Hi, I'm Billy Blackwood.
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Through my years
in music ministry,
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I've had the privilege
of meeting many great people
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and making a lot
of great friends.
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Some have been
friends for literally decades
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and some have been more recent.
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It's my hope that
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you will enjoy getting a
glimpse behind the scenes
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and into the real
lives of my friends.
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Sit back and enjoy
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as you watch Billy
Blackwood and Friends.
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Hi, I'm Billy Blackwood.
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Welcome to Billy
Blackwood and Friends.
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I'm so glad
you've joined us today.
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My guest today is my
friend, Gene McDonald.
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This guy, wait
till you hear him.
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If you're not
familiar with Gene,
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you're gonna love this guy.
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He's just a tremendous
guy and tremendous singer.
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And I'm gonna ask him
just to right out of the shoot,
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sing one for you,
a great song called
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"Hallelujah for
the Cross." Listen.
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Up to the hill of Calvary
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My Savior went courageously
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And there He
bled and died for me
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Hallelujah for the cross
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And on that day
the world was changed
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A final, perfect lamb was slain
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Let earth and
heaven now proclaim
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah for the war
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He fought Love has
won, death has lost
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Hallelujah for
the souls He bought
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Hallelujah for the cross
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What good I've
done could never save
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My debt too
great for deeds to pay
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But God, my Savior, made a way
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Hallelujah for the cross
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A slave to sin,
my life was bound
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But all my chains
fell to the ground
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When Jesus'
blood came flowing down
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah for the war He fought
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Love has won, death has lost
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Hallelujah for
the souls He bought
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah
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And when I
breathe my final breath
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I'll have no
need to fear that rest
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This hope will
guide me into death
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah for the war He fought
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Love has won, death has lost
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Hallelujah for
the souls He bought
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah for the war He fought
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Love has won, death has lost
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Hallelujah for
the souls He bought
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah for the cross
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Hallelujah for the cross
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I love that song,
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"Hallelujah for the Cross."
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You've got an amazing gift.
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I'm excited for people
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not only to hear you sing today,
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but I'm excited for
people to get to know your heart
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because I've been
around you enough to see it.
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And I love who
you are as a person.
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And God's put you
where He's put you
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because not only
because you're a great singer
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because you've got a great heart
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and that's what I
want people to see today
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'cause I know it's in there.
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Well, thank you.
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Well, tell us a little
bit about career stuff.
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I know you've been around,
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you've sung
with a lot of people?
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Yeah, I started
with mom and dad in '69.
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We sang, we started
in Southeast Missouri,
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we traveled 250-mile
radius Bragg City, Missouri.
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And so we sang up in Illinois
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and Missouri, Kentucky.
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Did that for 15 years and
then I sang with Jack Campbell,
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guy who wrote "Jesus use
me" and "I know a man who can."
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Sang with him for
a couple of years,
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my voice changed.
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Okay. Now wait a minute.
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Pause right there.
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Because I've found out
something about you today
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that I didn't know,
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'cause I never heard you sing
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until, you know,
the last 20 years or so,
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you know, this
awesome bass singer.
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So you were
singing filling the blank.
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Yeah, I sang
tenor with mom and dad.
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Tenor. Yeah.
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And Jack
Campbell until I was 16,
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my voice changed.
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And I heard today
before the program,
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I heard a recording of you
singing some serious tenor.
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Yeah.
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I thought it was
pretty good at that age,
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you know, for a
15, 16 year old kid.
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And that was my dream was
to sing tenor in a quartet
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for the rest of my life.
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And then your voice changed.
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And then my voice changed
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and changed a lot
of things spiritually
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and really thought that
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the Lord didn't want me.
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And so it changed
my thought process
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and didn't think I'd
ever be able to sing bass
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in a quartet
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or didn't think
I'd be high enough
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to sing baritone.
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And so changed my direction
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of being in gospel music
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and decided to go to college
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and want to sing opera
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and went in and
taught outside Jonesboro
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and took a music-ed in opera.
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And that's what I wanted to do.
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And your next step was to East?
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Yeah, that was my plan.
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Everything
changed in about 1988.
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I was working on tug boats
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during the
summers to pay for school
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and fell 29 feet
into an empty green barge
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and walked out of it
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with one arm and one leg hurt
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and went to Elvis Presley
Trauma Center there in Memphis.
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The doctor, the
next morning said,
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"You can go home."
