(RNS) — Like mother, like daughter: Anne Graham Lotz and Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright, the daughter and granddaughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham, are both Bible teachers and have both endured serious medical conditions.
Lotz and Wright even share the same social media posts. Each recently forwarded a video, recorded on an airplane, of a young evangelist declaring to his fellow passengers that “Jesus is coming back really soon.”
With their seemingly melded minds, it’s no wonder they would collaborate on writing projects together. Their second joint book, “Preparing to Meet Jesus: A 21-Day Challenge to Move from Salvation to Transformation,” is set to release on Aug. 8.
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Lotz, 75, wrote the introduction and the epilogue and rounded off each of the 21 chapters with a prayer. Her daughter, 48, wrote about the book’s main focus, the character of the soon-to-be-bride Rebekah, found in the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
Lotz started AnGeL Ministries in 1988, creating Bible studies and daily devotions. Wright leads one of those Bible studies, which grew in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, to reach thousands of people online. Earlier this year, they traveled with 115 women on AnGeL Ministries’ tour of Israel, where Wright taught on Mount Carmel about the prophet Elijah and Lotz spoke from aboard a boat on the Sea of Galilee.
Anne Graham Lotz speaks aboard a boat on the Sea of Galilee during an AnGel Ministries tour of Israel. Photo by Beth Rubin
Lotz, a member of a Calvary Chapel church, and Wright, a member of a Southern Baptist congregation, talked with Religion News Service Tuesday (Aug. 1) about End Times, illness and whether there’s a succession plan in place for Lotz’s ministry.
The interview was edited for length and clarity.
Anne, someone just seeing the title “Preparing to Meet Jesus” might think it refers to your feeling you could be nearing the end of your life. Would that be correct or not?
Lotz: That would be right — I’m 75 — but I think it applies to Rachel-Ruth, who has had two back-to-back heart attacks. You never know when you’re going to step into eternity, and I also believe Jesus is soon to come back. So it could be through my death or it could be through the rapture, but I’m going to see him.
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You mention in a recent interview that you’ve made a shift by preaching about End Times. How has your traditional audience responded to that emphasis in your message?
Lotz: I think people are fascinated right now with prophecy — what the Bible says about what’s going on today and where we’re headed. When I first felt like he (God) gave me the freedom to do that, it was about 10 years ago. One of the messages he’s laid on my heart now, and I put it at the end of this book, is Matthew 25, which is the story of the 10 young women — five of them were ready and five were not. We’re living at the end of history as we know it. And it’s time for us to get ready.
Why did the two of you choose the Genesis story of Rebekah, who is selected as the wife of Isaac, as a model for today’s Christians?
“Preparing to Meet Jesus: A 21-Day Challenge to Move from Salvation to Transformation” by Anne Graham Lotz and Rachel-Ruth Lotz Wright. Courtesy image
Wright: I was teaching Genesis in my Bible study, and I just love that chapter. And shortly after, I was invited to come speak at a bridal shower. I’d pulled out all these characteristics, just to share with the bride and then, we were thinking about the next book. I thought there were so many lessons we could see in Rebekah — it’s not like Rebekah is perfect. I felt like the Lord just downloaded each chapter each day, with the characteristics that we could just look inside of ourselves and see if we can do it better than we are.
