Rebel With a Cause posted by Ben Crouse

Rebel With a Cause


The book A Rebel with a Cause is an autobiography by the renowned son of Billy Graham, Franklin Graham. Franklin grew up in North Carolina, at his cabin home called Piney Cove. To protect themselves from paparazzi and religious fanatics, Billy Graham and his wife Ruth built a remote little cabin, with an electric fence surrounding a large parameter. This was the perfect place for Franklin to grow up. Here he learned all about camping and motorcycling. His father, the famous Evangelical pastor Billy Graham, was not around much and it was hard for Franklin. For high school, his parents sent him to a private school in Long Island, New York, where he picked up one of his most regretted habits, smoking. While there, Franklin did not fit in with the snobby, disrespectful teenagers and he grew to be more of a loner. Smoking and skipping out on classes were ways he was able to rebel against the school and rules that were set up there. He later transferred to a local high school and finished there. He went to college, flew airplanes, and worked in construction jobs in Alaska, learning everywhere he went. After Franklin was kicked out of LeTourneau University in Texas, he became more involved with his father’s organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He went on some mission trips, focusing on a little hospital in the Middle East. His passion grew more and more for the mission field, and Franklin felt God calling him to work. He eventually committed his life to Christ and began to listen to this calling. His good friend in charge of the organization, Samaritan’s Purse was passing away, and he left it in Franklin’s hands. The board voted for Franklin to become president and he is still the leader of Samaritan’s Purse. The book continues to go through different missions, many involving famous government cases like Jonestown, and the Contra war. In the end, he talks about finally being comfortable being a Graham, and now is a preacher along with his father. Throughout his life, Franklin had had many close friends in the mission field that moved him to pursue after God’s will. The book was an amazing testament to what God really can do through people, if they just listen.

One historical event Franklin was linked to was the Jonestown suicide massacre. Years after the mass suicide, committed by followers of an estranged cult, Franklin was looking for a place that refugees from Middle Eastern battling countries could go. The completely functioning and vacant Jonestown looked like the perfect spot. It seemed like an amazing way to turn something very horrible, such as a massive suicide, into a new facility where homeless refugees would be able to stay, protected. However, the plans for the Jonestown facility did not turn out the way Franklin wanted them to, and the idea was eventually shut down.

Another historical event he was a part of was the aid in Croatia and Bosnia. His organization created a safe-place and rehab/home for rape victims of the current war. There, retired missionaries from Samaritan’s Purse stayed, cared for, and influenced the young women, rejected by their Islamic families. It is part of the Islamic beliefs to kick out a woman if they have been raped or had premarital sex.

All of these missions, and many others, were only made possible because of the people already serving there. Franklin Graham made it a point to visit every place to see where the help is needed. Later, during the Rwanda conflict, when the U.N. refused to let Samaritan’s Purse into the refugee camps to help, missionaries from the organization made the trip to the Tanzanian border and went into Rwanda itself during the conflict. There they found thousands of people in danger and need of assistance. Samaritan’s Purse eventually re-vacated a hospital used for the murders committed in Rwanda and turned it into something positive for Christ.

One main struggle Franklin had, was his smoking. He was addicted. Throughout his life, even when he was little, he would smoke. The rebellion in his heart had been planted, and now he suffered from an addiction to nicotine. When he committed himself to Christ, he realized if he truly wanted God to influence his life, he would have to stop smoking. After a temptation to do it again, Franklin failed and then never picked up another cigarette to this day.

Another struggle Franklin overcame was his unwillingness to preach. He felt like he would be compared to his father and steered clear of the pulpit. However, when friends told him he had a gift, and God wanted to use him, he gave it a try. It would be very hard to preach to your father, especially if he was a preacher. It is understandable why Franklin avoided this ministry; however, God uses him in so many incredible ways through his preaching.