to those who waver or disagree. Second, we will be blindsided by
unexpected reactions.
Billy was sensitive to others’ viewpoints, always probing for
additional insights. After all, he was an anthropology major. At
the same time, he didn’t let his information paralyze him. In his
1957 crusade, he knew certain fundamentalists would react vis-
cerally to his having Catholics and Protestant liberals on the plat-
form, but he did it anyway. In Jackson, when he took down the
ropes segregating black from white, he knew how upset many of
his Southern supporters would be, but he did it anyway. He was
prepared for the results.
Bill Martin, in assessing Graham’s approach on issues, told us,
“Billy is typically ahead of his own unit, but never at the head of
the parade. That’s where he was on race, the war on poverty, and
all those things—in front of the position taken by most evangel-
ical Christians.”
Graham knew that if he moved too far ahead, he would lose
his “unit,” and he would have been forced into a different role. He
understood his constituency and their growing edge. Martin
pointed out that many people saw Billy as “backward and not
prophetic.” But Billy kept his laser focus on his primary calling,
and in various ways stretched other leaders. And in a related strat-
egy, he founded Christianity Todaymagazine, which dealt more
frontally with issues.
Sometimes when we form a conviction, we’re tempted to
“preach the unvarnished truth” and let the listeners take it or
leave it. But they may not have the background and information
to accept such straight talk. Leadership, by its nature, requires
strong convictions but also the skills to effectively communicate
those convictions and to back off emphases that will deflect from
the main thing. As the saying goes, “Let the main thing be the
main thing.”
Be Patient Like Lincoln and Roosevelt
Political analyst David Gergen points out that our most effec-
tive presidents have carefully brought the public along on contro-
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham