After that, he would frequently respond to questions about
politics with “I’m not for the left wing or the right wing. I’m for
the whole bird.”
John Akers, one of Billy’s closest aides, told us, “Billy’s prin-
ciple was that you shouldn’t do anything that would shut the door
to the gospel. I can’t tell you how important that is. People are
constantly wanting him to sign a petition about something, and
he declines. He’s been called a moral coward for not taking this
stand, or that stand, or the other stand. But from his standpoint,
to do so was to unnecessarily close doors to the gospel.”
■ ■ ■Yes, it’s easy to lose focus, not just with forays into political causes,
but also with tasks that are closely related to your core mission.
For instance, in the overall process of reaching people and help-
ing them become faithful followers of God, Billy has focused on
one element—connecting with broad audiences and bringing
them to the point of decision. That means he primarily leaves to
others the task of helping people grow in faith.
That is precisely what impressed the skeptical British com-
mentator George Scott during Billy’s 1954 campaign in London.
Scott wrote:If the people will not go to the Church, the Church must go to
the people.... One of the strongest things in [Graham’s] favour,
the fact most likely to overcome the national prejudice against
him, is that he does not pretend to be a one-man Church. He
sees his mission primarily as that of the fairground barker who
will first win the eyes and ears of the public so that they will be
attracted into the tent.Scott had been especially impressed when Billy observed that
evangelism is only 5 percent of the task, and when Billy’s work is
done, the other 95 percent is just beginning—“to keep [the con-
vert] resting in Christ and growing into maturity in Christ and in
the Church.”
Lasering In on the Mission