Books that talk: Billy Graham

Books that talk: Billy Graham(The Great Evangelist)

In this biography by Sam Wellman, Billy Graham’s life is x-rayed from when he was a child to when he became a world renowned evangelist. We are captivated by Graham’s love of play, the pranks he committed, his restless nature, his love of baseball but most of all his smile and his love for people. He loved people so much; the only thing that ever got him angry was injustice. His smile was recognized as one of his best features. His success in ministry was never overshadowed by his major concern; proclaim the Christian faith to nonbelievers.
Wellman tells us about the night Billy had his first altar call. The great evangelist
(only in the making at the time) gnawed at his fingernails, sick with worry even after praying all afternoon for God’s help. When he got up to preach to the one hundred people in the congregation that night, his heart was pounding. But, as he preached he felt very strong. He felt that the Holy Spirit was helping him. Arms flailing and exploding like gunfire he delivered the gospel. But at the end of the sermon, when he asked people to the altar to accept Christ, his heart was in his mouth. However, thirty-two people received Christ that night. That sealed his evangelistic ministry.
One great theme we can see reverberating throughout the book is Billy’s passion. Billy had a passion for the souls he won. Another theme that touched one was Billy’s transparency. That was one of the things that helped Billy not to fall into the same trap that other evangelists of the day got caught in. He always tried to be above board.
Truly, Billy Graham was a true hero of faith and his life speaks to us of his love for his ministry and for people, for his tenacity in spite of the challenges he faced and most of all his passion.
Do go to a bookstore and take this book from a shelf and find inspiration from this book, because indeed you will find a lot of it there.