American Notes Evangelism

Evangelist Jerry Falwell set up a toll-free telephone number a decade ago so followers could dial in to hear his inspirational messages and be massaged for donations. Things were heavenly until Atlanta's Edward Johnson, who holds a grudge against television evangelists, programmed his Atari to dial Falwell's number every 30 seconds. In December, Southern Bell got Johnson to deprogram his computer, but publicity over the incident inspired other Falwell foes to dial away. Among the harassers: homosexuals angered at Falwell's crusade against them. Some 25% of the 1 million toll-free calls a year were coming from cranks, at a cost to Falwell of $1 a call. Last week, in the midst of economic cutbacks throughout his evangelistic organization, Falwell converted to a toll number.