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I said, "What's wrong with me?"
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He said, "There's
nothing wrong with you."
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He said,
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"You got a quarter
inch cut over you left ear."
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And he said,
"You're gonna to be sore."
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And he said,
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"But I want you to
know right now that
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God's got a plan for you."
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And he said that
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there's a guy
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that this
happened to six months ago
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and his mother
and father are afraid
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they will feed him through
too for the rest of his life.
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And he said,
don't know why he said,
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but if you don't know
why, you need to find out why.
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And so, that was in
'88, December of '88.
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And I went to Stamps School.
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Decided, I asked the Lord
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to take a lot of my
problems away from me
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and went to the Stamps School
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and sang and Ben Speer
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asked me why I was there.
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And I told him
that I was there for him
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to find me a job.
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And that's where it
all started was in '88, so.
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And
interestingly to me, you know,
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you have a degree in music
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and were really
pursuing opera as a vocation
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thinking that's
where you were headed
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and God changed your direction.
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Change your paths quick.
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If, you know, I mean,
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I think that it
took a rude awakening
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for me to realize that
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I wasn't in control.
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You know, I think sometimes
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we try to direct our own futures
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and our own paths
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and when it comes down to it,
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we're just following the
path that He is drawing out.
00:09:32.57\00:09:36.91
And it's been a
wonderful journey.
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There've been a lot of
hills and a lot of valleys,
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but it's been a good ride.
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I mean, it's been fun.
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And once you realized
that He is in control,
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and once you give up control,
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you know, every morning
I thank Him for everything
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that He's gonna do.
00:10:02.06\00:10:03.77
And I give all
my problems to Him.
00:10:03.80\00:10:06.13
And then every night I pray,
00:10:06.17\00:10:07.64
Lord, please forgive me
00:10:07.67\00:10:09.00
for taking all my problems back,
00:10:09.04\00:10:10.57
you know, because everyone
say, well, I can do this.
00:10:10.61\00:10:14.38
I can do this one.
00:10:14.41\00:10:16.08
I'll give you the big things.
00:10:16.11\00:10:17.61
But when it's all said and done,
00:10:17.65\00:10:20.58
I think we all try to,
00:10:20.62\00:10:23.82
you know, just make
messes of our own selves, so.
00:10:23.85\00:10:27.32
Yeah.
00:10:27.36\00:10:28.69
This next song
00:10:28.72\00:10:30.76
kind of changed the landscape.
00:10:30.79\00:10:36.63
When it first came out,
00:10:36.67\00:10:38.07
it was actually on a
record by Cheryl Prewitt
00:10:38.10\00:10:41.87
who was Miss America in 1980.
00:10:41.90\00:10:43.54
Right.
00:10:43.57\00:10:47.38
And Jaron Davis wrote this.
00:10:47.41\00:10:51.95
And it just, it really did.
00:10:51.98\00:10:56.32
It took music to another place,
00:10:56.35\00:11:00.82
kind of like the old,
00:11:00.86\00:11:02.19
I don't know how
many folks would remember
00:11:02.22\00:11:03.56
the old Hallelujah
project by the Gaithers.
00:11:03.59\00:11:05.46
It went places that
gospel music had not gone
00:11:05.49\00:11:08.56
at least in our
lifetimes before then.
00:11:08.60\00:11:12.07
And this song was one of those.
00:11:12.10\00:11:14.54
And you were telling
me a little bit about,
00:11:14.57\00:11:16.81
there's a neat story,
kind of surrounding this song,
00:11:16.84\00:11:19.37
share with our viewers?
00:11:19.41\00:11:21.58
It was in '88
and I had wanted to,
00:11:21.61\00:11:24.28
felt like God
was dealing with me
00:11:26.31\00:11:29.15
about singing again,
00:11:29.18\00:11:30.92
singing in the quartet.
00:11:30.95\00:11:32.29
And so I went
00:11:32.32\00:11:35.42
to the
Stamps-Baxter School of Music.
00:11:35.46\00:11:38.43
They had open mic
night every night.
00:11:38.46\00:11:41.30
You know, if you wanted to sing,
00:11:41.33\00:11:42.73
they'd let you sing.
00:11:42.76\00:11:44.87
So I was the very first person
to sing on the very first night
00:11:44.90\00:11:49.60
of the two weeks school.
