Franklin Wants to Be the Next Billy Graham

It was 12 degrees in Concord, New Hampshire, one afternoon in late January, an unusually frigid day in what has been a mild winter in the state so far. But that didn’t stop hundreds of people from gathering on a plaza on Main Street to pray with evangelist Franklin Graham. By noon, the crowd was clustered around a statue of Daniel Webster, facing the gold-domed state house in anticipation. Volunteers wearing plastic badges handed out little American flags, and a guitarist on stage sang patriotic songs. When Graham took the stage, the crowd roared, cloudy puffs of breath making their enthusiasm visible.