The Influential Faith Healer Who Met His End In Amarillo, TX
I don't know what it is about Amarillo that makes it pop up in the strangest places. Somehow, it seems like Yellow City just has a way of showing up. For instance, are you familiar with the way that Amarillo is attached to a highly influential and controversial faith healer?
He met his end in Amarillo, TX; and it has nothing to do with Steve Martin.
Meet William M. Branham; Prophet, Evangelist, Healer
William M. Branham is quite possibly the very first true superstar preacher. He was global. He held old fashioned revival tent meetings all over the world. His sermons and stage presence are legendary.
I went to school to be a Pentecostal preacher. Believe me, he's a legend.
The wild thing about Branham, is that the stories regarding miracles and healings that he performed vary. The more you look, the wilder they get.
He supposedly raised a fish from the dead when he was a child. Later in life he supposedly raised a baby from the dead. He healed cancer, and all other forms of malady.
Many credit him with creating the showmanship and bravado usually seen in televangelists and charismatic preachers.
Then Things Take A Turn For The Truly Odd
As time went by, ol' William Branham started saying some pretty far out stuff that just didn't sit right with others. Several times, the content of his sermons was labeled as heresy. Many consider the following that has formed around his teachings to be a cult.
There has been an exhaustive amount of work done to disprove the teachings of this man who supposedly traveled the world and performed miraculous healings.
How Does Amarillo, TX Tie In To All Of This?
Amarillo is where he met his end. William Branham and his family were on the receiving end of a head on collision with a drunk driver.
It happened in December, not too long before Christmas. Branham was on his way to stir the pot in another town, when it happened.
The wreck happened near Friona, and William had to be transported to Amarillo. Six days later, on Christmas Eve, he would give up the ghost and succumb to his injuries.
And that's the story of how one of America's most controversial preachers met his end in Amarillo, TX.