00:11:49.64\00:11:52.21
And I sang, we are
standing on holy ground.
00:11:52.24\00:11:56.71
And so when I got
done, Ben Speer said,
00:11:56.75\00:12:02.18
"Why are you here?"
00:12:02.22\00:12:05.19
And I told him, I said,
00:12:05.22\00:12:06.55
"My dad had always told me that
00:12:06.59\00:12:09.26
if you want to
sing gospel music,
00:12:09.29\00:12:11.09
you need to go
00:12:11.13\00:12:12.46
to the
Stamps-Baxter School of Music.
00:12:12.49\00:12:13.83
And you'd
already been to college
00:12:13.86\00:12:15.20
to have a degree in music.
00:12:15.23\00:12:16.56
I'd already been to
college and done everything.
00:12:16.60\00:12:18.87
And so I decided that
00:12:18.90\00:12:23.10
this was what I wanted to do,
00:12:23.14\00:12:24.67
that God, this was
what God wanted me to do.
00:12:24.71\00:12:28.04
And I told him, so
I told him, I said,
00:12:28.08\00:12:31.11
"My dad said,
00:12:31.15\00:12:32.48
if I wanted to sing
that I need to come here
00:12:32.51\00:12:34.85
and I'm here for
you to find me a job."
00:12:34.88\00:12:38.12
And so that started a friendship
00:12:38.15\00:12:42.29
between me and him
00:12:42.32\00:12:43.89
that was inseparable.
00:12:43.93\00:12:46.49
I mean, me and him,
00:12:46.53\00:12:49.23
I actually stayed
in the recording studio
00:12:49.26\00:12:52.97
behind the Speer building.
00:12:53.00\00:12:54.34
I did so many demo
sessions back there.
00:12:54.37\00:12:56.91
Dave Clark, a good friend
00:12:56.94\00:12:59.94
and a friend of
yours is a great writer.
00:12:59.97\00:13:01.54
Dave has been one of my guests,
00:13:01.58\00:13:03.88
and he and I were sitting here
00:13:03.91\00:13:06.08
talking about the years
00:13:06.11\00:13:09.28
that we were both, you
know, writing our first songs.
00:13:09.32\00:13:12.42
And many of the demos we cut
00:13:12.45\00:13:14.19
were in that
little metal building
00:13:14.22\00:13:16.52
behind the Speer building
there on music row in Nashville.
00:13:16.56\00:13:18.76
And Mark played the drum.
00:13:18.79\00:13:21.23
Mark played bass
or drums or something.
00:13:21.26\00:13:22.60
Gary Preem and all.
00:13:22.63\00:13:24.20
Gary Preem, and all those guys
00:13:24.23\00:13:26.40
and cutting our little demos.
00:13:26.43\00:13:27.94
John Mays would play bass on,
00:13:27.97\00:13:30.31
and we'd cut our
little demo songs
00:13:30.34\00:13:31.67
in that little
metal building back there.
00:13:31.71\00:13:33.51
And you lived
there for six months.
00:13:33.54\00:13:34.88
I lived there for six months
00:13:34.91\00:13:36.24
until I got enough
money to get me an apartment.
00:13:36.28\00:13:39.05
And the rest is history.
And the rest is history.
00:13:39.08\00:13:42.02
And you know, I mean, it's,
00:13:42.05\00:13:44.29
Ben didn't know me from atom.
00:13:44.32\00:13:47.26
I mean, he knew
of me from family,
00:13:47.29\00:13:51.13
but again, it'd been 20 years
00:13:51.16\00:13:52.96
since anybody had heard me sing.
00:13:52.99\00:13:55.16
So, you know, I was
five, eight and 16 years old
00:13:55.20\00:13:59.87
last time he had saw me
00:13:59.90\00:14:01.70
and here I am a bass singer
00:14:01.74\00:14:03.30
and six, four,
00:14:03.34\00:14:05.97
and to know that he trusted me.
00:14:06.01\00:14:10.05
I mean, within,
I'm talking about,
00:14:10.08\00:14:12.95
after the singing school,
00:14:12.98\00:14:15.92
he gave me a set of keys.
00:14:15.95\00:14:18.92
I knew all the
security codes to every lock
00:14:18.95\00:14:25.49
had all the keys to everything.
00:14:25.53\00:14:27.13
And he was just
open-armed with me.
00:14:27.16\00:14:33.50
And I esteemed
probably 10 years ago,
00:14:33.54\00:14:35.97
I said "Why did you trust me?
