On this big news day in which power and influence are on people’s minds, Billy Graham turns 94-years-old. His life illustrates godly ambition.
From “Sanctify Ambition” in Spiritual Influence: the Hidden Power Behind Leadership.
One man has proclaimed the good news of Jesus to more people in the world than any other person in history. Over a period of six decades, he has been sought by the men who have been president of the United States. He walked through open doors of foreign heads of state, leaders of industry, and religious leaders of every sort. Hundreds of millions of households knew him through the television screen. And all this happened because Billy Graham is a most ambitious man.
But he was voted the most respected man in America year after year because it was apparent to all that he was also the humblest of leaders. Darting around the world came at great personal sacrifice. He never lived in luxury. He was willing to step into the limelight, not because it served his ego, but because it served his message. No one can know the deepest motives of other people, but our motives have a way of leaking out. Graham simply came off as sincere in every respect—a quality that is hard to fake. He was captivated by the message of the saving work of Christ. Not just captivated, but possessed, compelled, and convicted. Fame was an awkward by-product.
Billy Graham had to have ambition—a drive, a desire, a hunger—otherwise he would not have stayed for weeks at a time preaching in revival meetings in large tents. He would not have experimented with the new communication platform of television in the 1950s, and committed to national broadcasts. He would not have been able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars. He would not have started publications like Decision magazine and Christianity Today. He would not have founded schools.
Is it possible to have enormous ambition, and for it not to corrupt a personality? Billy Graham’s story suggests so.
(Well-wishes to Billy Graham on this, his 94th birthday.)
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What do you think? [comment below]
As a young girl our mother took us to see Billy Graham. I remember my brother and I getting up to go forward. It was a very moving experience to be there with all those people in that stadium and his voice still came out loud and clear. Today as I look back I see it as a time familiar to of a setting in the Bible in the feeding of the 5000. There were people crying and professing their faith in Christ for a day and a moment in time there were people of all faiths and colors together listening to God’s word and how to come to Him to be saved from a life of death and damnation. He spoke with authority and conviction. Thanks Pastor Graham!!!
A man of truth, impartiality, and holy living, faithful to the end, and example for us all. Someone who fulfilled God’s purpose for his life and left a lasting impact on his generation, not only in his own country, but around the world. A man who preached God’s message, “The Bible says…,” and kept the main thing the main thing. What a legacy.
In 1999 a young race car driver named Greg Moore was killed during a 500-mile race at the California Speedway, the final event of the Indy Car season. The sanctioning organization, Championship Auto Racing Teams, was scheduled to hold its annual awards party the following night. At the insistance of Greg’s father, the event went on as scheduled, but as members of the Indy Car community gathered at a hotel in Los Angeles, the mood was anything but festive. A friend of mine, who was president of the Championship Auto Racing Auxilliary (CARA) was in the hotel when a man approached her and offered his sympathy. He had read of the tragic accident and wanted to pray for her and the others. She recalled that he was warm and genuine and really didn’t even introduce himself untill he finished praying, and the introduction was humble and low-key. It was Billy Graham. She was very moved by his compassion and concern for her and the members of the Indy Car community. For her, the encounter was significant as she said it brought the Gospel to life and warmed her in a way that no other moment had.
What a great story, Ned. Thanks.
I am a venezuelan woman, I had my encounter with God when I was 13 years old. I profoundly respect and love Mr. Graham. I learned the simplicity and greatness of the Gospel through his message. His work has been a tremendous influence on my family’s life.
When I was a little girl my Dad used to drive long distances from his ranch and our home at the city. He says that in those silent nights he used to listen to the Christian radio, my father was a good catholic at that time, and Billy Graham’s message was used for the Holy Spirit to moves my Dad to start reading the Bible… Today, my father is 91 years old, very close to Mr. Graham. Today, we are a big blessed family of 9 children with many grandchildren and some great-grand, and all of us love Jesus.
When a man responds to a call from God as Mr. Graham did, he becomes the opportunity of many. Happy Birthday to Mr. Graham!!!
Mel I COMPLETELY AGREE ,Billy Graham has been as solid an ambassador for Christ as there is in this world. His life has been an example of dedication and love for the souls of men.
Happy birthday, Rev. Graham
After this election I needed to get this in my email to refocus and readjust on a happier note and some memories.
Last time I along with my future wife at the time saw Rev. Graham was at County Stadium in I think 1978 at a cusade. It’s quite different being at one and feeling connected vs watching one on the tube. I remember watching those crusades on the old black and white 12″, TV’s probably from the time I was 7. I might have even accepted Christ in my heart back then not even knowing what that meant, however I don’t remember if I did it or not. Being at the crusade was an opportunity to observe the entire event and think about the importance and value of those crusades. You just don’t get that eternal birds eye perspective when watching one on the tube.
What I always liked about Rev. Graham from the time I was a kid was that he acted like an even keeled human being while presenting the Gosple without relying on antics nor hyper animation. There was definitely the feeling like he was having a direct one on one dialogue with a person with no distrations about him.
I remember looking at the size of the attendance there and felt dissappointed as I compared it to the much, much larger crowds that show up for a baseball game at that same stadium. That was probably the first time I ever questioned societies values but mostly Milwaukeeans values for loving entertainment more then listening to something much more infinitely important. I was naive. I thought the place would be packed even all the way up to the upper grand stands. I thought everybody in the Milwaukee area heard about the crusade and was going to be there. Nope. Talk about a reality check! I sort of had the impression that grown up Milwaukeeans over thirty y/o at least had some what of a religious/spiritul God consciousness that motivated them to be fairly decent fairly good people who would have loved to see and hear Bill Graham. Nope. I felt small and even isolated in the context of the no shows. Did the rebellion, anarchy, drugs, sex and rock and roll of the 60’s and early 70’s erode Milwaukeeans values that much, I wondered. Apparently. I was 28 y/o at that time. After all that thinking while listening to Billy I did have a sence of feeling priviledged…in a good way of feeling priviledged with a sence of gratitude for being rescued out of the world and it’s culture of dysfunctional values.
I have read your book, Spiritual influence, Mr Lawrenz.
I think Reverend Graham exemplifies the qualities of sound Christian leadership that you covered there , the kind of leadership that God expects of those He calls.
You wrote that when we lead we exercise power, authority, truth, and that the person who exercises true spiritual influence serves as a kind of conduit for the power of God.
You also called true spiritual leadership “transformational”, because it allows people to discover and understand God’s authority in their personal lives.
I was a very young girl, when I discovered that my parents had Billy Graham on the television screen in our house, speaking the truth of God’s word so that people could be touched by the magnitude and power of God’s love for mankind.
Billy Graham was unpretentious and focused, a man on a mission. Powerful and yet humble; he could not be ignored, because it was never about him.
Like others on this page, I celebrate Billy Graham, his mission, and his servant’s heart. Reverend Graham has been a true blessing to many people all over the world.
I’m uncomfortable with use of the word “ambition” as a descriptor for Billy Graham. I view him as a pastor who has been powerfully and uniquely used by God to deliver the John 3:16 message to people in language they readily can understand and accept. He has faithfully preached the Word. God has blessed his efforts — probably in ways Billy Graham never imagined when he left the pastorate for a life as an evangelist.
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