Hello and welcome to episode 68 of the Giants of the Faith podcast. This is a bit of a bonus because I didn't intend to give today's subject the full episode treatment. But after a last-minute change of mind here we are with a short episode focusing on Mordecai Ham, the Kentuckian evangelist who will be the penultimate link in our chain of faith leading up to Billy Graham. Ham was a fundamentalist Baptist - not the kind of guy I would normally want to feature. He was, perhaps, anti-Semitic, certainly racist, anti-Catholic, and prone to all of the worst leanings you can imagine of an IFB leader. But he played a part in this chain of faith so here we are. I present to you this biography of Ham not because of who he was but more because of the impact he had.
Mordecai Fowler Ham Jr. was born on April 2, 1877, in Scottsville, Kentucky. He came from a long line of preachers, dating back eight generations. His grandfather, Mordecai Ham Sr., was a Baptist minister who managed to juggle 14 pastorates at one time. His father, Tobias Ham, was also a preacher and a farmer.
Mordecai was converted as a teenager and felt the call to preach, but he resisted it at first. He wanted to make his fortune in business before entering the ministry. When he reached the age he enrolled at Ogden College in Bowling Green, Kentucky. There he studied law but was too young to sit the bar exam. Eventually he became a successful grocery salesman and real estate agent.
However, everything changed for him when he witnessed his grandfather's death in 1899. He later said that seeing him die convinced him of the reality of Christian experience. He decided to give up his business career and dedicate his life to preaching the gospel.
He married Bessie Simmons in 1900 and borrowed some money from a bank to start his ministry. He spent two years studying the Bible and preparing himself for evangelism. He began preaching in small towns and rural areas in 1901, often setting up tents or tabernacles for his meetings.
He soon gained a reputation for being a fiery and fearless preacher who denounced sin and called people to repentance. He also advocated for social reform and temperance, opposing alcohol, tobacco, gambling, dancing, and other vices. He was not afraid to confront the powerful and the corrupt, often exposing the evils of political machines, secret societies, and religious apostasy. He was often heckled, threatened, sued, and even physically attacked by mobs. He once said that he had been shot at 17 times during his ministry.
In December, 1905, Bessie died from cerebral meningitis. Ham threw himself into his work and took an overseas evangelism tour to occupy himself and mollify his grief. In 1908 he got married again - this time to Anna Smith. The couple had three daughters.
Ham did have a heart for international missions and supported various missionary endeavors around the world. He traveled to several countries, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Palestine, Egypt, and Europe, preaching the gospel and encouraging missionaries.
In 1927 he and his family settled down and he took the position of pastor at First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His pastoral career didn't last long, however, because by 1929 he'd given it up and returned full-time to evangelism. From 1929 to 1941 he held over 60 evangelism meetings across 14 states.
One of his most notable achievements - and where he intersects with our story - was his role in leading Billy Graham to Christ. In 1934, city leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Graham lived as a teenager, wanted to hold a revival. They invited Billy Sunday to hold a revival meeting in their town but Sunday had another engagement. Sunday recommended Ham go in his place. And so, on November 1, 1934, Billy Graham attended Ham's meetings after being persuaded by a friend to go. He joined the choir to avoid Ham's piercing gaze but could not escape his convicting voice.
Ham preached on sin, judgment, hell, and salvation through Christ alone. He also sought to expose the moral corruption of the city and denounced some prominent figures for their involvement in illicit activities. He stirred up controversy and aroused curiosity among the people. As an aside, this is exactly the kind of "preaching" that I don't like from people like Ham. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is enough - there is no need for theatrics or embellishment.
Graham was deeply moved by Ham's messages and felt God speaking to his heart. He responded to Ham's invitation and went forward to accept Christ as his Savior. That decision changed his life forever and set him on the path to becoming one of the greatest evangelists of all time. Ham recognized Graham's potential and encouraged him to pursue God's call for his life. He also mentored him and introduced him to other influential Christian leaders who helped him grow in his faith and ministry.
In 1935 Ham was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Bob Jones University. Ham was also one of the pioneers of radio evangelism in America. In 1936, he began broadcasting his sermons on a network of over 50 stations reaching into seven southern states. He also published several books and pamphlets on various topics related to Christian doctrine and practice.
Ham continued his evangelistic work until shortly before his death. He died on November 1st, 1961, in Louisville, Kentucky, exactly 27 years after Graham's conversion. Ham was certainly not perfect; he had his flaws and weaknesses; he made many mistakes and faced criticism for them; but he was faithful to God's word and God's work as he understood them. He once said: "I am not interested in being popular or famous or rich or anything else that men think is important; I am interested only in being faithful."
I'm always torn when confronted by someone like Mordecai Ham. He was not a model Christian, as I see it. He was given to legalism, racism, and ignorance. He believed that the people of the British Isles were the true descendants of the 10 lost tribes of Israel and other nut-case conspiracy theories like that. He's the kind of guy we don't like to remember. But, at the same time, he was on the ground doing real work to spread the gospel. And it was at one of his meetings that Billy Graham finally submitted to the Lord and then through Graham's ministry millions upon millions of people heard the name of the Jesus. So I look at it like this - all truth is God's truth. And even if a knucklehead embarrasment like Mordecai Ham is the one doing the preaching the Holy Spirit is the one ultimately doing the work. And if that's how God has ordered it, that's good enough for me.
Thanks very much for listening. Until next time, God bless.
RESOURCES
Christianity.com: https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/mordecai-ham-outspoken-evangelist-11630588.html
SBC Evangelist: https://www.sbcevangelist.org/mordecai-ham/
Garland Landmark Society: https://www.garlandhistorical.org/online-resources/46-articles/satellite-business/100-revivalist-s-fiery-preaching-recalled
Truth in History (these guys are nuts): http://truthinhistory.org/the-need-of-the-anglo-israel-truth.html
Sword of the Lord: https://web.archive.org/web/20160429094255/http://www.swordofthelord.com/biographies/HamMordecai.htm