Even Great Men Of God Have Family Problems

Ezekiel 18:20, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die.  The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

I was doing some research for my ministry recently and I ran across some information that saddened and encouraged me at the same time. I learned that the great evangelist Billy Sunday's oldest son, George Sunday (1892-1933), was arrested in 1933 at age 40 for public drunkenness and stealing an automobile. Shortly thereafter he commit suicide.

Decline and death

Sunday's popularity waned after World War I, when many people in his revival audiences were attracted to radio broadcasts and moving pictures instead.[82] The Sundays' health also declined even as they continued to drive themselves through rounds of revivals—smaller but also with fewer staff members to assist them.

Tragedy marred Sunday's final years. His three sons engaged in many of the activities he preached against, and the Sundays paid blackmail to several women to keep the scandals relatively quiet.[83] In 1930, Nora Lynn, their housekeeper and nanny, who had become a virtual member of the family, died. Then the Sundays' daughter, the only child actually raised by Nell, died in 1932 of what seems to have been multiple sclerosis.[84] Their oldest son George, rescued from financial ruin by his parents, committed suicide in 1933.[85]

Nevertheless, even as the crowds declined during the last 15 years of his life, Sunday continued accepting preaching invitations and speaking with effect. In early 1935, he had a mild heart attack, and his doctor advised him to stay out of the pulpit. Sunday ignored the advice. He died on November 6, a week after preaching his last sermon on the text "What must I do to be saved?"[86]

SOURCE: Billy Sunday

I also found this history:

"Billy Sunday was the most famous and successful evangelist of the early 1900’s. He was a flamboyant professional baseball player who met Christ at Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. Within a few years he had formed a very successful crusade team which captured media attention all over the country. He is remembered as a colorful preacher who not only led multitudes to Christ, but also led the fight against ending prohibition. Billy Sunday would be considered a success by almost any standard. Yet he lamented, “The great tragedy of my life is that though I have led thousands to Christ, my own sons are not saved.” Indeed his sons mocked their father’s ministry and were drunks with horrible family lives, one of whom ended his life by suicide. It was the practice of the Sundays to leave their children in the care of a nanny while they pursued their ministry. Maybe we should note that fact as we discern what truly is redeeming the time." SOURCE

The great preacher Billy Sunday said, “The great tragedy of my life is that though I have led thousands to Christ, my own sons are not saved.” Whereas most people might only see tragedy in this history, I see the hope of The Valley Of Achor. I learned this deep great truth years ago from Pastor Jack Hyles:

Hosea 2:15, "And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt."

God had promised the Israelites that He'd go forth before them into battle at the city of Ai (a city of about 3,000 people), to give them the victory. God told them not to take any spoils or else they'd lose the victory. Albeit, one of their men named Achor sinned by disobeying the Lord. Achan became greedy and when he laid eyes upon some nice clothing, silver and gold... he stole them and buried them in his tent. As a consequence Israel was defeated at the battle of Ai. They were humiliated. God told them that someone had sinned in the camp. So Joshua sets out to find out who the guilty man is.

Long story short, God commanded Joshua to have Achor and his entire family (even their livestock) stoned to death. All that remained of their family was a big pile of rocks! This horrific event site was memorialized and became known as "The Valley Of Achor." For generations to come, young people who saw what happened to Achor had the fear of God put into them! So this tragic event literally became a door of hope, delivering future generations from the wages of sin which is death. That is what I believe the prophet Hosea means in Hosea 2:15.

Likewise, the tragic lives and deaths of Billy Sunday's three unsaved sons, give encouragement to countless believer's families who are less than perfect. When I first read about the sins and suicide of George Sunday, I was saddened for Billy and Helen Sunday, but at the same time I felt some relief as a parent, knowing that neither myself, their mother, nor our children are perfect.

The internet is awash with dirty laundry from Pastor Jack Hyles' family. But Dr. Hyles was no less a sinner, nor any more perfect, than mighty soulwinning preachers like Billy Sunday. I once met Pacific Garden Mission's director Harry Saulnier's (1940-1986) daughter one day, in Chicago in the Wicker Park area while laboring on my church bus route. She didn't get along at all with her father. She had an alcohol bar in her living room. The children of godly men aren't perfect, just as godly men aren't perfect either. Wicked people always look for every little sin, fault and imperfection in the Bible preacher, so they can try to tear him down and diminish the power of his message. That is Satan folks (Revelation 12:10). When you are a Christian, the whole world is waiting for you to fall.

Our text Bible verse from Ezekiel 18:10 teaches that children and parents shall not be held accountable for the sins of each other. Billy Sunday is not to blame for the choices that his sons made. I read an article from a Baptist church that accused Billy Sunday of not spending enough time with his children. But we don't know that! Who are we to condemn anyone for the decisions that their children make? We have no right! Dr. Hyles' daughter Cindy loves her Dad, and she is a Christian. 

Yet, Linda Hyles hates her father, slanders him all over the internet, quotes atheists on her website, accusing her father of greed (which anyone who knew Brother Hyles well can only laugh at, because it is so untrue). I pray for her regularly. Pastor Hyles grew up as poor as can be, during The Great Depression of the 1930's. He was born in 1926. You can hear Dr. Hyles talk about those hard times in this beautiful MP3 sermon called: "Why Mama Was So Smart," based on Psalms 119:171. Brother Hyles was in fact the most generous man I ever knew! He often paid in full to have people's teeth fixed. He paid the rent of numerous widows in the church. Whenever he shared a pulpit at a speaking engagement, he always gave the whole love offering to the other preacher! That is anything else but greed. I will always dearly love, admire and appreciate Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001).

Yes, even great soulwinning preachers have messed up families. And SHAME on anyone who attempts to discredit, criticize or blame any preacher because one or more of their adult children CHOSE to live for the Devil instead of Jesus. The prophet Eli's sons were horrible in the Old Testament. They went with harlots at the temple door. They were spoiled and disobeyed God's dietary rules regarding the temple sacrifices, choosing the best portions of meat from the cooking pot for themselves (which God forbade them to do). They were only supposed to eat whatever they selected randomly by chance. They were also drunkards! These were PK's (preacher's kids)!

Noah's son Ham looked upon his father's nakedness while Noah was drunk. And why was Noah drunk? You see, both father and children were guilty of sinning! I am not judging Noah. God told him to build an ark 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high, because when it was done God was going to destroy the entire human race with a flood of water, sparing only Noah's family. Can we blame Noah for turning to the bottle? I have no doubt that Noah, a preacher of righteousness the Bible says, poured out his soul like no other preacher ever did, warning the people of the horrific judgment to come. But during those 120 years that it took him to finish the ark, NO ONE repented to believe!!! 

That is how wicked those times were! Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:37-38 that during the end times, it will return to the deplorable conditions of the days of Noah. In these future times, people will live only for pleasure, to eat, drink and go from one failed marriage to another in adultery. That sure sounds like America today!!! Isaiah 1:4,  “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”

The world has always been a wicked place (1st John 5:19), but these are unprecedented times in which we live because of technology and the booming world's population. We we all be resolved to say with Joshua, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshu1 24:15). Our family members, whether parents or children or otherwise, may or may not obey God, but we individually CAN!