March 2, 2018
How His First Stop in Liberia almost became His last stop
...and learn from his critical defining moral decisions
Posted by Ambassador T. Brikins
''...Churches in another nation, South Africa, strongly urged us to come, but I refused; the meetings could not be integrated, and I felt that a basic moral principle was at stake’’.
Coming
Next Stop: Nkrumah's Ghana
How His First Stop in Liberia almost became His last stop
...and learn from his critical defining moral decisions
Billy Graham on the move
Posted by Ambassador T. Brikins
''...Churches in another nation, South Africa, strongly urged us to come, but I refused; the meetings could not be integrated, and I felt that a basic moral principle was at stake’’.
In 1958, Billy Graham accepted invitations to some African
countries. A continent he described as, ’that great continent’’. ‘’After much
prayer’’, he said,’’ we decided on eleven countries: Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria,
and the Congo in Western Africa; Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and
Zimbabwe); Kenya, Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania), Ruanda-Urundi (now Rwanda
and Burundi), and Ethiopia (now Ethiopia and Eritrea) in Eastern Africa and
Egypt in Northern Africa.
‘’ Some countries, such as Sudan, remained closed to us for
political or religious reasons. Churches in another nation, South Africa,
strongly urged us to come, but I refused; the meetings could not be integrated,
and I felt that a basic moral principle was at stake’’.
‘’…As we landed, I wondered if it might be the last stop I
would ever make. One of the plane’s four motors was spurting dark smoke. With
sirens wailing, airport fire engines raised towards us. The combustion I was
happy to see, subsided before we reached the terminal’’.
Vice President William R. Tolbert met us. A noted Baptist
leader, he stopped at a small church on the fifty-mile drive into Monrovia. We
had a brief prayer session there, sang a hymn, and recited the 23rd
Psalm’’.
A Psalm of David.
‘’ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my
soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's
sake.
Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’’
Liberia’s President, William V. S. Tolbert, was also a professing Christian, a
Methodist; so it was not too surprising that our Liberian visit was the first
ever that was Government –sponsored rather than Church-sponsored. We were
housed in the government’s official guest house, and we were received by the
President in the gleaming –white executive mansion. He expressed the hope that
his people’s soul would be refreshed through the ministry of our meetings.
Dr. Tolbert accompanied me everywhere, even presiding at our
meetings in Monrovia’s Antoinette Tubman Stadium.
‘’I preached the final 2 nights of the Crusade, with many
thousands in attendance, resulting in 1,000 inquirers. It was an encouraging
start to our African journey.
President Tubman of Liberia(Middle)
President Tubman invested me, with while in the country, as
a Grand Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption, the nation’s
second-highest honour. The title commander
was misapplied, I was sure, but the words humane and redemption meant a great
deal to me, in view of my pursuit of God’s calling for my life. I knew that
Africa could move in any of several directions- Communist, Islamic, animistic,
or Christian- and I was there to promote the last’’
Coming
Next Stop: Nkrumah's Ghana
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