One of the few heroes I’ve ever had passed away last week. Charlotte, NC born evangelist Billy Graham, while not a perfect man, was certainly someone to look up to. His dependence on the Bible made him the focus of some pointed criticism through the years, but I believe he spoke of what he read in the Word rather than his own opinion. Regardless of any controversy, he will be remembered by most as a great man, which he certainly was.

We paid our respects at his Library earlier in the week, and it was quite emotional. Happy for him to finally meet his Lord Jesus Christ, yet sad for the world he left behind. I had a surge of emotion when I’d heard he passed. I cried for the loss to the world his death represented. I prayed God would help us in the vacuum left behind, as I saw him as being the largest and most infallible of all Christian evangelists. I saw no one on the horizon to take his place. I felt the weight of a lost world, with no one to lead the way. Suddenly, peace came over me as I realized Billy’s death represented the call to arms for so many Christians throughout the world. Christians who sat back and watched the great evangelist do his work, while they did virtually nothing of their own to increase the Kingdom. I could see the mobilization of thousands of souls throughout the world. All of them feeling the same vacuum I saw, all of them striving to fill a small part of it, and in the process, a world full of small evangelists instead of one focal point.

That leads me to the attached photo. What I titled, “The most Charlotte, NC thing in the history of Charlotte, NC things” really represents that vacuum. Bojangles’, the Charlotte born regional Southern style restaurant well-known for their breakfast, chicken, and biscuits, became a voice for that feeling. Their restaurants paid tribute to Rev. Graham on the signs in front of their business, and just like that, a secular world gets a small dose of Christianity. Those of us who felt his loss get a reminder the future of Christianity is in our hands, while Rev. Graham remains in our hearts.

Thanks Bojangles’, and thank you Billy Graham.