the BGEA would help them reach Ohio’s youth. “I was stunned.
Privately I thought, I don’t think we can do that because I’ve been
watching over the last several years,and the kids aren’t coming. We have
youth nights Monday, Thursday, and Sunday, but there’s no rea-
son for the kids to come.”
Spurred on by Heffern and Thornton’s challenge, Marshall
brainstormed ways to encourage youth to come hear Billy. He cre-
ated plans for flashy visual presentations and edgy rock music.
This initiative was so new and, for the Graham team, unusual that
a few program technicians created T-shirts that read “The Billy
Graham ‘It-Seemed-Like-a-Good-Idea-at-the-Time’ Tour.” When
Rick brought up the concept with Cliff Barrows, Billy’s partner
and longtime music and program director who normally made
programming decisions, Cliff said “Rick, this is too hot to handle.
You have to talk to Bill.”
So Marshall took his plan straight to the CEO. “I got Mr. Gra-
ham on the phone and shared with him the vision. You know
what he said? ‘That’s nothing. Let me tell you about what we used
to do.’ And he went all the way back into the 1940s and told me
about the Youth for Christ rallies: horses on the stage tapping out
answers to Bible questions; a hundred pianos in the middle of
football fields; crazy, wild clothing and ties with bright lights
hooked up to battery packs.”
YFC’s motto, “Geared to the times, anchored to the Rock,” had
meant innovation. As YFC’s first full-time employee, Billy had
used every cutting-edge ploy to communicate. Marshall said,
“Billy, we don’t need horses or flashy ties, but we need the same
willingness to take a risk.”
And Billy responded, “Let’s do it.”
Many employees, however, did not salute the decision. Lon
Allison said of that time, “In the whole organization, Rick didn’t
have an advocate anywhere on his flanks, except for one person.”
After all, the BGEA had pioneered a highly successful strategy for
stadium evangelism that flourished for decades with only minor
tweaks. They invented mass evangelism’s dominant paradigm.
With Billy’s blessing, however, Marshall booked two of the
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham