“Absolutely. And you can tell when someone allows God to
redeem his ego. I was chair of Billy’s Cincinnati campaign and was
with him at a breakfast with a reporter who was critical of Billy.
He asked him hard questions. However, the published story
turned out positive. Billy then told me, with a grin, ‘Fred, they
don’t care if you’re a nut so long as you’re a sincere nut.’ He didn’t
take himself too seriously.”
■ ■ ■The mix of Mead’s words, presence,respect, and humility, seemed
oddly juxtaposed. Having the charisma to command respect at the
highest levels and the ability to turn hostile reporters into advo-
cates would naturally inflate anyone’s ego. Yet it is not only Mead
and Smith who reference Billy’s humility. As we interviewed
many colleagues and friends, his humility became a constant
theme.
For instance, when we talked with Lon Allison, director of the
Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, the very first thing he
said was, “Have you hit on the humility factor?” He then went on
to tell a personal story.
“The first step in my being hired in 1998 was to meet Billy. He
was holding a crusade in Ottawa, Canada. Billy always meets
with people before he speaks at night, so rooms had been set up
for him in the back of the auditorium. As we walked down a hall-
way with armed guards everywhere, I said out loud, ‘This feels
like going to the White House or something.’ You sensed all the
power. Yet when anyone walks into where Billy is, it becomes
the absolute opposite. He’s Pop. He’s Grandpa. He’s completely
unaffected.
“Sterling Huston introduced us saying, ‘You know, Bill, Lon
did his doctoral research in evangelistic preaching and communi-
cations.’ Billy put his hand on my shoulder and said with all seri-
ousness, ‘Maybe you could teach me a few things.’
“I just burst out laughing. It was totally unexpected. I said
something like, ‘Well, since most of my work is based on your life,The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham