Billy Graham passed into glory on Wednesday, February 21, 2018, aged 99 years old. His death has occasioned numerous news stories and commentaries. His life and mine intersected at different times and I am indebted to him for his contribution to my Christian education and development.
After my own commitment to Christ in 1956 I used to listen to his Hour of Decision broadcast from HCJB (Heralding Christ Jesus Blessings) in Quito, Ecuador on shortwave radio in my home in Hokitika, New Zealand. In 1959 he held a Crusade in Christchurch, New Zealand and it was transmitted by landline to our high school auditorium. I served as a youth counselor and became familiar with the follow up materials provided by The Navigators, with its Topical Memory System of memorising Bible verses and Dawson Trotman’s booklet, Born to Reproduce on personal evangelism.
In 1966 I was studying for my theology degree at Durham University and being trained for the Christian ministry at Cranmer Hall, St. John’s College. Billy Graham was holding a Crusade in London and invited all theological students to attend a School of Evangelism held at the same time. It was a thrilling week of learning all about evangelism with hundreds of students. A couple of years later I was on the staff of All Souls Church, Langham Place, London when Billy came to address several large gatherings of clergy. My boss, John Stott, was unable to attend a breakfast with Billy and sent me as his representative. I had the honor of being seated with Billy at the head table and observing him close up and being impressed with how gracious he was in responding to some sharp questions from the Press. John Stott and Billy were close friends. When Queen Elizabeth asked Billy who he would recommend as a Chaplain to her royal household he encouraged her to recruit John Stott, who served the Queen many years. John visited the Grahams at their home in Montreat, NC and shared the leadership of the Lausanne Congress on Evangelism with him. Their close association over the years was an endorsement to me of Billy’s evangelical theology and missionary zeal which seemed to be seriously lacking in the mainline denominations and their leadership.
In 1997 I was the Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas when Billy and his team conducted another Crusade. At that time I served as a Supervisor of Counselors, and a member of the Designation Committee and Co-Labor Team. By that time I was most familiar with the training that each counselor had to undertake. They had to participate in a Christian Life & Witness Course, which was a four-part study designed to help Christians revitalize their own faith and share it with others. You had to attend five classes of one and a half hours. You also were introduced to Friendship Evangelism through Operation Andrew where you invited friends to become Christians and attend a crusade meeting. The follow up booklet of My Heart, Christ’s Home, by Robert Boyd Munger was also made available. Those who made decisions at the Crusade meetings were given a booklet Living in Christ and a copy of The Gospel of John. After the Crusade the names of those who had made a commitment were sent to the church nearest their home. We contacted them and invited them to join a Discovery Group where they were introduced to Thirty Discipleship Exercises: The Pathway to Christian Maturity. They covered a wide range of subjects having to do with the Christian life. You can imagine how impressed we were by the thoroughness of the organization and its training. It set high standards for the churches to follow.
In 2000 I moved to pastor Amelia Plantation Chapel on Amelia Island, Florida and took a busload of our congregation to the Billy Graham Crusade in Jacksonville. For the fourth time I was exposed to the vision of evangelism and the longevity of the ministry of this amazing man who was ordained in 1939 in the Peniel Baptist Church of East Palatka just a few miles south of Jacksonville on the St. John’s River.
There is no doubt that Billy Graham impacted my life each time I met him and attended his crusades. He was a role model for those of us in the Christian ministry. His books and sermons have instructed and inspired us over the years. He encouraged me to preach for a decision for Christ at the end of every sermon – the need to act and respond to the Gospel. I am grateful to God for his influence and faithfulness. What a legacy!
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