Jack Graham (pastor)

{{Infobox person

| name = Dr. Jack Graham

| image = Jack Graham Headshot.jpg

| image_size = 200

| alt =

| caption = Graham in 2016

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|06|30}}

| birth_place = Conway, Arkansas, U.S.

}}

Jack N. Graham (born June 30, 1950) is the pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.{{cite news|title=The religious response to Syria's travails is prolix and confused|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2017/04/disharmony|accessdate=11 April 2017|newspaper=The Economist|date=Apr 8, 2017 |url-access=subscription}}

Early life and education

Born in Conway, Arkansas, near Little Rock, young Graham was baptized as a believer in Jesus at First Baptist Church in his hometown. From there, his life took a steady course into Christian ministry that continued during his formative years in Fort Worth, Texas, where he graduated from Eastern Hills High School.

In 1970, at twenty, he was ordained the pastor of his first church and married. He earned a B.S. from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.{{cite web|url=http://www.sbhla.org/downloads/877.pdf|title=Inventory to the Jack Graham Papers|author=Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives|date=February 2010|publisher=Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives|accessdate=March 7, 2017}}

By 1976, he and his wife Deb had a son; Graham was an associate pastor of Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, which was head-pastored by G. Fred Swank.{{cite web|url=http://www.texanonline.net/news/ft-worth-church-produced-baptist-leaders|title=Ft. Worth church produced Baptist leaders|author=Bonnie Pritchett|date=October 22, 2010|publisher=Southern Baptist Texan|accessdate=July 5, 2011|archive-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830195607/http://texanonline.net/news/ft-worth-church-produced-baptist-leaders/|url-status=dead}} That year he also completed work for a Master of Divinity degree with honors from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. Four more years went by, and Graham received a Doctor of Ministry degree in “Church and Proclamation.”{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Career

Graham began his ministry as pastor of East Side Baptist in Cross Plains, Texas (1970–1971). Following an associate pastorate at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church (1972–1975), he went on to pastor First Baptist Church in Hobart, Oklahoma (1975–1978), First Baptist Church in Duncan, Oklahoma (1978–1981), and First Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, Florida (1981–1989).

In 1989, Prestonwood Baptist Church, a Dallas megachurch with approximately 11,000 members, called Graham as pastor after its founding pastor, Bill Weber, admitted to an extramarital affair and resigned.Parmley, Helen, [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D01A6E9AA578&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Prestonwood Pastor Resigns], Dallas Morning News, 1988-10-09 Weber unsuccessfully sought to regain his old post, then convinced several of the church's wealthier members{{Em dash}}including cosmetics magnate Mary Kay Ash{{Em dash}}to support a new church he was starting.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1989/july/the-second-coming-of-billy-weber/|title=THE SECOND COMING OF BILLY WEBER}}

Despite this, Prestonwood's membership rolls grew by 2,000 members annually, and it was apparent that it had outgrown its location in Dallas. A new 7,500-seat {{Cite web |url=http://www.jackgraham.org/site/c.dgKJLSOyEnH/b.472375/k.8D2D/Dr_Jack_Graham.htm |title=Jack Graham Bio Page at Prestonwood |access-date=2008-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514013426/http://www.jackgraham.org/site/c.dgKJLSOyEnH/b.472375/k.8D2D/Dr_Jack_Graham.htm |archive-date=2008-05-14 |url-status=dead }} worship facility, school and ministry complex on {{convert|140|acre|km2}} was built in west Plano in 1999.

In 2006, Prestonwood opened its second campus in Prosper, near U.S. Route 380 and Dallas North Tollway. The church reached the 43,000-member mark in 2018, with regular attendance at worship services averaging about 17,000.{{cite web

|url=http://prestonwood.org/plano/who-we-are/quick-facts/

|publisher=Prestonwood Baptist Church

|title=Quick Facts - Prestonwood Baptist Church

|date=February 29, 2012

|access-date=April 13, 2012

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403114707/http://www.prestonwood.org/plano/who-we-are/quick-facts/

|archive-date=April 3, 2012

|url-status=dead

}}

Graham has served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest, most conservative American Baptist denomination, with 16 million members, and as president of the SBC Pastor's Conference. Paul Pressler, a retired judge from Houston, Texas, who was a leading figure in the Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence in 1979, served in 2002 as the first vice-president with Graham as the president.{{cite web|url=http://assets.baptiststandard.com/archived/2002/6_10/pages/election.html|title=Marv Knox, Graham, Pressler, McCall top SBC leadership|publisher=Baptist Standard|date=June 10, 2002|accessdate=September 30, 2013|archive-date=September 30, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130930185609/http://assets.baptiststandard.com/archived/2002/6_10/pages/election.html|url-status=dead}}

