“I remember the day our press conference took place in the
King David Hotel,” Cliff continued. “One government official
asked to see Billy. Billy asked me to join him, so we had a cup of
tea with this man. Concerned about Billy’s reaction to being
refused the use of the stadium, he was visibly relieved when Billy
assured him, ‘Don’t worry. I will not say anything that will be an
embarrassment to your country or to your leadership.’
“Well, when the press conference
began, the room was jammed. Billy had
an opening statement: ‘I want to tell
you why I’ve come to Jerusalem. First,
I’ve come to see the places that are holy
and sacred to our Christian faith and to
Christians around the world.’ The audi-
ence nodded at this implied support of
tourism. ‘Second, I’ve come because God has called me as an
evangelist to preach, to go into all the world to preach the gospel.
I’ve been almost every place, but here’s one major place I haven’t
had a chance yet to speak.’ That too was acceptable. ‘Third, there
are several thousand Christians in this country who have been
praying for us, for our meetings here and in other places, and I’ve
come to report to them what God has done in answer to their
prayers. Fourth, I’ve come to thank you and the Jewish nation
for proselytizing me as a Gentile to follow a man who was a Jew
and who claimed to be the Son of God.’
“The reporters just about bit the erasers off their pencils. But
they were writing it down. Then he told them the story of how,
as a student under the preaching of Mordecai Ham in Charlotte,
he had to decide whether Jesus was who he claimed to be—the
Son of God—or whether he was a liar and imposter who didn’t
deserve a moment of anyone’s time. Bill said, ‘The only way I
could prove it was to just commit my life to him as he asked me
to. And I did. So, I thank you for this Jewish man, who also was
the Son of God, who changed my life.’
“You could have heard a pin drop. The next day in the press,
the reports were overwhelmingly positive, emphasizing that Billy
The Leadership Secrets of Billy GrahamLook out for the good things,
not the faults. It takes a good
deal bigger-sized brain to find
out what is not wrong with
people and things than to find
out what is wrong.
R. L. SHARPE