FINALLY ONE OF THE FATHERS

Two days in June – 16-18, 2008 – will remain special to me for the rest of my life. I was deeply honored to be part of a historical gathering of seven spiritual leaders assembled for the first time together to capture some of the combined investment the Lord has made in our lives over the course of our ministries. Though all of us may have previously met or known of each other over the years, this was a rare opportunity to spend time with some of the men God has greatly used over decades to see people come to Jesus and to encourage and build the Body of Christ in many places of the world, both in person and through extended media. I felt somewhat out of place amidst such a gallery of giants as the only one without a title of Doctor or Reverend, the only one who had never started or run a major ministry, as well as being the “baby” of the team, with all others over 70. I bravely carried my title of Worlds Oldest Teenager, with the subsets of Most Unlikely Levite and Most Internationally Unknown Evangelist to the gathering and was received with grace in the meeting set up and sponsored by Lionshare Leadership Group.We were earlier sent a summary of a comprehensive study of leaders in the Scriptures done by Dr. Robert Clinton, professor of leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. According to Dr. Clinton, “there are approximately 1000 leaders mentioned by name in the Bible. Most of these leaders are mentioned by name only or are mentioned in connection with a role. Some of the leaders receive a bit more attention but not very much information is given about their lives. There are about 100 prominent leaders described in the Scriptures. Of the 100 or so prominent leaders, only 49 have enough information given about them to ascertain how they finished their life and ministry.”As he analyzed the lives of these leaders he discovered four types of finishes:

1) Those cut off early:
These leaders were taken out of leadership by assassination, killed in battle, prophetically denounced, or overthrown. Some of this activity was directly attributed to God. Some of these were positive, some negative. • Examples: Abimelech, Samson, Absalom, Josiah, John the Baptist, James

2) Those that finished poorly:
Leaders going down-hill in the latter part of their ministry. This might be
reflected in their personal relationship with God or in terms of their competency in
ministry. • Examples: Gideon, Samson, Eli, Saul, Solomon

3) Those that finished so-so:
These leaders did well but were limited in some areas of their ministries because of sin. They had some negative ramifications surrounding their lives and ministries even though they personally were walking with God. • Examples: David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah

4) Those that finished well:
These leaders were walking with God at the end of their lives. They contributed to God’s purposes at a high level. They fulfilled what God had for them to do.
• Examples: Abraham, Job, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, Samuel, Daniel, Jesus, Peter, PaulThanks to the hard work of Dave and Tom Buehring http://www.lionshare.org for over five years to help arrange this DVD shoot by coordinating incredibly busy schedules of these brothers in arms. We all met in Pine Cove, the Billy Graham training center in North Carolina with a hand-picked audience of some two hundred business and church leaders, pastors and youth pastors. While the actual recording was done in an intimate fireside set in one of the conference lounges, the audience was linked live in an adjacent auditorium to the conversations. The team later joined the audience for further questions, feedback and some lively interaction after the taping with some of us also having a chance to share with them. It was not until we came out from the first taped sessions that we saw what an astonishing impact this simple sharing had on those who were watching next door; people wept, laughed for sheer joy, shared with passionate hearts and sometimes trembling lips what God had done in their lives while watching.Imagine what it was like to learn from some of the most godly and influential spiritual leaders in the nation, all freely hitchhiking on each others experiences and walk with the Lord in four categories of questions on such subjects as these:Restoring Ancient Paths – “In light of your many decades of service – what areas of ministry, of faith do you see core areas where have we strayed from God’s compass? – You have been around for a long time – what do you see as the present strong suits of the church and what we still need?” I shared a little on my favorite themes: the Nature and Character of God; Revival History; the Message of Gospel and Healing the Land

Personal Life Priorities for Finishing Well – “There is much we can glean from those finishing well. How have you come to this place? How are your hearts still clean? How did you tend to your own marriage and family? How did you learn to listen from your own inner compass to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? –What would you say were major pitfalls to avoid? What personal godly habits can we learn from your life?”
Second/Third (Early) Watch; A Short Itinerary w/o Family; Come Ye Apart or Ye Will Come Apart (Sabbath Rest); Willingness to Change/Ways of Wind (Staying open both in vision and learning); and a motto from my Dad – It’s How You Finish That Counts

Leadership Wisdom & Insights – “You are among those that have lived the longest, led the longest. What are the key things you based your entire ministries on? What are the significant compass points you might desire to pass on?” I drew from my investment in the lives of young musicians and youth leaders in national and international Ministries
Focus on Kids; Root in His Works– in His Word – in His-story (Spirit/Water/Blood); Arts & Technology; Yesterdays’ Radical Today’s Conservative; Gain to Give It Away.

Commissioning Words for Next Generation – We were cut loose on our own greatest personal passions, insights. “If you had to do it over, what would you do instead? –What do you admire most of the emerging generation? What opportunities they have – What are the passion points in you?” Can you imagine the value of what was shared by Loren Cunningham on World Missions; Jack Hayford (leading out of Word and Spirit) – Bob Schuller – (Holding out Hope and Faith), Lloyd Ogilvie (Preaching to influence kings of industry and government), John Perkins – (Bringing Justice and Reconciliation in God’s Kingdom)? From my own calling to win and train the young, I drew from core themes like Kingdom of God Built on Friendship – Trust God or Die – and the importance of of both reading to gain Biblical, historical and social perspective: Readers Are Leaders, Weeders (discerning) and Breeders (creative) and “brailling” the culture.