Pastor Graham served as Honorary Chairman of the 2015 National Day of Prayer and was a member of Donald Trump's Religious Advisory Council.Shellnutt, Kate. (January 19, 2017). "The Story Behind Trump’s Controversial Prayer Partner". [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/january-web-only/paula-white-donald-trump-prayer-partner-inauguration.html CT website] Retrieved January 21, 2017 He participated in the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral the day after the inauguration.Shellnutt, Kate. (January 19, 2017). "Trump Stacks Prayer Service Lineup with Evangelicals". [http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2017/january/trump-washington-national-cathedral-prayer-service-lineup-e.html CT website] Retrieved February 10, 2017.

In May 2022, Graham was named in a report on sexual abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches, which stated that he allowed a youth music minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church named John Langworthy, who had admitted to church officials that he had molested at least one student in the late 1980s, to be removed quietly and without notifying police.{{cite web|first1=Kate|last1=Pezzulli|accessdate=2022-08-29|title=Here's Why the DOJ Is Investigating the Southern Baptist Convention|url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/department-of-justice-is-now-investigating-the-southern-baptist-convention-on-sex-abuse-allegations-14630670|website=Dallas Observer}}{{cite web|accessdate=2022-08-29|title=5 things to know about Plano's Prestonwood Baptist megachurch after sex abuse report|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/05/23/5-things-to-know-about-planos-prestonwood-baptist-megachurch/|date=24 May 2022|website=Dallas News}}{{cite news|url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article261712352.html|title=What is the SBC report? Third-party investigation includes Texas names in sex abuse cases|publisher=Fort Worth Star Telegram|first=Megan|last=Cardona|date=May 24, 2022|accessdate=2022-08-29}} Langworthy was able to go on to become a youth music minister at Morrison Heights Baptist Church in Clinton, Mississippi, where he was later accused of abusing young boys again.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-23 |title=SBC report highlights Plano's Prestonwood Baptist as example of protecting sex abusers |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2022/05/23/planos-prestonwood-baptist-is-example-of-stonewalling-victims-of-sex-abuse-in-sbc-report/ |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Dallas News |language=en}}{{cite web|accessdate=2022-08-29|title=Who's Who in Guidepost Solutions sexual abuse report|url=https://thebaptistrecord.org/whos-who-in-guidepost-solutions-sexual-abuse-report/|date=24 May 2022|publisher=The Baptist Record}}{{cite web|accessdate=2022-08-29|title=Report: Prestonwood Baptist Church hid sexual abuse from police|url=https://www.audacy.com/krld/news/local/report-prestonwood-baptist-church-hid-sex-abuse-from-police|date=23 May 2022|website=NewsRadio 1080 KRLD}}

Theological views

Graham's theological views reflect the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message (2000 edition).{{Cite web|url=https://jackgraham.org/about/jack-grahams-beliefs|title=Beliefs - PowerPoint Ministries with Jack Graham|website=jackgraham.org|access-date=2019-07-28|archive-date=2019-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728002338/https://jackgraham.org/about/jack-grahams-beliefs|url-status=dead}}

Published works

You Can Make a Difference (1992)
Diamonds in the Dark (1997)
Lessons from the Heart (2001)
A Hope and a Future (2002)
Life According to Jesus (2004)
A Man of God (2005)
Courageous Parenting (2006)
Are You Fit for Life? (2007)
A Daily Encounter With God (2009)
Powering Up (2009)
{{cite book|title=Lifebook:The Authority, Authenticity, and Accuracy of God's Word|year=2009|isbn=978-1-934590-34-8}}
{{cite book|title=Culture Wise:Thinking Rightly About Seven Societal Wrongs|year=2012|isbn=978-1-934590-85-0}}
{{cite book|title=Unseen: Angels, Satan, Heaven, Hell, and Winning the Battle for Eternity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbMjAAAAQBAJ|year=2013|publisher=Baker Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4412-6229-5}}
{{cite book|title=Angels: Who They Are, What They Do, and Why It Matters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJgQBgAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Baker Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4412-6551-7}}