I’d Rather Have Jesus; George Beverly Shea at 103

Dan Wooding (February 7, 2012)

He has been honored by the Guinness Book of World Records for having sung before more people 220 million—more than anyone else in history.

(Montreat, NC)—It is hard to believe that George Beverly Shea is 103, but this amazing man celebrated this great achievement Wednesday, February 1, 2012 in Montreat, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife Karlene, and close to his dear friend, Billy Graham. And while he won’t be partying like a teenager, the youthful centenarian will celebrate the day in the company of his family and in quiet reflection, reading greetings from around the world now pouring in to him.

He says he is especially thankful for the dear people with whom he has ministered and traveled the world since the day he met Billy Graham. “For all these years, the fellowship of the BGEA team has been precious as I have sought to serve the Lord,” says Shea.

“Bev” Shea holds the record for singing to the most people in person because his wonderful bass-baritone has been a part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team for so many years. He has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards, won a Grammy in 1965, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame by the Gospel Music Association in 1978, and in 1996 was also inducted into the National Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Bev Shea also was honored by The Recording Academy who honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in conjunction with the 2011 GRAMMY Awards.

Some time back, I interviewed Bev about his extraordinary life in which he has recorded over 70 albums of timeless songs and classic hymns. One of his latest at the time was a CD called “I’d Rather Have Jesus” (Word Records), which is a 20-song treasury celebrating his life and ministry.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

On how he first met Billy Graham, Shea says: “One morning, there was a rap on my office door. I looked out and there was a tall young man with blond hair and we shook hands. He was 21 and I was 31. It was Billy Graham and he had traveled in from Wheaton College on a train just to say ‘hello.’ He said that he listened to my morning hymn show called ‘Hymns From The Chapel.’ That’s how we first got acquainted.

He spoke about an experience with England’s Queen Mother. “I never got to meet her before she passed away in her sleep in March, 2002,” Bev said. “But back in the fifties when she was Queen, she and King George VI [her husband] decided to visit Washington, DC, and Mrs. Roosevelt entertained them at the White House.

“There was some entertainment that night. They had Chief White Feather, an Indian who was an opera singer. He sang two arias and then, when the audience wanted more, he said, ‘May I sing something from my heart’ and then he sang, ‘I’d Rather Have Jesus,’ the song I had the privilege of writing the music to, but not the words; they were written by Rhea Miller. After he had sung that song, the Queen looked at him and said, ‘That song bespeaks the sentiment of my heart and that of my husband.’ Isn’t that beautiful?”

When asked how he would describe his friend, Billy Graham, he replied, “If he’d never met the Lord, he still would have been a gracious gentleman. But he met the Lord, and He transformed his life at a young age, gave him that great gift of just interpreting the Word and bringing in the net.”

He said that he and Billy Graham keep in touch regularly. “He called me on the phone just the other day,” he said. “He lives just a mile away from me.”

What an example, that he, Mr. Graham and the other veteran, Cliff Barrows, are for those who think we should retire at 65!

Source: Assist News Service

Three Generations of Preachers: Will Graham follows his Father, Franklin, and Grandfather, Billy, into the Ministry of Evangelism

Dan Wooding

He reveals the surprising final words of his grandmother, Ruth Graham, shortly before her passing.

(Nashville, TN)—The tall, willowy figure of William Franklin Graham IV (Will) is the third generation of Grahams to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ under the banner of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

Will is the grandson of Billy Graham and the elder son of Franklin Graham.

The oldest of the four children of Franklin Graham and wife Jane Graham, Will grew up in a farm house in the mountains of Boone, North Carolina, along with his two brothers and one sister.

He converted to Christianity at the age of seven one Sunday after a church service. Since second grade, Will Graham has felt the call to ministry. He later surrendered to God’s call on his life at 15, during a youth camp at the Billy Graham Training Center near Asheville, N.C.

After attending Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Va., he enrolled in Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Wake Forest, N.C., during which time he was called to pastor a church near Raleigh.

In 2004, Will started holding one-day youth events in Canada. In April 2006, Will’s first three-day Celebration was held in Leduc, Alberta, and later that year his first ever three-day Celebration on American soil took place in Gastonia, N.C. Since beginning his North American evangelistic ministry he has spoken to more than 50,000 during his Will Graham Celebrations. Over 1,600 have made personal commitments to Christ during these multi-day outreaches.

I caught up with Will Graham, who had just returned from an outreach in India, at the recent NRB 2011 convention in Nashville, where he agreed to talk about his life, and what is has been like growing up as a Graham.

I began by asking him when he first realized how famous his grandfather was and he replied, “It wasn’t until I was about five years old I went to Kindergarten and one of my teachers, while talking to someone else, pointed to me and said, ‘This is Billy Graham’s grandson.’ I wondered how on earth they knew who my granddaddy was.

“Then, when I went to public school no one there really cared who he was. All they wanted to know was if you had the latest Nintendo Sega game.

“I probably didn’t realize the influence my granddaddy [had on me] until later. I knew that he was famous and did lots of crusades and that he had met many presidents and kings and queens of countries, but it probably wasn’t until I went to Liberty University, a Christian school here in the United States, that I saw the impact that my granddaddy had on the Christian world and that it was a lot bigger than I imagined.

“So my perception of my granddaddy changed and I love him dearly; he’s a wonderful man.”

Read the rest of this article at the source link provided.

Source: ASSIST News Service