One of the key meanings of doxa – “glory” is “enhancing reputation of God in the eyes of others” said Leith Anderson. Each of these leaders in both the ministry and marketplace arena learned to live and lead out of the ways of God. Two others also invited died before the conference – Bill Bright of Campus Crusade and Adrian Rogers of the Southern Baptists, One other was unable to attend then, Henry Blackaby of the Experiencing God Study Bible whose schedule conflicts required a rescheduled taping. Although these men all came from different backgrounds, educations, theological streams and had differing ministries, they were all at heart evangelists, loving God and people.

The one other person invited but not able to attend, (though all of us would have dearly loved to have had opportunity to learn from in some of these things) was one of the most dearly loved and honored of all the evangelists of our time, the man who lived just a few minutes from Pine Cove. His growing ill-health had prevented him from being a part of this, but still Tuesday morning he sent our little team a message: come up and visit me in my study at home. We all piled into a van and had the immense privilege of a short visit with the man who has spoken to more people about Christ than any other person in human history. We got to meet with Billy Graham.

All of us got to share with him just how much his life and ministry had affected us over the years. He has been without doubt the single most influential and respected ministry of the 20th century. Here he was, in the last season of his marvelous life, with his daughter Ruth (Bunny) and his dog, sitting in his study, someone God has used so wonderfully to bless His world. We all felt the sacredness of the moment; he was in his own words “going to see Jesus very soon.” Though he was obviously deeply missing his lovely wife whose funeral was exactly a year before on that day, there on the edge of Fathers Day weekend, six other “fathers in the faith” gathered around this man of God like little kids to share with him what his example and inspiration had done for all of us. It was a rare honor that will never come again, and one we will treasure for the rest of our own lives. Billy spoke and listened as one of us, in a prayer laced with humility and dependence of the Holy Spirit and I quietly recorded this, his prayer for us:

BILLY’S PRAYER

Our Father we are very grateful for the fellowship that we have in Christ –
And the only reason we are together right now
is because of Jesus
He has brought us together –
We pray that this group that will be doing different things –
in the next two weeks or the next two days
will have the blessing of the Holy Spirit –
may the Holy Spirit lead each of us –

May we be filled with love and joy and peace and long-suffering
and all the gifts that You have given us as individuals and as a group –
bless our families we pray Thee
bless the people we minister to –

We thank you Lord for all that you have meant to all of us –
and all of us are getting older and we need you more than ever –

Now we commit this day and the days to come
and the ministries that we all represent –
We commit them all to You in Jesus name.

(Fireside Chats With the Fathers Visit July 2008)

My eyes filled with tears at times when I remembered how much of a model his life had and example been to me as well as for all of us. When I won Decision magazines international tract contest in 1970 on the theme “Why I Believe In God” Billy’s ministry flew Fae and I up to their headquarters in Minneapolis to read this for all their staff at their annual Christmas party. We were honored also by a complete tour through their HQ building, multiple stories of ministry-related services, where sometimes up to 30,000 letters a day would come to their offices following a TV-linked crusade. Each letter was tagged for what was needed; follow-up material, free literature or subscriptions to Decision. And finally, the tag for a prayer request. I will never forget the impact made on my life by seeing what few see; those many requests taken just a few at a time to the little chapel in the basement of the building and faithfully personally prayed over one by one. I cannot tell you how much of an impression that loving attention in such a huge context made on me. I thought: “No wonder God has so signally honored Billy. I have never seen such care in such a large ministry.”

All I can tell you is this. I thought, there near the start of my own journey with Jesus: “If you go on in this, and you don’t steal the collection or run off with someone’s secretary, your own ministry will probably grow. Would you have the gifting and calling to pastor or administrate any sort of work like this?” And the short obvious answer was “No.” It was then I made a vow. “I will not build a ministry myself. I will instead look for those who are called and gifted to do this and help them build theirs.” And for the past decades since then, that has been the calling of my life for His Church; to help others “make God famous.” As John, (the youngest of the disciples of Jesus) was also able to say at the evening of his long, lovely and useful life “I have no greater joy than this; to hear of my children walk in the truth.” (3 John 4). I believe that will summarize what I loved for His people. I have had two goals; to see the street saved, and the Church saved. Some call the first evangelism and the second revival. To me they are two sides of the same miracle; that the life of God in Christ by the Holy Spirit will bring resurrection power, purity and Presence to that which is dead or dying and restore relationship with the Living God.

Billy, we love you. All of us owe you a debt of gratitude for your faithfulness both to the Call and to our Captain. You have been for us a true brother in the battle, and an example to all of us in our own journey with Jesus. Thank you, and may your final farewell with us all be as honorable and fragrant as the long and fruitful life you have led for Him.

Winkie