Since Billy Graham’s final crusade over the weekend has generated quite a few headlines, here’s a little bit of trivia that shines a light on the origins of Graham’s ministry :

In 1949 Graham got his big break during a Los Angeles crusade. Newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, hearing that the evangelist was preaching against communism, ordered his editors: “Puff Graham.” They did, and other journalists and publishing executives joined in. Over the next decade, Life, Time, Look, and Newsweek magazines put Graham on their covers a dozen times. Advertising experts gave Graham awards two years in a row for being the most publicized person in America.

It looks like the grassroots movement that Graham started had a little help from the man who infamously said “You provide the pictures, I’ll provide the war.” Not that I’m trying to knock Graham or anything. These days, I’ll take a sincere proselytizer like Graham over a self-righteous politician like Pat Robertson any day. At least Graham never fell for the temptation of setting up one of those religious television networks as an international panhandling corporation.