I owe a lot to John Graham.
So when I went to Whitcoulls intent on finding the Steve Jobs’ biography for some light Christmas reading, I was easily distracted by Bill Francis’ Sir John Graham: Sportsman, Master, Mentor – and devoured it in a couple of days.
When we returned to live in Auckland in 1989 I chuckled away because I counted 8 secondary school principals in Auckland who were in that AGS staff room eight years earlier. In fact there are 23 of John Graham’s staff who went on to become principals, with some special words for a couple of today’s fine Christian principals, Larne Edmeades and Roger Moses (‘He’s now the outstanding principal in the country in my view’ (134)). This is mentoring at its very finest. Sometimes this meant making some tough calls, like giving broadcaster Murray Deaker his marching orders from the staff when his inability to control his drinking impacted his performance.
‘He says he caned no more than 20 boys in 21 years.’ (103) – but each time, a few days later, he would personally seek the boy out. ‘I didn’t send for him. I wanted to meet him and just say, ‘Well, Jackson, are you okay with me son, because I’m okay with you’. (103). This is a feature of his life: he does not seem to hold grudges.
John Graham has been a controversial figure in education, always fighting ‘the constant belittling of academic achievement’ (111) which distinguished the 1970s and 1980s. He invited enormous problems when he referred to Maori as ‘lazy’ and yet it is a descriptor he’d use of anyone who did not achieve at school. After retirement from AGS he was involved for eight years with Nga Tapuwae College in South Auckland, initially as a Commissioner appointed by the government to turn the school around. ‘The underlying venom in the welcoming words’ at the powhiri’ (173) took him by surprise, but he succeeded in his task of turning the school around, developing a deep affection for the those in the school community.
Back in 1960 he was muzzled by the NZ Rugby Union for outspoken comments about apartheid. On a tour of South Africa, John Graham and a young University student (Tony Davies) visited places like Sharpeville. Bill Francis adds, ‘it seems astounding that they were the only All Blacks, on a four month tour of South Africa, to make a concerted effort to check out the situation that existed for blacks’ (89).
His approach to speech-making and communication was simple. ‘Forget the silly jokes, be well prepared and give them something they didn’t already know’ (87), and the value of ‘simply explained messages of meaningful content’ (229).
nice chatting
Paul
[PS. I see this is my 300th post, as I head into my 7th year of blogging. It has proven to be one of the more energising things I do. I love chatting away – and it has become my filing cabinet of ideas and illustrations. Now that my DMin is done, I am thinking of celebrating by publishing a little book of my favourite posts over the years: The Art of Unpacking: Exegesis as a Way of Life…but we’ll see].
About Me

the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
Just when I thought that it could not be possible to have another first-hand account of the impact of John Stott’s life (d. 2011), along comes this book by his close friend, John Wyatt. I am always ready to learn more about John Stott, but also about friendship. It fascinates me. It keeps coming up…
Reading stories to grandchildren over Christmas reminded me again of how powerful they can be. They are so compact and simple in presentation, and yet so clever in construction. There are just so many features at work in an effective story. It is some years since I taught narrative preaching, but when I did I’d…
Apart from the eight years in which we were based overseas, Barby has been working at the Refugee Resettlement Center in Auckland since 2002. This year she is a ‘release teacher’, spending one day each week in three different classrooms, with three different age groups. Impressive—and demanding. One day is spent with 11-13 year olds—from…
Happy 300!
And I really enjoyed this post 🙂 I like how you make me interested in people and subjects that aren't on my radar. Ta! And happy new finished-the-DMin year 🙂
Thanks, Mum…
Facebook photos of a certain baby have sent my family members into oohing and ahhing of an uncommon kind.
Ha! We are pretty pleased with a certain baby too 🙂 Can't wait to see the new one in your family pretty soon…