With a Bible in one hand, and a critical sermon point being emphatically underscored by the other, Billy Graham is certainly one of the most recognized figures in the world. And thus our challenge, graphically speaking, in devising a cover for this seventieth-birthday tribute that might work a creative twist on this much-known, much-loved image.
We ended up with a photograph taken at one of Graham’s crusade stops in England in 1985. The twist, of course, is that it is taken from behind Graham, a view usually reserved for platform dignitaries and the members of the ever-present crusade choir.
The photo worked for us because it allowed readers to see what the evangelist has seen (and lived for) for over 40 years—namely, men and women (countless millions) eager for spiritual refreshment or, more basically, looking for “the way, the truth, and the life.” As former editor Kenneth Kantzer says in his guest editorial on page 14, for Graham, “to live is to preach Christ.”
That theme underscores this issue’s special section on the ministry of Dr.
William Franklin Graham: from the personal insights of each of CT’S four past editors, and “former critic” Martin E. Marty, to the interview with Graham, which was carried out between the evangelist’s trip to China and his crusade in Buffalo, New York.
Indeed, for Graham, to live is to preach Christ.
HAROLD B. SMITH, Managing Editor
Cover photo courtesy Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
