Franklin Graham groups quit accountability body

Franklin Graham – the son of late American evangelist Billy Graham – has withdrawn his two ministries from an evangelical accountability group which was co-founded by his father.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.