June 26, 1998
SMOOTH OPERATION SIMPLY MIRACULOUS
By RON CORBETT -- Ottawa Sun
God is efficient.
You may not have realized this before, the workings of God being more frequently referred to as mysterious or sublime or transcendent, words that don't easily conjure up images of steely-eyed efficiency, but after spending an afternoon watching the Billy Graham Mission set up house at the Corel Centre, there is not a doubt in my mind:
God is efficient. Awesomely so.
People, you haven't seen anything like this before. I'm sure of it. The men and women who organize political conventions should come to the Corel Centre this weekend and take lessons.
While walking through the Corel Centre yesterday I even found something that looked like a "war room" from a political convention -- a bank of computers, dozens of tables, signs everywhere. I asked someone what the room was being used for.
"This is where the commitment cards are processed," said Dennis Kuz, a federal civil servant who has volunteered to work in this room during the four-day mission. He then went on to explain the significance of the commitment cards.
"Commitment cards are what people sign when they come forward during Dr. Graham's sermon and accept Jesus Christ into their lives," said Kuz. "The cards are signed, with the assistance of a counsellor on the floor of the Corel Centre, and then the cards come here."
At which point nearly 300 volunteers start keying all the information on the cards into a computer system. There are 75 computers in this room. Some are hooked up to Graham's mainframe in Minneapolis. Statistics are culled from the cards. Mailing lists created.
The volunteers have a deadline, too. By the time Billy Graham returns to his hotel room after his sermon, a report on how many commitment cards were signed, and statistics on who signed them, is expected. What's more, at the same time as Graham reads that report, a form letter should be on its way to everyone who signed cards that night. That's right. A letter will be mailed the same night.
"We've already made arrangement with Canada Post to do this," said Kuz. "All the letters will be taken from here to the terminal at Alta Vista and mailed."
I looked around the room, in awe really, and asked Kuz how working for the Billy Graham Mission compared to working for the federal government.
"There is no comparison," he said.
Efficiency. The novel spectacle of it was everywhere yesterday.
Outside the Corel Centre, in front of the 15,000 seats that have been set up and individually blessed for the four-day mission, I found David Franzen, who works for Screenworks, a California-based company that sets up jumbotron video screens at sporting events, rock concerts and events like the Billy Graham mission.
"This is the third mission I've been on with Billy Graham," said Franzen, who has also worked with the Rolling Stones and Van Halen. "They run a flawless operation. There really is no one better at this than Billy Graham. The Rolling Stones are maybe number two."
With one big difference. Graham outdraws the Stones.
"I was at the mission in North Carolina last year and he just filled Erickson Stadium,"said Franzen. "Billy Graham puts on an amazing show."
Yes he does. A 2,500-voice choir. A 60-piece orchestra. Two rotating stages. A $200,000 piano. What is happening at the Corel Centre this weekend is a spectacle, in every sense of the word.
Gary Cobb, who works for the Billy Graham Mission, has been living in Ottawa for nearly a year preparing for this weekend. It's what he does. His calling. Every year Cobb moves his family to a new city and then spends a year preparing for a four-to-six day mission twelve months down the road.
"I hear my next stop is Indianapolis," said Cobb yesterday, watching as last-minute preparations were being made on the floor of the Corel Centre. "I'll go wherever I'm sent. Wherever Rev. Graham needs me."
Those last-minute preparations, by the way, included taping over the advertising signage on the Corel Centre scoreboard (so the video image of Graham would not be seen endorsing anything but the Lord), getting the floor signs ready for all those people who would need a Cantonese translator, mopping up a coffee spill; I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
The people organizing the Billy Graham Mission should be running regional government. Of this much, at least, I'm certain.