A man of faith rises above negativity
By now, all of the stories about the great evangelist, the Reverend Bill Graham, have been told. The eulogies have all been written. The memories have all been put back safely into the vaults of the mind.
It is quite incredible to have witnessed such a rise to power and fame by this man of faith. Presidents and other world leaders adjusted their schedules to be by his side. So many people have enjoyed relating even their most fleeting brushes with the ordained Southern Baptist minister. Those stories are testimony to the fact that he rose well beyond the normal status of his profession.
The pleasure of meeting Billy Graham never came my way. The closest I ever came was spending a day with his nephew, Mel Graham.
It was the spring of 1998 and an annual trip to the Golf Writers Association of America Championship in Myrtle Beach was underway. A trusted golf publicist from Charleston, Reid Nelson, invited myself and another golf writer to inspect a new course that was being added to the incredible collection of layouts that already existed in Myrtle Beach.
That was the first time I saw what would become World Tour Golf Links … and the first time I met Mel Graham.
President and CEO of Graham Enterprises, based in Charlotte, Graham already was a very successful businessman. His company, founded in 1978, grew into one of the Carolinas’ leading real estate development and investment companies. He was now expanding into the world of golf.
The tour of the golf course construction site included an explanation that the course was to be a tribute to the famous holes at many of the great golf courses from around the world. It would be something different from the rest of the 100 golf courses in the Greater Myrtle Beach area.
After the tour, we adjourned for lunch at one of the great traditional restaurants in the area, New York Prime.
That was when I got to witness the other side of Graham, a board member of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association.
After ordering lunch, and in the midst of a lively discussion of golf course architecture, Graham interrupted the conversation to say, “Before our food comes, let’s all bow our heads and give thanks to the Lord for today’s meal and the great fellowship we share.”
It was the first time I witnessed such a profound profession of faith in a business setting.
Much of the rest of the lunch session was seasoned with other, more subtle professions of faith.
Graham offered thoughts such as, “I am very fortunate that the Lord has allowed me to be successful financially, so I can become involved in a project like this.”
Or, “It is a privilege to be able to take a parcel of the Lord’s beautiful countryside and turn it into something that so many people may be able to enjoy in the future.”
His profession of faith was quite genuine … and left a lasting impression. It is easy – in the midst of our very secular rat race along the Mid-Atlantic megalopolis – to forget the vast number of people in America who still cling to religion as the most important chapter in their life.
The counter-existence of those two lifestyles was never more explicit than during the recent verbal clashes between Vice President Mike Pence and television personality Joy Behar.
Behar, the 75-year-old comedian who has a long history of criticizing any thoughts that are even slightly to the right of cen-
ter, grabbed an opportunity to take a cheap shot at Pence – and all people of faith.
She quickly expanded on an unsubstantiated statement from fired White House staffer Omarosa Manigault that claimed Pence, “thinks Jesus tells him to say things.” Behar added to the fire by saying, “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you. That’s called mental illness.”
Of course, Behar conveniently forgot that fellow-Leftist Oprah Winfrey recently made a similar comment about Divine guidance on a speculated presidential campaign when she said, “If God actually wanted me to run, wouldn’t God kind of tell
me?”
Pence fired back during an interview with “Fox and Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt. Although he refused to refer to Behar by name, he said, “People of all different faith traditions, they cherish their faith in God. And to have ABC have a forum that spoke in such demeaning terms, I think it’s evidence of how out of touch some of the mainstream media are with the faith and values of the American people.”
The hypocrisy behind these attacks from the Left is amazing. They preach tolerance of so many things that might be offensive to the mainstream of American society – for example, drug use. But they are openly intolerant of what they perceive to be sinners against the progressive way of life – people of faith.
The death of Reverend
Graham brought back memories of the day with his nephew. And that day reinforced the passion that many Americans still have for their faith-based values.
Yes, each year more and more Americans slip away from a moral foundation based on religion. But there is still a large majority who cling to faith as an important part of their lives – no matter what Joy Behar and many disciples of “The View” feel. Tony Leodora is president of TL Golf Services, host of the weekly GolfTalk Live radio show on WNTP 990-AM and host of the Traveling Golfer television show — as well as editor of GolfStyles magazine. He is former sports editor of The Times Herald. Send comments to tlgolfservices@aol.com.