Book Review & Give-Away - Billy Graham; Prophet with Honor

There are few names you can say which are known by nearly everyone around the world. Billy Graham is one such name. Billy Graham's ministry as an evangelist began in 1947 and in the years since then he has traveled to more than 185 countries and has preached to hundreds of millions of people in live crusades, over the radio and on television. Millions of people have made decisions for Jesus because of the ministry of Billy Graham. In this new book, Prophet with Honor, children have the opportunity to learn about who Billy Graham is and how God used him.

Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story
Author - William Martin
Publisher - Zonderkidz
Ages - 9-12

Favorite Features -

• Gives a good look at the life of Billy Graham and how he came to know Jesus and make the decision to serve Him
• Photos from the life of Billy Graham throughout
• Is up-front about mistakes Billy Graham believes he made over the years, what he learned from them and how he changed

I especially appreciated reading how Billy Graham determined how to do things in a way which would not bring shame to Jesus' name. To assure this he decided they would never emphasize the offering and allow committees of local people to be in charge of the offerings and allow them to deterine how much they would receive. They also decided they would never be alone anywhere with a woman other than their wives, sisters or daughters, they would cooperate with local ministers as much as possible, urge peopel to be faithful to their own churches and avoide exaggerating their success when they reported on their revivals. He also chose to stay out of politics and only acept a odest salary.

Billy Graham did speak out against racism and segregation. He said, "The curch ust practice the Christianity it professes. The state, the sports world and eve the business field are way ahead of the church in getting together racially. Church people should be the first to step forward and practice what Christ taught - that there is no difference in the sight of God."

He encouraged churches to work together to reach the world for Jesus. He said, "I have learned although Christians do not always agree, they can disagree agreeably and that what is most needed in the church today is for us to show an unbelieving world we love one another." This is very true.

Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story says, "In almost every year after 1950, surveys found Billy Graham was among the most admired men in the world. Billy was a true American hero in part because he was an example of some of the most basic values of American culture. He was easily the most successful evangelist in the world, but he reached the peak through hard and honest work, not because somebody gave it to him or because he was just lucky. He was always ready to use the latest technology to reach his goals, but he still insisted the most valuable asset he had was a small circle of loyal friends, some of whom he had known since he was a boy. He knew kings and queens and presidents and prime ministers, but he always seemed surprised anyone would think he was special." 

It goes on to say, "The one word Billy Graham would like people of future generations to use when they think about his life and ministry is 'integrity.'" He said, "'That's what I've worked for all my life: integrity!' Of course Billy is not perfect. He made mistakes. But he did try very hard to be the kind of person God wanted him to be. Billy could easily have been extremely wealthy if he had been paid for giving speeches or had take all the money his books earned, since nearly all of them were bestsellers. He turned down most invitations to speak and took no money for those he accepted. The money most of his books earned went to his ministry, to various charities and he lived in a modest middle-class home." Yes, integrity definitely describes Billy Graham!

Not only did Zonderkidz send me one Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story to review, but they are making another available for me to give away! (USA only) If you'd like to be in the drawing for the Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story, which will be on October 15, 2013,  please comment below to let me know if you have followed on Google Friend Connect, followed by liking on facebook with the tab in the "Find us on Facebook" box ON THE BLOG or at this link (not just liking the post) and/or have followed About the Children's Department by email. For each of these which you have done you will receive one entry. In addition, if you "share" this post, you'll receive an additional entry (please let me know if you share). This will help me be able to draw names from among people who would like to win the Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham Story and it gives you several ways to enter the give-away! Thank you for reading About the Children's Department and for sharing it with the people you know!