and I knew that Cliff knew exactlywhat Billy was thinking at that
moment. It was like they could read each other’s minds and make
adjustments without even having to talk about it.
“The team even wanted to live near each other. Both T.W. and
Bev Shea built houses on the same mountain road as Billy’s home.
“A few years ago, Billy invited me to attend the ceremony in
the Capitol Rotunda where he received the Congressional Gold
Medal. One of the things that struck me about that event was
that when Billy received that reward, he said, ‘This medal really
belongs to my team’ — and he listed each of the names of his
dear friends who served with him all these years. It was very
touching.”
We asked how he applied the lesson of that kind of teamwork
at Saddleback.
“When I began Saddleback—which I had made a commit-
ment to pastor for the rest of my entire life (I was twenty-five)—
I intentionally followed Billy’s model of teamwork in selecting
guys who would also dedicate the rest of their lives to serving this
one church. All of our senior leadership are ‘lifers.’ We’ve been
together twenty-plus years and have committed to growing old
together.
“Much of the growth of Saddleback can be attributed to this
team of one mind, one spirit, identical values, close friendship,
and personal commitment to each other for life. I get the privi-
lege of serving Christ with my best friends. That’s why we never
have to deal with internal politics at that level.
“Billy taught us the value of teamwork.”
■ ■ ■Ravi Zacharias was a young professor on the faculty of Alliance The-
ological Seminary in Nyack, New York, up the Hudson River north
of New York City. In the early 1980s, Leighton Ford had heard tapes
of Ravi’s presentations, and he forwarded those tapes to Billy Gra-
ham. Billy listened to them and subsequently invited Ravi to speak
The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham