Franklin Graham – the son of late American evangelist Billy Graham – has withdrawn his two ministries from an evangelical accountability group which was co-founded by his father.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse have formally resigned from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), ending more than four decades of membership.
The withdrawals stemmed from disagreements with ECFA’s new “Leader Care” accreditation standard – an approach that encourages boards to actively care for and support the well-being of their leaders. Graham claims the EFCA is “trying to become the moral police of the evangelical world,” and has “inappropriately ventured” beyond its original mission.
In a letter to Michael Martin, the ECFA President, Graham wrote: “At first glance, who could object to efforts to support and care for ministry leaders? However, a deeper review of the new standard poses grave concerns about the appropriateness of ECFA addressing matters clearly outside its founding mission, scope, and expertise. As you know, ECFA was founded with a narrow purpose of enhancing financial integrity, and has largely maintained that focus for over four decades.
“The Leader Care standard also deals with personal spiritual maturity and behaviour, matters clearly outside the scope of ECFA’s expertise. While ECFA has proven to have expertise in matters of financial practices of non-profit organizations, it does not offer its members expertise in developing [‘care plans’] for leaders.”
Graham also said the Leader Care standard was a seemingly “knee-jerk reaction” aimed at “preventing the kind of high-profile moral failures the world has witnessed in recent years in our evangelical ranks.”
Graham’s resignation of his ministries from the Council carries greater significance because the BGEA was a charter member of the ECFA when it was founded in 1979.
In response, Michael Martin said: “While we are disappointed that the leaders of BGEA and Samaritan’s Purse have decided to withdraw from ECFA, we honour their legacy. Nearly 50 years ago, Revd Billy Graham’s leadership was one of the primary catalysts for ECFA, and these two organisations have served as invaluable partners in the ministry accountability and integrity movement for many years. We wish them well as they continue to pursue their missions.”
Other Christian leaders have praised the new Leader Care standard. Dr John Chesnut – President and CEO of Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA – said: “Those in leadership can be particularly helped in their growth as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ through humble, honest reflection on ECFA’s updated standards to support sustained faithful ministry, because long-term faithfulness is success in the kingdom of God.”
