From Mass Evangelist to Soul Friend

Waitress Susie Stevens was hoping work would wind down quickly so she could get to her yoga class in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then, at table three, a conversation about prayer caught her attention."We get a lot of business luncheons," Stevens says, "so when my customers are talking about something more interesting than turning a profit, I notice."Especially when the customer is 6'4" and speaks with clipped Ontario vowels, quite distinct from the local drawl. He was telling a younger fellow about prayer, Bible-reading, and how talking regularly with a spiritual director could lead to inner depth and fulfillment.That older customer was revival evangelist-turned-spiritual director Leighton Ford, and his spiritually seasoned conversation inadvertently set Stevens onto a new path. Growing restless with burning sage and sitting Zen, and intrigued by Ford's conversation, Stevens began a search that led to a spiritual director, Bible study, and drawing close to Jesus."I'm just an anonymous waitress Leighton Ford doesn't even remember, but he helped get me into a Christian relationship that was concerned with being close to God," Stevens says. "He totally changed the life of a stranger."Better known for his revival evangelism, sweaty preaching, and making thousands of new converts in a single night, Ford has traded in the pulpit for a quieter one-on-one ministry. After a globetrotting lifetime of service wherever God—and brother-in-law Billy Graham—called him, the 70-year-old Ford now spends most of his time listening to God's still, small voice. He prays for hours. He cultivates intimate relationships. Mostly, he says, he is learning to be a spiritual friend.