STORY BY BOB HENLEY

PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Editor’s Note: Sunday’s story in The Eye on Billy Graham reminded many Wood River Valley residents of the stories they had heard Bob Henley tell about when he and his wife Jane served on Graham’s musical team.

“Outstanding duet singing worship songs to the Lord,” said Steve Powers, who heard Henley sing as former pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood.

Henley now spends winters in Key Largo, Fla., and summers in Sun Valley.

Here, by request, is what he had to say:

In the summer of 1971, Jane and I were part of a music trio with our friend, Finis Fator. We were invited to be special musical guests for a Youth Night at the Billy Graham Crusade in Chicago.  Neither of us will ever forget walking into the cavernous McCormick Place Convention Center that night, guitars in hand, feeling quite overwhelmed.

George Beverly Shea, Dr. Graham’s beloved soloist, saw us and came walking over with his arms open wide.  In his sonorous baritone voice, he said, “Come over here with me kids, and let’s pray together.” There could have been no more wonderful welcome.

That night was the first of many opportunities we would have throughout the 1970’s to work with Dr. Graham and his team in numerous crusades across the country, as well as with most of the Associate Evangelists.  

A leader is known by the people he or she chooses to be their team. It became our privilege to become friends with many of the key members of Dr. Graham's team – Cliff Barrows and the musicians, broadcast technicians like Johnny Lenning, executives in the Minneapolis and Atlanta offices, editors of Decision Magazine, advance people, and others - each of them extraordinary in their own way, and each completely dedicated to support the mission of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

The genuine faith, warm humanity and personal integrity they modeled in their lives have continued to impact our own.  We will never forget the privilege we had in those years to be associated with the team, and to witness firsthand as we sat on the platform night after night, watching hundreds of thousands of people in those many places come forward to invite Christ into their lives.

While at this time many are rightly putting the focus on Billy Graham and his remarkable life, he always put the focus on the one he loved and served, Jesus Christ. We, with countless others, will never forget the lasting impact of his faithful preaching of the Gospel. His wife Ruth was one of the most beautiful people we have ever known, and now they are together again in the presence of the one they loved and served. Thanks be to God.