Tell me what you think about this?

David Frost was hosting a public television special tonight, entitled Billy Graham, God’s Ambassador. And there it was in black and white film. Rev. Graham passionately inviting listeners to come forward and “give their lives to Christ.”

I wondered, as I was watching, if it is possible for any contemporary group, with such a passionately proclaimed message, to have the kind of popular impact that Rev. Graham had in those years when he presented an 8 week crusade in Los Angeles, and multiple week crusade in New York’s Madison Square Garden, and a night after night of turn-away crowds in London, England.

To say it was highly unusual for it's time is an understatement. Is today’s culture immune to such a message.

You have heard of the game six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon? The game where one attempts to connect an actor in a film in some way to a film in which Kevin Bacon has appeared. I think it is quite possible, especially in the United States, that the degrees of separation from Billy Graham, and a decision made while Just as I Am was being sung by a choir, might be less than 3 or 4 for most practicing Christians.

I pray that God will raise up a multitude of ambassadors for Christ in our culture.

Graham Old references this article, Are You saved by David James Duncan, on the organic church blog. Graham emphasizes a quote from the article [which is actually an excerpt from an upcoming book] concerning Mahatma Ghandi:

Reading the article I discovered that Duncan's background is similar to my own background so I resonated with the apparent struggle behind his words. Now I have to check out some of Duncan's other books and writings...

There are a few people I consider real heroes. You can probably think of several folks you admire. One of my heroes is Steve Sjogren. He's the guy who founded the Cincinnati Vineyard Community Church and utilized the concept of "servant evangelism." Steve is a really smart guy, very quick, and very funny.

A few years ago he had a medical "accident" while undergoing what was supposed to be a routine surgery. He nearly died. He has not fully recovered from his injuries. He has some problems walking, and he is not as quick as he was. He has become the "launching pastor" of the church he founded and spends his time writing, coaching and speaking to encourage the church to expand. In the last few years, he has written a number of books.

I attended a conference at the Vineyard Community Church a few years ago now. Len Sweet and Brian McLaren were featured speakers. On Saturday many of the attenders participated in a regular servant evangelism outreach. Steve was very excited to tell the story of how his group got to clean the toilets at a local gas station as "a practical expression of God's love." The station had been turning him down for years, but on this occasion, because they had a new manager, the toilets were cleaned, "in Jesus' name."

In 1999 I heard Steve speak on the subject of "Six Things I Learned When I Almost Died." That message was particularly meaningful to me because it encouraged me to continue publishing Next-Wave and nurturing the skate ministry at the Ranch.

Anyway, Steve has some simple thoughts about church that are profound in their implication. And to me, he is one of those living heroes of the church. You can read an interview with Steve on the subject of blogging and evangelism here on the Planet Vineyard site.