Evangelist Billy Graham died聽Feb. 21, 2018. 惭测谤辞苍听础耻驳蝉产耻谤驳别谤 was the fifth president of what was then Eastern Mennonite College & Seminary, serving from 1965 to 1980. He was also professor of theology from 1963 to 1980.聽The following article first appeared in the March 12 edition of the and is republished here with permission.聽
Myron Augsburger admired Billy Graham but didn鈥檛 take his advice.
It was about 1950 or 鈥�51 when the aspiring Mennonite evangelist first talked to Graham 鈥� already well on his way to becoming 鈥淎merica鈥檚 preacher鈥� 鈥� at a meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals in Minneapolis.
Though still in his early 20s, Augsburger was already thinking about whether Mennonites ought to be doing more with mass evangelism.
Graham, 11 years his senior, was a rising star who would within a decade transform old-fashioned revival meetings into mass media events that filled civic arenas, then stadiums, and eventually reach worldwide television audiences.
What advice would he give a young Mennonite preacher who hoped to be heard beyond his humble denomination?
Graham鈥檚 counsel: 鈥淕et rid of that coat!鈥�
Augsburger鈥檚 coat was of the type called 鈥減lain,鈥� without lapels, as was expected to be worn by men, especially preachers, in the 鈥渙ld鈥� Mennonite Church at that time.
How did Augsburger reply?
鈥淚 think I just said that my message is more than my expression in attire,鈥� he said in a phone interview from his home in Harrisonburg, Va., on Feb. 23, two days after Graham died at the age of 99.
Augsburger would continue to wear the plain coat into the late 1970s, while serving as president of Eastern Mennonite College, long after most other Mennonite Church men had given up that marker of nonconformity.
That long-ago meeting of two young evangelists makes a good story, Augsburger observed, but far more significant to him was one about 30 years later, in the early 1980s.
By then pastoring in Washington, D.C., Augsburger was called upon to introduce Graham at a service there. As Augsburger recalls, the globe-trotting spiritual adviser to presidents stepped up to the microphone and said, 鈥淣ow, I鈥檓 not a pacifist like Myron here, but I have become a nuclear pacifist. There is no way we can nuke the Russians in the spirit of Jesus.鈥�
Later, in the home of Augsburger and his wife, Esther, they discussed peace and nonviolence at greater length.
鈥淗e came to affirm this for the church but not for the state,鈥� Augsburger said of Graham鈥檚 view of nonviolence. 鈥淏illy took a much more conciliatory approach than many evangelicals.鈥�
Inspiring evangelists
At 88, Augsburger still maintains an active schedule of speaking and travel. Looking back more than 60 years, Graham鈥檚 example inspired him and other Mennonite itinerant revivalists, like George R. Brunk II and Howard Hammer, in the 1950s, the heyday of mass evangelism.
It wasn鈥檛 just Graham鈥檚 ability to draw big crowds that impressed them.
鈥淲e were encouraged by his ecumenical example,鈥� Augsburger said. 鈥淲e were impressed that he could work beyond his own circles.鈥�
Mennonites had a long way to go in that regard. To get people from different Mennonite branches together under one revival tent 鈥渨as as revolutionary as we could be right then,鈥� he said.
Suspicions among Christian denominations have faded since the days when Graham, a Baptist, was criticized by more conservative evangelicals for working with Catholics and liberal Protestants. But in other ways, the divisions among Christians, often drawn along political lines, are stronger than ever, Augsburger believes.
Today, the religious boundaries being crossed are as likely to be interfaith as within the Christian faith. This presents a different set of challenges.
鈥淢y perception is that we lack clarity in how to talk with people of other religions,鈥� Augsburger said. 鈥淭he danger is that we minimize Jesus rather than present what Jesus has to offer.鈥�
To Augsburger, the key is respect without compromise.
鈥淲hile we can respect the values of Islam, we have to emphasize the uniqueness of Jesus,鈥� Augsburger said. 鈥淲e need to rediscover the primacy of the gospel, so that our ethics come out of walking with Jesus.鈥�
He believes Graham鈥檚 example of bridge-building is relevant today.
鈥淗e modeled interdenominational respect, and that needs to happen in a fresh way,鈥� Augsburger said.