The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham

Pa rt

Six

Deepening

in Every Decade

It is the child-spirit that finds life’s golden gates,

and that finds them all ajar.

JOHN HENRY JOWETT

Some leaders as they age draw back and start to calcify. Others keep growing and main-
tain their power. These last four chapters explore how, starting at the beginning of his min-
istry, Billy kept developing, not only as a person but as a leader in a dramatically changing
world. He

• Leveraged weaknesses


• Plugged into voltage


• Innovated


• Led with love
  Throughout the decades, Billy maintained his spirit of facing fresh challenges with
  fresh ideas, but always with his commitment to make love the driving force.
  His friend Joni Eareckson Tada once said, “Love is extravagant in the price it is will-
  ing to pay, the time it is willing to give, the hardships it is willing to endure, and the strength
  it is willing to spend.”
  In this section, we look at how Billy fleshed that out, especially in the final chapter,
  which starts with the question we asked in our very first interview for this book: “What
  would you say is the bottom line distinctive of Billy Graham’s leadership?”