The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham

“Mr. Graham is keenly aware that God’s power always shows
up best in weakness,” said Joni. “This is why he inspires me with
my own disability of thirty-seven years. His example of persever-
ance under pressure speaks volumes to me and to many others. It’s
probably why the BGEA, with every crusade, systematically in the
spirit of Luke 14:21 goes out ‘into the streets and alleys’ to ‘bring in
the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ This tells me Mr.
Graham knows God’s heart when it comes to the lowly and needy.
He reflects this through his own humility, and he lives it daily.”

■ ■ ■

Journalist David Aikman includes Billy Graham as one of six

“great souls who changed the century.” He says Billy made mis-

takes of judgment at different points in his career, but he “never

stopped admitting his own faults and weaknesses.”

Aikman summed up this way: “To remain humble, teachable,

and gracious amid success and in the face of sometimes bitter

opposition and criticism is the mark of true virtue. And to remain

relentlessly loyal to God’s call while exposed as consistently as

Graham has been to all the world’s power and glory, well, ’tis the

mark of a Great Soul.”

LEADERSHIP

LESSONS | Leveraging Weakness

Applying the Principles

In a world that’s constantly changing, no fixed set of knowledge

is sufficient. As John Naisbitt observed, “No one subject or set of

subjects will serve you for the foreseeable future, let alone for the

rest of your life. The most important skill to acquire now is learn-

ing how to learn.”

The situation is akin to that of Meriwether Lewis making plans

for his journey to explore the great Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

He didn’t know exactly where he was going, other than following

The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham