HEADING
"Just Give Me Jesus"
By Nancy Caine
Christianity.com -
Anne Graham Lotz inherited the elegant bone structure of her mom and the
height and intensity of her father. Her Southern cadence when she
accentuates words also reminds others of her parents, the Rev. Billy and
Ruth Bell Graham.
Like her parents, Lotz, 52, has the passion for bringing the Word to those
hungry for spiritual truth. She's been sharing her message, Just Give Me
Jesus with thousands in a free-of-charge, five-city revival tour the past
few months.
Just Give Me Jesus (Word) is also a book Lotz has written for those
who need a fresh touch from God. She's delivered the message Just Give Me
Jesus over the years with zeal and talent that her famous, evangelist father
says surpass his. The second daughter of the Grahams also is considered
one of the country's foremost Bible teachers.
Described as someone who's one with her message, Lotz concentrates
on living the Christian life and understanding the Scripture.
She's walked where many women walk today--through depression at home alone
years ago with three small children; through the scare of her adult son's
cancer that's now in remission; through her parents now elderly years and
ill health; and through an unhappy time in her marriage that's since been
healed.
But whatever the circumstances, Lotz says her aim has been to know God.
That process is through obedience, she says.
Knowing God and obeying Him have taken Lotz out of her comfort zone to do
things contradictory to my personality, she says. To do what we know
we can't do.
All three of her children, now grown, are involved in ministry, and Lotz
is a helpmate to her dentist husband Dan Lotz. She also used to teach a
Bible study to hundreds of women in her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina,
and has led AnGeL Ministries since 1988. Yet, Lotz admits she's shy and
does all she does because she's compelled.
I'm so sure I know I am called to do what I am doing, she says. The
call is very strong and clear. I am just compelled.
She faces issues, such as women teaching the Scriptures from the pulpit,
head-on; she considers herself a Bible expositor, not preacher, and says
she teaches under the authority of men.
In one publicized incident, a group of pastors turned their backs when Lotz
spoke. After that, she leaned even more on God, knowing she was faithful
to the message He had given her. She says God also comforted her from the
book of Jeremiah not to be afraid of their backs or their faces.
I am responsible to be faithful to give out the message, she says.
(God ) would be responsible for who is in the audience. It does not matter.
That is not my job. My job is to be faithful to the message, to know what
it is and to get it out.
Besides delivering God's message, Lotz also places importance on taking
care of her parents who still live in their Montreat, North Carolina, home.
The Rev. Graham spent most of the summer in the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, with complications from Parkinson's disease. Her mother,
also not in the best of health, stayed at home.
There is an enormous amount of stress being here and wanting to be there,
says Lotz, who lives four hours from her parents. I am wanting
to be very careful that when God calls my parents that I won't look back
with regret on this time.
Lotz concern for her parents intensifies, especially when they go into the
hospital, but she feels better, knowing they have excellent home
care from people totally devoted to them.
Her father called her to his bedside while recuperating at the hospital
this summer, when she stayed with him a week.
It was the most precious time in my life, she said. What can I do for him?
It was such a precious blessing to me that he felt I could do something
for him & At the same time it was emotionally stressful, because I have
never seen him needy like that.
She realizes millions of women today face caring for their aging parents
and caring for their immediate family.
I know so many people my age are going through this, she says. Bless
my daddy, I love being with him. The hardest thing is when I want
to be there every minute.
Her husband and her children need her too.
My life is so full, she said. My husband is 63. He is a diabetic,
and when I am not here, and I am not cooking and keeping him straight, he
does not do as well.
Looking back at my childrens lives, there was never enough time with my
children & If I had done everything perfectly, nothing quite prepares
you to have them leave.
In spite of all Lotz is doing for her family and ministry, she still says,
Just Give Me Jesus.
Nancy Caine is a feature writer for Christianity.com.
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