Billy Graham has spent a lifetime pointing to the door and
praying for those who hear his invitation to put their hands on
the latch, to walk into a life of reconciliation, purpose, and joy.
No other role, for his life, has loomed larger; other goals have
never been compelling enough to deflect him.
George Brushaber, president of Bethel University in Min-
neapolis, sees Billy’s focus as a vital ingredient of his leadership.
“There was something about the central passion of his life that
attracted his people,” he told us. “Even though many times they
were older or had higher education credentials or business suc-
cess, they held him in awe. There’s an anointed, unique quality
about him hard to describe, a transparency so people could look
into his soul—his commitment to his mission was so strong and
so clear. The utter simplicity of his agenda is a powerful factor.”
Even so, for Billy, as for almost every effective leader, distrac-
tions and potential diversions continually confronted him.
Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias observed, “Billy never
changed his calling. Many times it could be said, ‘God loved him
and othershad a wonderful plan for his life.’ But he kept his focus.
Many good things can stand in the way of fulfilling your calling
just as much as bad things can. But Billy remained clear on what
he was called to.”
But that calling was tested. Early in his career, Billy’s charisma
and good looks led to an offer from Paramount Pictures Corpora-
tion to become an actor. He declined. In the late 1950s, NBC
offered him a million dollars a year to host a show opposite the
highly popular Arthur Godfrey. He turned it down.
During a citywide campaign at a press conference with some
aggressive and somewhat hostile reporters, Billy was grilled about
the finances of his organization and was asked, cynically, whether
he expected to make substantial money from the city. As he con-
tinued to be pushed on the issue, Billy reached into his coat
pocket and pulled out a telegram he’d received from Hollywood,
making a highly lucrative offer for him to star in two movies. “If
my interest was in making money,” he said with a smile, “I’d take
advantage of an offer like this.”
Lasering In on the Mission