I was making my way down Black Mountain in North Carolina in the fall of 2009, heading for I-40 north to Charlotte, when I decided to call my mom. Not the usual thing a guy then in his late 50s does following a meeting—but this wasn't just any meeting.
"Mom, you'll never guess who I just spent an hour with," I excitedly blurted out, my words in overdrive. "Billy Graham!"
I then waited for the effect of that name to sink in. And it did. With silence.
One second. Two seconds. Five seconds. Silence.
"Mom," I repeated several times, thinking my cell connection was kaput. "You there?"
Finally, in her quietest church voice, she replied: "Really?"
"Yes, Mom," I said. "Really!" At which point, she was transported back over 65 years to a Saturday night Voice of Christian Youth rally at the Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit. As a girl of 15 or 16 years of age, she was brought there to hear an evangelist by her boyfriend, who was on fire for the Lord.
He had ulterior motives, to be sure. He was falling in love with this girl—but he knew their courtship could not go much further unless she too committed her life to Christ.
As the story is told, the evangelist my future father had hoped would convincingly deliver the altar call that night was unable to attend for some reason, so another evangelist—then unknown to either teenager—filled in. And that night, by the grace of God alone, my mom's eternity was redirected.
God graciously used that backup evangelist, Billy Graham, to set the cornerstone of what would eventually become a family of four. It was a home marked by an infectious love for Christ and his Word, where gospel witness was a foregone conviction (and enthusiastically delivered to anyone who darkened our doorway), and where Graham's name was held in highest esteem.
I accepted Christ as a young boy, and then asked him to truly be Lord of my life while a freshman at the University of Michigan. I took refuge in, and drew spiritual nourishment from, the Word of God and an assortment of Christian authors and periodicals—like Christianity Today, the publication Graham himself envisioned in 1953 and started three years later.
And as only God would have it (for I hardly felt qualified to work for such a vaunted periodical), my own chapter of the Graham-Smith story fell into place when I came to work for Christianity Today in 1984 as special projects editor.
It was like I had returned home.
Two years after I met Graham, I was back in Asheville, this time for a Christianity Today board meeting at the Graham conference center, the Cove. On our agenda was a detailed review of the CT editorial vision that Graham himself had architected all those years ago. Was it still relevant to the needs of the church today? Was it a calling that CT still felt was at the core of its ministry?
As we prayerfully made our way through a series of such vision questions, the answers became ever clearer with each session and season of prayer: Yes! Graham's vision was indeed for today and for generations to come.
While winding up these enthusiastic discussions, board member John Akers—a longtime associate of Graham's—received a call that the man himself was feeling well enough to "come down the mountain" for a few minutes.
My initial response was like my mom's two years before. Silence. Then a rather feeble: "Really?"
Really.
What followed, as I've written elsewhere, was the most moving moment in my years of ministry at Christianity Today. Speaking in words I suppose haven't changed much since Mom's "Salvation Saturday," Graham emphasized the centrality of Christ and foundation of his Word. Stay fixed on these, he exhorted us, and CT will remain strong. Move away from these truths, and, he paused…
"And I guess I'll just have to write a letter to the editor."
Amens, laughter, and even some tears followed. Then silence. It would be the last time I would have the privilege of being with him this side of eternity.
But until that great day, Dr. Graham, be assured that "the Bible says" will remain a constant refrain here at Christianity Today. And this special issue is but one way we can thank you—and praise our great God—for setting this trusted communication ministry on the right path.
And Dorothy Smith wants to thank you as well.
Harold Smith is president and CEO of Christianity Today.
