Many are the lessons to be learned from the life and passing of Billy Graham, widely considered the greatest evangelist of all time.
He brought more than 215 million individuals to Christ after he started out in the 1940s, preaching the plain and direct Gospel to billions all over the world.
Passing on at 99 on February 21, Dr Graham has left behind a legacy as yet unmatched for his longevity, consistency, focus and immense spiritual power.
Without any of the commonplace pulpit gimmicks, without any unbiblical claims to supernatural power, without any theatrics, Dr Graham impacted millions upon millions in a manner unseen before over a period of 70 years.
Graham’s crusades were evangelistic campaigns conducted between 1947 and 2005.
He is recorded to have conducted 417 crusades in 185 countries and territories on six continents.
As a witness in person to such a vast array of royal and presidential personalities, from the Shah of Iran to Kim Il Sung in North Korea, he was a statesman of the Gospel who elevated the word to great heights.
Listening to him preach was like you had never heard the Gospel before.
William Franklin Graham has finished strong and solid; authoring three powerful, rivetting books in his 90s.
While he had many books to his credit, he authored three bestsellers during his retirement: Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well (2011), The Reason for My Hope: Salvation (2013) and Where I Am (2015).
The passing of Graham warrants serious self-searching contemplation among all who preach the Gospel.
FINANCES
One of the lessons we who preach must learn is about financial management.
Graham authored numerous bestselling books.
In the 1950s, he decided to give the proceeds from his books to charity—he did not keep a penny.
Graham early on formed a committee to manage the finances of what was to become the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).
He placed himself on a salary.
Graham did not control ministry finances personally, and did not carry out financial transactions as many of us who lead churches or ministry entities are notorious for doing.
It is financial impropriety and dishonesty among shepherds that has led to many high-performing churches and ministries falling apart worldwide.
Graham was perceptive enough to take his feet off that path very early on.
Added to that, the BGEA was tax compliant.
You did not stumble into incriminating news reports about tax evasion, typical of many ministries of that stature.
THE CROSS
Graham’s teachings were based on the cross where Jesus Christ died to redeem mankind from sin.
The signature tune for his mass crusades (one million turned up for a crusade in South Korea in 1972) was the old hymn Just As I Am, later the title of a biography.
In the 1980s, he preached global satellite crusades, each of which were broadcast to more than one billion viewers worldwide.
His Hong Kong crusade of 1990 was translated to more than 40 languages, as many other crusades were.
For more than a week, the evangelist addressed crowds of more than 30,000 people every night at the Hong Kong Stadium  and an adjacent athletics ground.
The crusade was simulcast to more than 30 countries throughout Asia and the Pacific region in 48 languages, to an audience estimated at 100 million people per night.
Such a trailblazing record could only have been sanctioned by the Most High himself because Graham stayed with the Gospel: turn from your sins, repent in the name of Jesus and you shall be saved.
This is a major lesson because Jesus promised in Matthew 6:33—“But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Graham understood this fully well, and placed the cross of Christ before the many blessings and benefits that many other preachers are concentrating on today.
COMMUNITY
Graham was roundly criticized for his community approach, working in his crusades with all churches without exclusion.
He broke with tradition in the 1940s, carrying out what some called ‘cooperative evangelism’ where the point was to ensure that all churches took part and got affected by the genuine Gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
Graham did not insist on running his evangelism campaigns only with the evangelical churches. In 1979, the Hyderabad, India crusade was chaired by a Catholic Archbishop there.
In Hungary 1989, the crusade was opened by a Catholic Cardinal.
His work was so cross-cutting that he related easily with Orthodox, Coptic, Catholic and other church groups, earning scathing criticisms by observers who felt he was not true to evangelicalism.
However, this may indeed be the approach that gave him previously unseen access to varied audiences.
At a time when white preachers generally avoided seating mixed races at crusades, Graham did so.
From the Nashville event in 1954, he was holding desegregated crusades.
He also began to ask for a black pastor to lead prayer at crusade events once a week.
Of note, Graham in 1960 undertook an eight-week tour of 16 cities in 10 countries across Africa. In 1973, he conducted a fully integrated crusade in South Africa, after refusing for 22 years to conduct segregated crusades in that country.
It is considered the first multiracial meeting to be held there, and which impacted the anti-apartheid drive.
CREDIBILITY
Graham’s credibility is seen in how he related closely with US presidents.
From the 33rd President Harry Truman (reigned 1945-1953, lived 1884-1972) through to current head of state Donald Trump, eventually becoming known as ‘America’s Pastor’.
He prayed at presidential inaugurations and led the nation in times of claustrophic loss.
The last inauguration where he featured was that of George W Bush in 2005.
He presented the Gospel at every opportunity, without beginning to agree with high-level corruption, and without making evil rulers comfortable in their wrongdoing.
Little wonder in 1996, the US Congress awarded Billy and Ruth Graham the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his vast and immense work in genuine ministry and uniting peoples.
That sincerity caught the attention of Nelson Mandela who, while in prison, watched a number of Graham telecasts.
FAITHFULNESS
Billy and Ruth Graham (died June 14, 2007) have left a legacy of 64 years of marriage, one that offers many lessons in faithfulness for us who are ministers.
They did not crumble under the weight of popularity or celebrity status, or wealth, and venture into divorces, remarriages and re-remarriages like many well-known ministers have been doing.
Many of the failed pastoral marriages we see all around us have been caused by lustful desires in ministers for the flowers of the earth that colour the pews.
Many failed matrimonies further have to do with damaged emotions and psychological ill-health which have been concealed instead of being exposed to genuine helpers for healing.
VISION
Graham had a vision for world unity in evangelism.
“The whole church taking the whole Gospel to the whole world” was his rallying cry when he hosted the 1966 World Congress on Evangelism which drew 1000-plus ministers to Berlin.
He was to host 2400 participants from 150 nations at Lausanne, Switzerland for the First International Congress on World Evangelization in July 1974.
He was to host Amsterdam 1983 and Amsterdam 1986, International Conferences for Itinerant Evangelists.
Graham’s words from the Lausanne conference, from where the Lausanne Movement was birthed, ring true today: “We need a greater comprehension of the world in which we labour. We need a greater unity among the labourers. We need a greater dynamic. We need no new organizations and movements. We need no new message.
“But we do need a fresh and larger bestowal of supernatural power for the accomplishment of our stupendous task of evangelizing our generation. We need a greater enthusiasm.
“Today, if the Christian Church could be aflame with enthusiasm for the Gospel of Christ, with the spirit of burning devotion to the Person of Christ, and with an overwhelming passion for the multitudes still outside Christ, we could change our world.”
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