he might have said last night.

"I can say I saw Billy Graham in his last crusade; I can pass it to my kids," said Joseph Magloire, 27, of Nanuet, N.Y., a Roman Catholic.

"There are all types of people here, from different nations, rich and poor, all classes, who came here to hear this message," said his friend, Mathews Samuel, 25, of New City, N.Y., a member of an Indian Orthodox ministry in Suffern, N.Y.

There was intense interest in how Graham would look and sound, as he suffers from Parkinson's disease, fluid on the brain and other ailments. Graham's desire to press on brings to mind the obvious parallel of Pope John Paul II, who suffered publicly for years before his death in April.

The crusade continues today and tomorrow, when Graham will surely say his farewell to America. He has left open the possibility of a crusade in London next year, but many around him think it all ends in New York.

"He was strong, he was confident, he was classic Billy Graham," Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling "The Purpose Driven Life, said after Graham's sermon. "He was stronger than he was last year. I think Billy Graham is one of a kind."

Few figures from any walk of life could bring out such a diverse audience, as reflective of New York as possible. All ages. More ethnic and racial groups that could be identified. And, perhaps most surprising, 82 different Christian denominations, not known for working together.

"This is an historic event," said the Rev. Doug Mitchell, pastor of Westchester Family Church, a 3-year-old evangelical church in Mount Kisco, N.Y. "To get this many churches to cooperate is nothing short of a miracle. A lot of people here put aside minor doctrinal differences because of the central doctrine that Jesus Christ loves you. If the church worldwide could hold to that concept, we could change the face of the world and eliminate a lot of evil. I think this weekend can change the fabric of the whole region."

All day, people spoke only in the most sweeping terms of Graham's impact. Then there he was, the nation's preacher, who sought words of consolation for the nation in the days after 9/11 and who famously inspired President Bush to renew his faith.

For half a century, Graham managed to offer a widely appealing Christian message to a vast cross-section of America while holding firmly to the basic beliefs of evangelical Christianity: accept Jesus and repent for your sins. He's respected by millions and has won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and virtually every honor available to him, while being criticized by fundamentalists for caving in to the establishment and by mainline Protestants for offering a simplistic, throwback message to a complex, modern world.

"We're always hearing about what's going on in Atlanta, down south, so it's great to see an event of this magnitude in the New York metro area," said the Rev. James Williams, pastor of Yonkers Christian Assembly. "Churches are much more separated here than in other parts of the country. We have the same basic beliefs, just different names on the doors."

A year's worth of planning preceded the event. Several thousand volunteers from 1,300 churches in the region area worked as ushers, in security and numerous other areas.

The crusade took on the same basic format as so many before it. Master of ceremonies Cliff Barrows, 82, led the singing of "Amazing Grace." Graham's 96-year-old soloist George Beverly Shea, who missed his first crusade in six decades last year after a heart attack, sang "The Love of God."

Graham's preacher-son, Franklin Graham, who now heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, sat nearby, ready to fill in if his father could not preach.

The ultimate goal of every Billy Graham crusade is to save souls — to convince those in attendance to give their lives to Jesus Christ and to commit to living as Christians here on out.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, more made their commitment last night, rising and walking to the front stage at Graham's traditional invitation. From there, each new or recommitted Christian, known as an "inquirer," is assigned to a volunteer counselor, whose job it is to answer questions by quoting Scripture, to describe the Christian lifestyle and to recommend churches in the person's hometown.

This has been the heart of Graham's ministry, to save one soul at a time.

"As a child, I saw him on TV, saving souls," said Jean Adams-Nurse, 57, one of thousands of volunteers from Brooklyn Tabernacle Church. "It is a blessing to see him face-to-face. He is one of the simplest ministers, an honest man of God."

Despite long lines to get inside the park, most who waited to be ushered to seats seemed quite at ease, if not thrilled to be there. Many wore T-shirts promoting their churches. Even in the mid-afternoon heat, most young people dressed much more modestly than students at an average Westchester high school.

Graham's crusades have relied increasingly on Christian popular musicians to help bring in big crowds. Last night's headliner, apart from the preacher himself, was Steven Curtis Chapman, a Christian pop singer who has sold 9 million CDs and is well known for promoting adoption.

The crusade continues Saturday with children's programs from 10 to 11:30 a.m., featuring Bibleman, a superhero in a "fight for faith." A "Concert for Hope" will begin at 6 p.m., with Christian rock band Jars of Clay as the top attraction. Graham is scheduled to preach toward the end of the program, which concludes at 8:30 p.m.

What may be Graham's last public sermon will be the highlight tomorrow, when the crusade wraps up from 3:30 to 6 p.m.

The budget for the crusade is $6.8 million, but only half the money had been raised as of last night, said Joel Dolci, chair of the finance committee.

The crusade had been scheduled for Madison Square Garden, but was moved outside to accommodate more people. Organizers seized on the racial and ethnic diversity of Queens as an appropriate theme, promoting the fact that some 130 languages are spoken withing distance of the park. The program is to be translated into 20 of those languages over the three days.

The New York crusade represents the end of a final tour of America for Graham. This past October, he preached before 155,000 people at a "Heart of America" crusade in Kansas City.

The following month, almost 300,000 people came to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., over four nights for a final West Coast stop. This crusade took place 55 years after Graham held a tent revival in Los Angeles that made him the hot, young evangelist of his day.