Billy’s marriage to Ruth was just one of many boundary
broadening initiatives, and it led to his appreciation and eventual
reliance upon the wisdom of Ruth’s dad, L. Nelson Bell. Billy later
claimed that he “never took a major step without asking his coun-
sel and advice.” And, “even though I was a Southern Baptist, I
still had an ‘independent’ streak in me that came from my days at
the Florida Bible Institute. Dr. Bell showed me that the strength
of my future ministry would be in the church. He actually taught
me to be a churchman.”
Over the years, Billy’s ever-broadening perspective and
bridge-building efforts cost him many supporters but won him
others. He became a tremendous bridge builder, reaching across
denominational, political, racial, and religious boundaries.
Within two years of marrying Ruth, he was attempting to
cross denominational divides by changing the name of the church
he was pastoring. In 1944, during his eighteen-month stint as pas-
tor, Billy led his congregation, Western Springs Baptist Church,
to change its name to the more inclusive Village Church of West-
ern Springs. Why? “There were mainly Lutherans and Congrega-
tionalists (but very few Baptists) in the surrounding area,” said
Billy. Even though he was only a year out of college, his efforts to
reach out as broadly as possible had begun.
By the 1990s, many Protestant churches were changing their
names to remove denominational labels. It was common for
churches, increasingly “seeker sensitive,” to remove barriers to
skittish outsiders. Names deemed exclusive or off-putting were
exchanged for neutral names. So, for instance, Wooddale Baptist
Church became simply Wooddale Church. Christ Presbyterian
became Christ Church. A Lutheran church in Arizona became
Community Church of Joy. A Methodist congregation chose to be
known as Spirit Garage.
While such names for churches proliferated in the 1980s and
1990s, this trend didn’t start with the sociologically savvy experts
of the church growth movement. Billy had intuitively done it in
- While still identifying himself as a Baptist, he didn’t let his
personal preferences in church polity stand in the way of posi-
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham