It's all over the news today. Billy Graham has died. Or as he famously said, "if you hear I've died, don't believe it. I've merely changed addresses." He spoke in evangelistic gatherings to over 100,000,000 (one hundred million!) people during a career spanning more than 60 years, and there was never a hint of scandal about him. What made him so special? Or another way to ask the question would be, what practices in his life helped him be respected and listened to, when so many others of his type have lost or destroyed valuable ministry opportunities? It's worth a look, for our own lives. These examples are taken (with my comments) from a collection of articles published by Christianity Today, which he founded with the help of a large donation: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/billy-graham/
Integrity: Probably the most famous decision Graham and his team made was called the "Modesto Manifesto." While traveling through that city in 1948, he asked his team to come up with a list of issues that had recently hurt other evangelistic ministries. They all came up with essentially the same list: sex, money and power. That led them to a number of decisions regarding how they would operate: first, as a team, mutually responsible to each other, and then with full integrity and transparency in these three areas. Mr. Graham and his entire team went on salary, and any offerings that were taken up during an event went directly to its expenses. The problem of sexual temptation during weeks away from home was handled by never being alone with the opposite sex except their wives, and rooming closely together when on the road for mutual support. As to power, numerous examples have been given where the Graham crusade refused to criticize anyone who had criticized them, and gave credit to local pastors for their work rather than to claim that any response to the gospel was to their own credit.
Gospel Focus: A story on NPR's website, today, says this about his not speaking out on politics: "I'm trying to stay out of it and just keep preaching the gospel, because there's nothing coming out of Washington or any of those places that are going to save the world or transform men and women. It's Christ." Graham preached Jesus, and the loving, forgiving grace of God, rather than condemning various people or institutions. Even when meeting with US presidents and Queen Elizabeth II, he preached the gospel and shunned politics.
A deep journey with God: Quoting John Stott, "Speaking to about 600 clergy in London in 1979, Graham startled his audience with two suggestions for how he would change his ministry if he were to start over. First, he would study three times as often and take on fewer engagements. Second, he would give more time to prayer. In making these statements, he must have had in mind the two apostolic priorities of Acts 6:4 ("attention to prayer and the ministry of the word")." Others have remarked on the Graham family focus on prayer and reading of scripture together. Lacking a formal rigorous theological education, he made up for it by voracious study of the Bible.
What can you and I learn from all this? To take life slowly and carefully, with these principles firmly in mind and in our daily life. I intend to, and pray you will too.
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