{"id":37454,"date":"2018-03-23T10:30:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T14:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=37454"},"modified":"2018-03-28T11:42:09","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T15:42:09","slug":"mwr-myron-augsburger-remembers-billy-graham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/mwr-myron-augsburger-remembers-billy-graham\/","title":{"rendered":"MWR: Myron Augsburger remembers Billy Graham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Evangelist Billy Graham died\u00a0Feb. 21, 2018. Myron\u00a0Augsburger<\/a> 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.\u00a0The following article first appeared in the March 12 edition of the Mennonite World Review<\/a> and is republished here with permission.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Myron Augsburger admired Billy Graham but didn\u2019t take his advice.<\/p>\n

It was about 1950 or \u201951 when the aspiring Mennonite evangelist first talked to Graham \u2014 already well on his way to becoming \u201cAmerica\u2019s preacher\u201d \u2014 at a meeting of the National Association of Evangelicals in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

Though still in his early 20s, Augsburger was already thinking about whether Mennonites ought to be doing more with mass evangelism.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

What advice would he give a young Mennonite preacher who hoped to be heard beyond his humble denomination?<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s counsel: \u201cGet rid of that coat!\u201d<\/p>\n

Augsburger\u2019s coat was of the type called \u201cplain,\u201d without lapels, as was expected to be worn by men, especially preachers, in the \u201cold\u201d Mennonite Church at that time.<\/p>\n

How did Augsburger reply?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I just said that my message is more than my expression in attire,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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, \u201cNow, I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later, in the home of Augsburger and his wife, Esther, they discussed peace and nonviolence at greater length.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came to affirm this for the church but not for the state,\u201d Augsburger said of Graham\u2019s view of nonviolence. \u201cBilly took a much more conciliatory approach than many evangelicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspiring evangelists<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At 88, Augsburger still maintains an active schedule of speaking and travel. Looking back more than 60 years, Graham\u2019s example inspired him and other Mennonite itinerant revivalists, like George R. Brunk II and Howard Hammer, in the 1950s, the heyday of mass evangelism.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just Graham\u2019s ability to draw big crowds that impressed them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were encouraged by his ecumenical example,\u201d Augsburger said. \u201cWe were impressed that he could work beyond his own circles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mennonites had a long way to go in that regard. To get people from different Mennonite branches together under one revival tent \u201cwas as revolutionary as we could be right then,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Today, the religious boundaries being crossed are as likely to be interfaith as within the Christian faith. This presents a different set of challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy perception is that we lack clarity in how to talk with people of other religions,\u201d Augsburger said. \u201cThe danger is that we minimize Jesus rather than present what Jesus has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Augsburger, the key is respect without compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we can respect the values of Islam, we have to emphasize the uniqueness of Jesus,\u201d Augsburger said. \u201cWe need to rediscover the primacy of the gospel, so that our ethics come out of walking with Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believes Graham\u2019s example of bridge-building is relevant today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe modeled interdenominational respect, and that needs to happen in a fresh way,\u201d Augsburger said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Evangelist Billy Graham died\u00a0Feb. 21, 2018. Myron\u00a0Augsburger was the fifth president of what was then Eastern Mennonite College & Seminary, serving from 1965 to 1980. He was also professor of ... read more about MWR: Myron Augsburger remembers Billy Graham<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,17562,8845,265],"tags":[],"feature":[17427,17425,17241],"class_list":["post-37454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-digest","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-seminary","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-seminary","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nMWR: Myron Augsburger remembers Billy Graham - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/mwr-myron-augsburger-remembers-billy-graham\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MWR: Myron Augsburger remembers Billy Graham - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Evangelist Billy Graham died\u00a0Feb. 21, 2018. 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