Leadership Thought: The First Sermon I Ever Preached by Billy Graham

Dear Friends,

It was over 60 years ago when I charged into Rev. Allan Foster’s office and excitingly shared with him how God had changed my life while attending a Fellowship of Christian Athletes conference in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

Little did I know how that visit would impact my life.

Allan was excited to hear my story, and when I had finished, he shocked me with a question I will never forget. He asked, “Tom, how would you like to preach this Sunday?” I never expected a question like that and without thinking I enthusiastically responded "yes."

As I drove home from that meeting, reality set in, and I couldn't believe I agreed to do such a stupid thing. Preach? I had no idea how or where to begin, let alone what I would say.

I thought about calling Rev. Foster and telling him I had second thoughts about my decision, but I was too embarrassed to do so, and so I began thinking about what I might say.

And then I remembered we had some old Billy Graham "Decision" magazines around the house, and each copy always had a wonderful message by Dr. Graham.

I sorted through a number of them, and I picked out a message on the second coming of Christ. Keep in mind I hardly knew much about his first coming, let alone his second coming. 

However, I figured if the message was good enough for Billy Graham to share, it had to be good enough for me and this little congregation to hear.

I worked hard all week crafting a message that was more Dr. Graham's than mine, and when Sunday morning came, I strode to the pulpit confident that I could survive the experience without embarrassing myself too greatly.

I got off to a good start, but after a few minutes I looked down at my manuscript and noticed the clock, and I was shocked to discover I was almost finished with the message, and I had been in the pulpit less than ten minutes.

A few minutes later, I embarrassedly brought the message to a close. I apologized for my brevity, and sheepishly walked to the back of the church hoping I could sneak out of the service without having to greet a single person.

And then it happened. As I sat down, the congregation erupted in applause. I was stunned. I figured the applause must be because the service had been so short that they were excited to beat their Roman Catholic friends for breakfast at the Cherry Tree Inn. But no, they were cheering for me, not realizing they were really cheering for Dr. Graham who wrote most of my message. 

But at that point I didn’t care, as I was desperate to receive any form of affirmation I could get.

While this event took place in 1962, I still vividly remember how encouraged I felt after failing so miserably in my first pulpit attempt.

Affirmation is something one never forgets.  It has often been called the second cousin of encouragement. To affirm someone is to make them "firm," and affirmation does just that. It strengthens and fortifies us. That's what those precious people in that little Henderson, N.Y. congregation did for me. They strengthened me.

I sometimes wonder if they hadn't affirmed me the way they did, would I have ever had the courage to ever set foot in the pulpit again.

If affirming words were rarely spoken in your home, let me give you some words and phrases that you might wish to add to your vocabulary. These words are easy to speak, and they are powerful life changers, especially for the one who is drowning in self-doubt or who has been embarrassed by some past failure.

I'm proud of you, way to go,  magnificent, I knew you could do it, you're very special to me, I trust you, what a treasure you are, hooray for you, beautiful work, you're a real trooper, well done, that's so creative, you make my day, you're a joy, give me a big hug, you're such a good listener, you figured it out, I love you, I'm praying for you...You get the point! There are a lot of ways you can affirm someone.

The Apostle Paul writes, “Don’t let any unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29) This is a good verse to memorize.

Today, let’s all join the best club in the world: The Affirmation Booster Club.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom