Glenn was broadcasting from Ashville, North Carolina this morning because he attended Reverend Billy Graham’s 95th birthday celebration last night.
“I'm still in North Carolina. I was at Billy Graham's birthday party yesterday. You know, he's 95-years-old. I hope I'm as sharp as he is at 95. He was crystal clear in his presentation last night. You could see it,” Glenn said. “He's a giant of a man, one of the most humble people… But last night I was thinking about this… because as I was sitting there in this room and, you know, Sarah Palin was there, Lindsey Graham surprisingly didn't show up, but Rupert Murdoch was there, Kathy Lee Gifford… And I know Donald Trump… Greta van Susteren was there.”
“And I'm watching this video and everybody in the room felt small… When we first came in, there were these big video screens that were just showing pictures of his life,” Glenn continued. “The only thing he was missing was, like, a picture of him standing with Gandhi or, you know, trying to shield Bonhoeffer from the bullets. I mean he has done, been, met everyone, everywhere, and he has led. And so you're just watching this, and I'll bet ya Rupert Murdoch felt small, just watching this accomplishment of this one man's life.”
Glenn had only met Rev. Graham once before. What was scheduled to be a half hour meeting at Rev. Graham’s home, turned into a five hour lunch in which the men bonded over their shared faith and their hopes for the future. During the meeting, Rev. Graham shared with Glenn that he believed he had one final sermon left in him to deliver. And last night served as the forum from which he would present it.
“He is just so down to Earth and so real, and the message is not about him – never is about him,” Glenn said. “There was so much to learn… Really just a great and amazing message.”
The message, as Glen described it, focused on the importance of getting America back on the right track and re-orienting with God.
“When I met with him three years ago, he said, ‘I have one more message for America and the world, and I just don't know how I'm going to give it,’” Glenn explained. “And we talked a little bit about it, and he's very concerned about America and he's very concerned that we have turned way too far away – that, you know, as we were talking about, the Western way of life. If the [poll] numbers for the crack-smoking mayor [in Toronto] go up, then Billy Graham is exactly right. And there is nothing or no one that can fix this country or this way of life. Only God can.”
After leaving the event last night, Glenn spent a good amount of time reflecting on what he is supposed to take away from Rev. Graham’s message and the brief time he was able to spend with him.
“Last night in my diary I wrote two words. I'm trying to think what is it that I was supposed to learn from Billy Graham, and I want you to know I can't claim him as a friend. I wish I could. I can't claim him as a friend, I can't claim that he really knows me or I really know him,” Glenn said. “I've met him twice. And I had a five-hour lunch with him one time, me and my family, and I feel as though I know him, but I don't know him. I know his heart, and I know what he gave to me and that is confidence. He told me he had the same fears when he was my age, and he struggled to hear the Lord, too, and it didn't make sense to him… And the gift that he gave to me is incomprehensible, quite honestly.”
“And so this is what I wrote in my diary last night, when I had to figure out what was it I was supposed to take away from Billy Graham, a man I would hope that I could see him again, but I probably never will: Grace and humility,” Glenn continued. “That's who that man is.”
Glenn had the good fortune of being seated with Rev. Graham’s daughter, Ruth, last night. And at one point during the festivities, Ruth asked Glenn whether his children struggle with his public persona the way she and her siblings have struggles over the years.
“At one point, Ruth looked at me and she said, ‘Do your children hate this as much as I do?’ And I knew exactly what she meant,” Glenn explained. “And I said, ‘Yes, but I fear they don't handle it with as much grace as you do.’ And she looked over to her father and she looked back at me and she said, ‘I never get to see my father.’ Families sacrifice so much. Children lose so much because everybody loves their dad or everybody hates their dad. Whatever… They become this public thing and they don't get to be just a normal family very often.”
As Glenn was getting ready to leave, Ruth thanked him for traveling all the way to North Carolina to be a part of her dad’s special night.
“I tell you, it broke my heart when she said that because I haven't done a good enough job of telling her. And I said, ‘Ruth, you don't understand how much your friendship, how much you inviting me to sit with your family, and how much your father has meant to me and how much I've learned. It's an honor to be here,’” Glenn explained somberly. “Grace and humility. The meek, the humble, the broken will be the leaders of tomorrow. They will be the ones that help heal the world. I pray that the Lord breaks me more, should it work to his advantage. And the good news is I know there are lots of people in the world that are praying for that as well – possibly for other purposes.”
TheBlaze will be broadcasting Rev. Graham's final sermon this Saturday, November 9, at 7pm ET in a special called The Cross. Not a subscriber? Start your 14-day free trial of the TheBlaze TV HERE.
