Last year I rented my house to a fellow who was a Baptist minister and the son of evangelist Billy Graham's Bodyguard. The father (who was the bodyguard) was named T.W. Wilson. Mr. Wilson was also a US Marshal and also a baptist minister. The son recently got married and in the process of combining his houshold with his new wife's household he gave me a metal case T.W. Wilson used to transport handguns on airplanes. It has his address and name on it.

I just thought it was kind of neat to have.

LOL. I always say "Trust God, but lock your car doors and keep your gun close." No problems trusting God. I do have a problem trusting mankind who rejects His authority.

Nice score, jay.

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Soli Deo Gloria

The Graham organization always had a stack of threats against Billy (and family) around 3/4 inch thick. Franklin Graham has had credible death threats due to his comments about Muslims.

My friend said they have had people show up to the crusades drunk and his father (T.W. Wilson) grabbed one fellow's middle finger and walked him out.

jay, that is a nice piece of trivia you were given, enjoy it.

As I said, T.W. Wilson was a Baptist minister. Around 1940 he was a minister of a Baptist church around Hell Hole, SC (Hell Hole swamp). This is the area where the story Mel Gibson played Francis Marion in "The Patriot". On a Wednesday evening T.W. finished the service and told the congregation to come back the following evening and he would speak on the worst sinner in Berkeley County. He had in mind a generic sinner who could be saved by divine grace, but many in the congregation had a name for the worst sinner and someone told the man that the pastor was going to talk about him. Now this man was a moonshiner and was suspected of killing people. The next evening the fellow and friends showed up drunk and interrupted the service by shouting the foulest obscenities. T.W. had the congregation sing hymns for about a half hour, but when the cursing didn't stop he went to the back porch of the church to try and reason with the fellows. When he tried, they began to threaten him. There was a 2 by 4 on the back porch and the porch was about three steps above ground level. T.W. thought the LORD put that there and he grabbed it and went down the steps in one bound and laid the board across the fellow's forehead with all his might. The fellow was knocked out and there was blood everywhere. T.W. told the other fellows to take the man and have him stitched up.

The next day, T.W. visited the man in the infirmary. The fellow was now sober and invited T.W. in the room. He said he liked the preacher because he "was the first preacher who wasn't afraid of me". They spoke a while and T.W. told him where he was headed. The fellow broke down and cried, repented and they prayed together. Later he came to church.

Years later after my friend was about 17 they went back to the area to hunt deer. After they had taken their stands, my friend saw a car come up with flashing lights, so he walked back to his father to see what was going on. His father was hugging the game warden. His father said that this was the man he had cracked on the head that day in back of the church and the warden confirmed he was indeed the man.

Nothing new about well known people having bodyguards. Just look at the bodyguards surrounding the Pope.

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Eaglebeaver

The disciples carried swords and Jesus approved. Peter hit a centerion with his sword and cut his ear off. Jesus picked it up off the ground, put it back on the centerion and he was healed. That was the evening before they arrested Jesus to crucify him. The disciples had showed Jesus I think, three swords and Jesus told them it was enough.
I was raised assemblies of God. My grandmother had a sister that married Gottlieb Grams. (Not Graham). They had about 10 or twelve kids. Every last one of them was either a preacher or missionary or married to one! The old man Gottlieb used to brag the sun never set on his family. I have been out of touch for the last 50 years. One of them, Monroe Grams, (family called him monie) headed up the missions for the entire assemblies of God denomination. When I was a boy in the 1950s he would come back home on furloughs and preach about his adventures and experiances in africa. It raised my hair!
Not one of those old fire and brimstone preachers I knew was a pacifist or left leaning. I used to hunt with several of our preachers. I would have thought twice about calling any one of them that I knew to a fight with any means. Never knew one that was a namy pamby. Those preachers DID NOT make policy at or in our churchs. The elders includeing my dad would set them straight immediately after the sermon. I seen it happen several times. I dont know about other churchs but with the AOG the preachers had to try out for the job. The church might listen to 4 or 5 sundays running of hopefulls preach and the church would vote on who they wanted. The particular church I attended was nicknamed my last name as my grandpas family built it. I was related to about a third of the people that attended when I was a boy. I have been back a few years ago and no longer know over a tenth of em. Thats life.