He did not know that about fifty protesters had been marching
around the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College carrying
signs like “Graham Eats Caviar as Russian Christians Suffer in
Jails.” Unlike the American commotion, the European press had
reacted more favorably to Billy’s Russian venture. They applauded
his address to the peace conference.
But Billy became acutely aware of the controversy when he
agreed to appear via satellite from London on This Week with David
Brinkley. He was immediately startled by the pointed and pre-
sumptuous questioning of Brinkley, Sam Donaldson, and George
Will. Mark Azbel, a Jewish Soviet dissident, and Edmund Robb,
an evangelical Graham ally, joined the tag-team fray to heap even
more criticism.
Will: “What makes you think that you’re going to cause the
Kremlin to begin dismantling the apparatus of thought control
that’s the basis of their regime?”
Graham: “I don’t think I’m going to do it. I don’t think I’ll
even live long enough to see that. But I know what the power of
the gospel can do.”
Donaldson: “Why not preach here at home? Aren’t there
people in the United States who need your ministry? Your critics
say your ego requires a worldwide ministry.”
Graham: “It’s not my ego; it’s my calling. Jesus said, ‘Go ye
into all the world and preach the gospel.’ He didn’t say, ‘Go into
the capitalist countries only.’ I’ve been in countries with right-
wing dictatorships. I’ve been in countries that have left-wing dic-
tatorships. But I’ve tried to stay right with the gospel of Christ and
stay out of the various political situations.”
Robb: “We feel like impressions have been made that are
unfortunate. I love you, I believe in you, and I shall continue to
be your supporter. But I am convinced you’ve made a serious mis-
take in your visit to the Soviet Union, and if some of the things
you’ve been quoted as saying are true, they’ve certainly compro-
mised you with a great deal of the evangelical community.”
Graham: “Well, I’ll tell you one thing. I’ll continue to preach
the gospel whether there are many or few there.”
Summoning Courage