The 1957 New York City campaign provides another example
among many. A year after its conclusion, a united rally was held
in Madison Square Garden, and when converts from the meet-
ings were asked to stand, thousands rose. Perhaps the greatest
long-term impact was on New York’s pastoral leadership.
Although Billy had not been present for nearly a year, one min-
ister told him that it was impossible to adequately express how
much the campaign had boosted morale, confidence, and moti-
vation among the ministers of New York.
■ ■ ■As the twenty-first century dawned, Rick Warren was being
hailed as “America’s most influential pastor.” Not only had he
planted a church twenty years earlier that had grown to 21,000
attendees each weekend, but he had just authored The Purpose-
Driven Life, a book selling over twenty million copies in its first
two years, perhaps an all-time record for any book.
An earlier book, The Purpose-Driven Church, while not reaching
the stratospheric sales levels of the second book, was hugely influ-
ential among church leaders, and it sold well enough to allow
Warren to invest significantly in pastors.com, a website that offers
inspiration and resources for those in ministry.
We had worked with Rick over the years on articles in Chris-
tianity Todayand Leadership, and when we emailed him to ask if he
had observations about the leadership of Billy Graham, he
responded immediately: “I’d do anything to honor him; he’s had
such a profound impact on my life behind the scenes.”
We asked him to explain.
“Billy has been a personal mentor for me for a long time,” Rick
wrote back. “In fact, I just got back from spending an afternoon
at Billy and Ruth’s home. Neither he nor Ruth is doing very well
healthwise, so I flew out just to cheer them up and encourage
them. We had a precious time when Billy had me lay hands on
him and pray for his health. I love them both so much, and Billy’s
fingerprints of influence are all over my ministry.”
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham