a message is not very convincing to anyone—Christian or not—
who is aware of the continuing possibilities of good and evil in
every advance of civilization, every discipline of culture, and every
religious convention.”
Some leaders embrace controversy, seeing it as a means to
prominence and press coverage. Billy did not. Instead, he tried to
meet privately with Niebuhr. The renowned theologian had no
interest in dialogue and refused to see him, so Billy simply com-
plimented him, yet set his own context. “I have read nearly every-
thing Mr. Niebuhr has written, and I feel inadequate before his
brilliant mind and learning,” Billy told reporters. “Occasionally I
get a glimmer of what he is talking about.... If I tried to preach as
he writes, people would be so bewildered they would walk out.”
Even before he entered the national consciousness with his
1949 meetings in Los Angeles, Billy showed great wisdom in deal-
ing with critics. During a preaching campaign in Birmingham,
England, in 1947, Billy had faced intense opposition from skepti-
cal local pastors. Through the years itinerant revival preachers had
passed through Birmingham and drummed up local support by
denouncing the local clergy. So before Billy even arrived, these
pastors, sure that he was just another religious opportunist, con-
vinced the city council to prohibit him from speaking in the city
auditorium.
When Billy showed up, he didn’t grouse about this prohibi-
tion. Instead, he made appointments with his detractors, one by
one, admitted his weaknesses as a young preacher, and assured
them he wanted only to help them reach the city for Christ. He
asked them calmly to explain and pray about their opposition.
Soon the hostility morphed into fervent support.
“Billy called on me,” recounted one pastor who had been crit-
ical of “America’s surplus saints.” “He wasn’t bitter, just wonder-
ing. I ended up wanting to hug the twenty-seven-year-old boy....
I called my church officers, and we disrupted all our plans for the
nine days of his visit. Before it was over, Birmingham had seen a
touch of God’s blessing. This fine, lithe, burning torch of a man
made me love him and his Lord.”
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham