By faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. Hebrews 11:4
All of us probably have people in our lives who, even though we never knew them, we can’t imagine not being there. For me, I instinctively think of (a) the Queen and (b) Bobby Charlton. (I’m not quite sure what that says about me! - especially as I am no great monarchist, and certainly no Man Utd supporter.)
And then of Billy Graham.
When I became a teenage convert in the 1960s Billy Graham was already a household name. And now he has died.
On the news everyone is queuing up to speak well of him: above all, of his integrity and humility. This includes people who certainly aren’t in sympathy with his brand of evangelicalism, indeed, people who aren’t in sympathy with Christianity full-stop. He seemed to have the ability to command respect and admiration right across the board.
Certainly, he wasn’t perfect - and he, I’m sure, would be the first to say so. Yes, there were one or two points in his life which make one feel uneasy, and there were areas where he felt it necessary to issue apologies. But the overall picture is one of single-mindedness and honesty. (And who doesn’t have a skeleton or two in their cupboard?)
And then, of course, there are the quite stupendous statistics - the vast numbers he preached to; the presidents and monarchs, the film-stars and singers, whose confidence he won; the books he wrote; the ordinary people, many now in old age, who tell the story of how they came to faith in Jesus through him fifty or more years ago, and are still Christians today.
Like what he stood for or not, you can’t get away from the massive impact he had.
And the question naturally arises, How did he do it? What was his secret? After all, there has been no shortage of preachers who are equally biblical in their approach and perhaps technically better as preachers, but who have never had a remotely comparable effect.
I personally remember a big rally I attended thirty-plus years ago at a football stadium in Sheffield. We had gone as a party from the church I was minister of, and I remember it as a cold, dark evening. Graham and the rest of the “platform party” were just dots in the distance - this was in the days before big screens. There was a teenage girl in our party who, perhaps ten minutes into Graham’s sermon, turned yawning to her mother and wanted to know “When is Billy Graham going to preach?”
That just about said it all. Far from being the charismatic tub-thumper some people described him as, he had an ordinariness - I might even say a dullness - which left one distinctly underwhelmed, especially as he matured and took on board various comments and criticisms that had been directed at him.
But I haven’t finished that story. The other thing I remember is that when the sermon was over and the appeal to “go forward to receive Christ” was given, people flocked to the front in their hundreds. I watched in amazement. True, I suspect that many had attended that night with the intention, conscious or otherwise, of “getting converted”. But never mind: the fact is that they responded to the gospel message, and for many it was the big turning-point in their lives.
I don’t think there’s any answer to the question, What was his secret? Faithfulness to the biblical gospel? Yes, but as I said earlier, that would be true of thousands of preachers. The anointing of the Holy Spirit? Again, yes, of course, but that too would be true of thousands. Slick marketing and presentation? There may have been an element of that in his early career, but, especially as time went on, it became less and less marked.
Perhaps we just have to put it down to the mysterious ways of God, and not probe too deeply.
But after watching the television news last night I couldn’t help thinking about the words of the writer to the Hebrews about Abel: how he “still speaks, even though he is dead” (Hebrews 11:4).
Billy Graham is dead. But he will continue to speak for a long time, I’m sure. Indeed, during these few days when he is in the headlines, I strongly suspect that he will be speaking powerfully to the hearts of many who never accepted his message, and who had quite possibly forgotten all about him. May we expect a spike in numbers of conversions?
I don’t know. But I suggest that as we reflect on the life of such a massively influential Christian figure, we should take those words about Abel as applying to... us as well.
Yes - if we make it our business to live Christ-centred, Spirit-filled lives, is there any reason why we too, small though we are, should not also be speaking long after we are dead and gone?
Oh God, thank you for raising certain Christians to national and even international prominence. Protect, keep and use them, and help them to maintain their integrity. But thank you too that you also use the unknown people in ways we cannot imagine. Use me, Lord, use even me! Amen.
All of us probably have people in our lives who, even though we never knew them, we can’t imagine not being there. For me, I instinctively think of (a) the Queen and (b) Bobby Charlton. (I’m not quite sure what that says about me! - especially as I am no great monarchist, and certainly no Man Utd supporter.)
And then of Billy Graham.
When I became a teenage convert in the 1960s Billy Graham was already a household name. And now he has died.
On the news everyone is queuing up to speak well of him: above all, of his integrity and humility. This includes people who certainly aren’t in sympathy with his brand of evangelicalism, indeed, people who aren’t in sympathy with Christianity full-stop. He seemed to have the ability to command respect and admiration right across the board.
Certainly, he wasn’t perfect - and he, I’m sure, would be the first to say so. Yes, there were one or two points in his life which make one feel uneasy, and there were areas where he felt it necessary to issue apologies. But the overall picture is one of single-mindedness and honesty. (And who doesn’t have a skeleton or two in their cupboard?)
And then, of course, there are the quite stupendous statistics - the vast numbers he preached to; the presidents and monarchs, the film-stars and singers, whose confidence he won; the books he wrote; the ordinary people, many now in old age, who tell the story of how they came to faith in Jesus through him fifty or more years ago, and are still Christians today.
Like what he stood for or not, you can’t get away from the massive impact he had.
And the question naturally arises, How did he do it? What was his secret? After all, there has been no shortage of preachers who are equally biblical in their approach and perhaps technically better as preachers, but who have never had a remotely comparable effect.
I personally remember a big rally I attended thirty-plus years ago at a football stadium in Sheffield. We had gone as a party from the church I was minister of, and I remember it as a cold, dark evening. Graham and the rest of the “platform party” were just dots in the distance - this was in the days before big screens. There was a teenage girl in our party who, perhaps ten minutes into Graham’s sermon, turned yawning to her mother and wanted to know “When is Billy Graham going to preach?”
That just about said it all. Far from being the charismatic tub-thumper some people described him as, he had an ordinariness - I might even say a dullness - which left one distinctly underwhelmed, especially as he matured and took on board various comments and criticisms that had been directed at him.
But I haven’t finished that story. The other thing I remember is that when the sermon was over and the appeal to “go forward to receive Christ” was given, people flocked to the front in their hundreds. I watched in amazement. True, I suspect that many had attended that night with the intention, conscious or otherwise, of “getting converted”. But never mind: the fact is that they responded to the gospel message, and for many it was the big turning-point in their lives.
I don’t think there’s any answer to the question, What was his secret? Faithfulness to the biblical gospel? Yes, but as I said earlier, that would be true of thousands of preachers. The anointing of the Holy Spirit? Again, yes, of course, but that too would be true of thousands. Slick marketing and presentation? There may have been an element of that in his early career, but, especially as time went on, it became less and less marked.
Perhaps we just have to put it down to the mysterious ways of God, and not probe too deeply.
But after watching the television news last night I couldn’t help thinking about the words of the writer to the Hebrews about Abel: how he “still speaks, even though he is dead” (Hebrews 11:4).
Billy Graham is dead. But he will continue to speak for a long time, I’m sure. Indeed, during these few days when he is in the headlines, I strongly suspect that he will be speaking powerfully to the hearts of many who never accepted his message, and who had quite possibly forgotten all about him. May we expect a spike in numbers of conversions?
I don’t know. But I suggest that as we reflect on the life of such a massively influential Christian figure, we should take those words about Abel as applying to... us as well.
Yes - if we make it our business to live Christ-centred, Spirit-filled lives, is there any reason why we too, small though we are, should not also be speaking long after we are dead and gone?
Oh God, thank you for raising certain Christians to national and even international prominence. Protect, keep and use them, and help them to maintain their integrity. But thank you too that you also use the unknown people in ways we cannot imagine. Use me, Lord, use even me! Amen.
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