The Next Graham: Like Grandfather, Like Grandson
Some observers see striking resemblance in Billy, Will Graham
By Tim Whitmire
Associated Press Writer
Tue, Dec. 26 2006

GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) - For decades, it was Billy Graham's job to bellow a hearty "No!" across the stage when asked, "Hide it under a bushel?" when the song "This Little Light of Mine" was performed at one of his epic crusades.

But on this night, it was Billy's grandson - William Franklin Graham IV - who responded with that emphatic "No!"

A crowd of 4,000 cheered with delight as they watched Will Graham, on the final evening of his first American revival, pick up the evangelical torch carried for decades by his grandfather, the famed evangelist whose last crusade was in New York in 2005.

"Man, what a great privilege it was," Will Graham recalled a few weeks later, still touched that Billy Graham's longtime musical directors, Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea, showed up to lead the singing.

Graham family observers have speculated that Will Graham, 31, is the most logical successor to carry on the tradition of crusades begun by his grandfather, who is now 88 and in declining health. Will's father, Franklin, has taken over the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association but has long seemed more comfortable leading international Christian relief efforts through his Samaritan's Purse charity than speaking from the pulpit. the rest