Igniting the Fire: The Movements and Mentors Who Shaped Billy Graham

by Jake Hanson

Overview

Everyone knows Billy Graham. . .but who knows what propelled him to world prominence as the greatest evangelist of his time? Find out in Igniting the Fire. This brand-new biography focuses on Graham’s formative years, from his boyhood through college, to his bursting onto the national scene in 1949. Author Jake Hanson, like Graham a graduate of Wheaton College, has drawn upon scores of original documents and new interviews to detail the environment, the movements, and the mentors that created Billy Graham’s passion to spread the Gospel. You’ll see how God, in His sovereign wisdom, brings unique influences to bear to accomplish His will.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630584481
Publisher:	Barbour Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jake Hanson is a graduate of Wheaton College (B.A.) and Beeson Divinity School (MDiv). A preacher, teacher, and retreat speaker, Jake also operates a web site (TheDecidedLife.com) devoted to biography, Bible study, and theology. He is the author of Igniting the Fire: The Movements and Mentors Who Shaped Billy Graham. He lives near Birmingham, Alabama.
 

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Introduction: Igniting the Fire 11

Part 1 Kindling the Fire: Ham-Ramsey and Bob Jones (1934-1936) 13

1 Kindling Prayer 15

2 Fire on the Sawdust Trail 20

3 Unusual Fire 28

4 Singed 37

Part 2 Igniting the Fire: Florida Bible Institute (1937-1940) 43

5 The Miracle School 44

6 Into the Fire 53

7 Surrender 62

8 Fire in His Bones 74

9 A Burning Message 83

10 Jesus Only 96

11 At the Feet of Giants 110

12 Facing Challenges 117

13 A Youth Aflame 128

Part 3 Fanning the Flame: Wheaton College (1940-1943) 135

14 Fire on the Prairie 136

15 Restrained Passions 145

16 Finding His Footing 156

17 Always Too Soon to Quit 167

18 The Tab 177

19 Digging Trenches 185

20 The Fire Falls 192

21 Striving for the Goal 199

Part 4 Spreading the Fire: Conclusion 209

22 Uncontainable Fire 210

23 The Source of the Flame 220

Acknowledgments 234

Notes 237

Editorial Reviews

11/10/2014
Before Billy Graham was filling stadiums and preaching to millions, he was a North Carolina farm boy with little interest in religion. All that changed one November night in 1934 when the 15-year-old Graham recommitted his life to Jesus at a local revival service. Drawing deeply on letters and other writings and on new interviews, Hanson traces the forces that shaped Graham’s life in this straightforward account of the evangelist’s formative years. Focusing on the evangelistic environments of the Florida Bible Institute and Wheaton College, the many mentors in Graham’s life, and Graham’s energetic and relentless pursuit of holiness, Hanson chronicles the ways that each of these sources kindled Graham’s flame for reaching others for Jesus. For example, John Minder, dean at the Florida Bible Institute, taught Graham a lesson about preaching that Graham embraced for the rest of his life: know your subject, believe your message, preach with conviction. Hanson’s book offers the portrait of the preacher as a young man, though it reads like a long college paper. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

[In Igniting the Fire readers will see how God built] His man through the landscape of details, interweaving circumstances, heart wrenching decisions, and human drama. The extra bonus for all who will travel with author Jake Hanson is recognizing the principles of God's care and guidance for Billy. They soon discover that these principles are available to them! This is a must read for all who are walking the Christian life.
- Dr. Mark O'Farrell, President Trinity College of Florida (formerly The Florida Bible Institute)


"Reading biographies of persons who have maximized their lives for Christ always inspire me. Given that reality, Jake Hanson has done us all a favor by giving us glimpses not only into Dr. Graham's college years but into the early influences that empowered Dr. Graham's future ministry. This unique perspective on Billy's ministry should make us all aware of the potential of our impact on others and the debt we owe to those who have formatively empowered our journey. Igniting the Fire is particularly motivational to me as a college president. This book will stand tall among the many others that have sought to find the key as to why the Graham story is so amazing. I give it five stars!"
—Joseph M. Stowell, President, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, Michigan


"Billy Graham rose from the humblest of beginnings to become during the second half of the twentieth century one of the world's most recognized and respected figures. His evangelistic messages reached a larger audience than any in history. How could it happen? Jake Hanson's Igniting the Fire offers an intimate look at the unlikely origins of this extraordinary man, and the still more extraordinary ministry God granted him."
—Dr. Duane Litfin, President Emeritus Wheaton College

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