important Americans of the twentieth century, but wasn’t that
because of his inspirational and pastoral role? How did executive
leadership fit in? And how could he do both? During his long
career, he was mercilessly attacked by many, yet he won over the
vast majority of once-hostile critics even as his organization set
new high standards for nonprofit leadership. How could one man
wear so many hats and see such extraordinary results?■I first got an inkling of all this in the mid-1970s when the board of
Christianity Todayappointed me its president and CEO. Billy had
founded the magazine nearly twenty years before. Harold Ock-
enga, scholar, pastor of Boston’s historic Park Street Church, first
president of Fuller Seminary and later Gordon-Conwell Seminary,
was chairman, but he cheerfully acknowledged that CTwas “Billy’s
magazine”—that he served as chair under Graham’s guidance.
Until I joined Christianity Today, I had the typical impression
of Billy: larger-than-life, remarkably effective, a chaplain for the
nation, and a lodestar for believers.
I did not think of him as an entrepreneurial CEO. In fact,
when that reality first surfaced, I was jarred.
Sherwood Wirt edited Billy’s Decisionmagazine, and we served
together on the board of the Evangelical Press Association. He
happened to refer to Billy as “the boss.”
I was taken aback. Billy, “the boss”? Wasn’t he the beloved
evangelist? To my ears the word seemed crass and inappropriate.
Yet to “Woody,” a brilliant Ph.D. who viewed Billy in the highest
terms, the word came easily.
A few years later, when I joined CT, I began to understand that
Billy was not only CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Associ-
ation but also powerfully influenced many institutions. He en-
couraged, counseled, prodded, and cast the broad vision. After
observing Billy at one CT board meeting, I thought, He not only
does all the things we see on TV and read about in the press,but behind
the scenes he’s inspiring the leadership of an entire movement.Youth
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham