Book Review: Billy

Billy: The Untold Story of a Young Billy Graham and the Test of Faith that Almost Changed Everything by William Paul McKay & Ken Abraham

Billy was a great read! A story of two men and their tests of faith. Billy Graham, a man with ordinary aspirations and some would say less than ordinary talent, Billy used what he had, gave it his all, and became something extraordinary…while his good friend, Charles Templeton, a man with extremely high aspirations and extraordinary talent, falters in his test of faith.

When Billy was just a teen and yet unsaved, a group of six men from the Christian Men’s Club, his father among them, stood around a tree stump at the Graham farm and prayed for God to raise up an ambassador for Christ, a voice for the nations. Not long after that, Billy attending a tent meeting and committed himself to Christ. Little did that small group know how God intended to answer those prayers.

This well-written biography takes you through Billy’s life, from selling Fuller brushes, to Bob Jones College, Florida Bible Institute, heartbreak, Wheaton College, wooing and wedding Ruth, pastoring a small church, becoming a college president, and becoming a crusader.

Viewed by many as a man of no consequence, Billy did not see himself as anything great, only a faithful servant of the Lord. The Lord saw fit to bless Billy’s faith and strengthen him during times of discouragement, like when Dr. Bob Jones said, “Young man, you will never, never, never amount to anything!...What I see ahead for you is nothing but failure. Failure, failure, failure, and more failure.” (p. 49). Billy’s less-than-stellar preaching debut made it clear that it was not talent that Billy had going for him, but passion. And God chose to use this man on-fire-for-Him to reach millions.

When Billy’s good friend, Charles, through whose eyes this book was written, chose intellect over faith and denounced the Lord he once loved, doubts assailed Billy. Billy grappled with these doubts periodically for some time, a fight that culminated in a lengthy wrestling match with God in the San Bernardino Mountains. A fight filled with prayer, perspiration, temptation, oppression, pleading, a confession of spiritual poverty, then understanding, awe, and peace. Billy said he never doubted again.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!