Rev. Franklin Graham: School board member is 'most important elected official' in America today

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Speaking to Fox News Digital exclusively in a telephone interview late last week and then via emailed comments on Monday, Rev. Franklin Graham, CEO and president of Samaritan's Purse and CEO and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, talked about the great need of Americans to turn to God today.

The Christian leader also noted the importance of elected office in communities across America — as, increasingly, concerned parents take a stand against a culture that does not embrace biblical values. 

"Parents need to go to the school boards. We need to get Christian men and women to run for school boards."

"People have turned their backs on God," said Rev. Graham. 

"Our educators have taken God out of schools. Our politicians have taken God out of politics. Our nation is not better [for it]. Our nation is worse," he said. 

FRANKLIN GRAHAM ON EASTER: ‘OUR ONLY HOPE IS GOD’

Graham added, "People don’t know how to tell the truth. They have no clue what the truth is. It just seems that we go from bad to worse," he said.

That is why, he said in compelling comments, "the only hope is God. Only God can turn this nation around," he said.

Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelical Christian leader Billy Graham, is head of Samaritan's Purse and of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. He spoke to Fox News Digital in a phone interview and in a follow-up email about his concerns for America today — and the importance of standing up for children and in voting for biblical values this November. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

"And I pray that people will turn to God, pray to him and ask him for his help in all that we do — and that he’ll bless this nation."

Rev. Graham added, "We have become so violent. Our entertainment is so violent. God judged this world with a flood. He flooded the entire earth — and one of the reasons is because mankind had become so wicked and the world so violent. And look at how violent we are today."

"This is a critical time for our nation. Issues like abortion and sexuality and gender are being politicized like never before."

He continued, "Our entertainment industry pushes violence. It pushes sex. And the Hollywood people come out against guns — yet they take guns and they glorify them."

He also said, "We’re so twisted. And I hope that our nation would wake up and see the problems we’ve facing and realize the only hope is God."

Franklin Graham is shown preaching to the faithful in this image. "Parents need to go to the school boards," he said in an interview.? (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

In terms of what everyday American families can do about the problems they see in their communities and, more broadly, across the country, Rev. Graham advised concerned parents to become more active in their communities, and to use their voices and their beliefs to stand up for their children.

"Parents need to go to the school boards," he said. 

"We need to get Christian men and women to run for school boards," he added. "I think the most important elected official is a school board member."

People gather to protest different issues including the board’s handling of a sexual assault that happened in a school bathroom last May, vaccine mandates and critical race theory during a Loudoun County School Board meeting in Ashburn, Virginia, on Oct. 26, 2021. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

"We need Christian men and women on school boards who can take control of their communities," he said. 

"All of this trash and all of this filth that the left is pushing on our students — that can be turned around if Christian men and women ran for school boards."

Graham also stressed the power of repentance and confession of sins, especially during this season of Easter — a time of renewal and new beginnings in a multitude of ways.

"I believe God is going to judge America at some point. He has given us so much, and we're so wasteful."

"I believe God is going to judge America at some point," he said. "He has given us so much, and we're so wasteful and so disobedient, and so wicked in what we're doing as a nation."

Said Graham, "We just need to repent and turn from our sins. And maybe God will hear and forgive us."

Rev. Franklin Graham during an evangelical event. He emphasized during an interview with Fox News Digital, "God hears prayers." (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)

He also said, "The only hope for this country is God. And I would encourage people to pray — for yourself" as well, he said. 

"Just examine your heart, and if there's something that's not right in your life, confess it to God and ask for his forgiveness."

It is too easy to point fingers and look at other people and what they're doing, he suggested. "We need to look at our own lives," he said. "We're sinners."

Rev. Franklin Graham is shown preparing to give the invocation before the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., in this file photo from May 24, 2009. He recently returned from Ukraine, where Samaritan's Purse is delivering food, medicine and other essentials. (AP)

He emphasized that "God hears prayers."

Rev. Graham also is looking ahead at this year's midterm elections. 

He said, "If you’re like me and you’re concerned about the direction of this country, vote in the midterm elections. Your ballot is your voice, and it could help decide an election!"

"To make a real difference, you may even want to consider running for office."

He added, "I don’t tell people who to vote for, but I am encouraging anyone who wants to take a stand for what’s right to vote for biblical values on November 8."

Graham continued, "This is a critical time for our nation. Issues like abortion and sexuality and gender are being politicized like never before, but these are moral issues that the Bible is clear on. Even though freedom of speech and religion are under attack — as Christians, we still have a right to be clear about our beliefs." 

In this image from last year, a Loudoun school board meeting erupts as parents and educators speak their minds about issues close to their students and their communities.?

It's why he added, "If you want to have a say in these issues that are affecting our families, our schools, our workplaces and our churches, then you need to pray and vote. To make a real difference, you may even want to consider running for office."

Rev. Graham said as well to Fox News Digital, "Even though it’s important to support candidates who honor God, we need to remember that ultimately, there isn’t a political solution to the problems we’re facing. The only thing that truly has the power to mend a country this broken is the truth of God’s Word."

Rev. Graham (at left) is shown praying with a team of volunteers on the ground in Ukraine as they prepare to help those in need because of the war. (Samaritan's Purse)

"This is why," he said, "I urge people to turn to God — repent of their sins — and call on the name of His Son Jesus Christ."

Franklin Graham has often encouraged people over the years to be involved with their local school boards — and he previously posted on social media about "the dangers of critical race theory that is being pushed in our schools and society." 

"Pray about how you can get involved in your city and make a real difference. Will you?"

Last June, he wrote, in part, "School boards are making decisions about what is being taught in our schools and the policies that will be followed. These impact our children and our grandchildren’s lives — and they impact the future of our country, so it is vitally important."

He also wrote at that time, "I'm thankful for the parents in Loudoun County, Virginia, who are speaking up and working to keep things like critical race theory … out of their schools. We have to stand up against the godless socialist agenda trying to divide us and take over this country. Pray for the Christians in Loudoun County …  And pray about how you can get involved in your city and make a real difference. Will you?"

Franklin Graham (at right) is shown in April 2022 in one of the medical clinics his organization has set up in Ukraine amid the Russia-Ukraine war.? (Samaritan's Purse)

He also recently returned from Ukraine, where his organization, Samaritan's Purse, is helping many displaced Ukrainians with their most urgent needs, such as food and medicine, amid the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Samaritan's Purse has been operating six medical sites across Ukraine — one emergency field hospital and five clinics, noted Graham. 

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Rev. Graham delivered an Easter sermon from Lyiv, Ukraine, which premiered on Fox News Channel on Sunday, April 17, and will be available on Fox Nation.