00:14:36.00\00:14:38.81
You know, all these
years that we've run around
00:14:38.84\00:14:42.44
and hung together and all that,
00:14:42.48\00:14:44.15
why did you trust me?"
00:14:44.18\00:14:45.51
And he said, "I
knew he was a good kid."
00:14:45.55\00:14:47.68
That day I knew
he was a good kid.
00:14:47.72\00:14:49.85
So I mean,
00:14:49.88\00:14:52.02
Ben was just, I mean,
00:14:52.05\00:14:54.56
he was my hero
00:14:54.59\00:14:56.09
and I had a lot of
good times with him.
00:14:56.12\00:14:59.29
Got a chance to spend
some great time with him
00:14:59.33\00:15:02.53
and got to love
him until the end.
00:15:02.56\00:15:06.43
Yeah.
00:15:06.47\00:15:07.80
I want you to sing this song.
00:15:07.84\00:15:10.17
One of the greatest songs
00:15:10.21\00:15:11.54
that's been written in the last,
00:15:11.57\00:15:13.48
I don't know how
many years, 50 years.
00:15:13.51\00:15:15.18
And I can't say
enough good things about it.
00:15:15.21\00:15:17.71
Geron Davis wrote this song.
00:15:17.75\00:15:20.58
It's been recorded
by Barbara Streisand.
00:15:20.62\00:15:22.15
It's been
recorded by tons of people.
00:15:22.18\00:15:24.32
Great song
00:15:24.35\00:15:25.69
and wait till you
hear Gene McDonald sing
00:15:25.72\00:15:27.86
this powerful song,
00:15:27.89\00:15:30.13
"We Are
Standing On Holy Ground."
00:15:30.16\00:15:31.79
As I walked
00:15:47.84\00:15:51.98
through the door
00:15:52.01\00:15:56.52
I sensed His presence
00:15:56.55\00:16:00.16
And I knew
00:16:03.69\00:16:07.26
This was a place
00:16:07.30\00:16:12.23
Where love abounds
00:16:12.27\00:16:15.30
For this is the temple
00:16:19.51\00:16:25.95
Jehovah God abides in
00:16:25.98\00:16:32.45
We are standing
00:16:35.59\00:16:39.59
In His presence
00:16:39.63\00:16:43.13
On holy ground
00:16:43.16\00:16:47.17
We are standing
00:16:51.37\00:16:58.05
On holy ground
00:16:58.08\00:17:02.42
And I know that
00:17:05.45\00:17:09.12
There are angels
00:17:09.16\00:17:12.89
All around
00:17:12.93\00:17:19.67
Let us praise
00:17:19.70\00:17:22.40
Jesus now
00:17:26.84\00:17:29.98
We are standing in His presence
00:17:33.85\00:17:40.46
On holy ground
00:17:40.49\00:17:44.69
In His presence
00:17:48.16\00:17:52.00
There is joy
00:17:52.03\00:17:55.37
Beyond measure
00:17:55.40\00:18:01.54
And at His feet
00:18:01.58\00:18:05.11
Peace of mind
00:18:05.15\00:18:09.98
Can still be found
00:18:10.02\00:18:16.12
If you have a need
00:18:16.16\00:18:21.80
I know He has the answer
00:18:21.83\00:18:28.74
Oh, just reach out and claim it
00:18:28.77\00:18:33.24
For we are standing
00:18:33.27\00:18:36.61
On holy ground
00:18:36.64\00:18:39.98
We are standing
00:18:43.89\00:18:50.63
On holy ground
00:18:50.66\00:18:55.03
And I know that
00:18:58.13\00:19:01.67
There are angels
00:19:01.70\00:19:05.47
All around
00:19:05.51\00:19:08.64
Let us praise
00:19:12.28\00:19:15.32
Jesus now
00:19:19.32\00:19:22.66
We are standing in His presence
00:19:26.46\00:19:32.90
On holy ground
00:19:32.93\00:19:36.34
Let us praise
00:19:40.61\00:19:43.88
Jesus now
00:19:47.82\00:19:52.19
We are standing in His presence
00:19:55.22\00:20:02.13
We are standing
00:20:02.16\00:20:06.00
In His presence
00:20:06.03\00:20:09.40
We are standing
00:20:09.44\00:20:12.94
In His presence
00:20:12.97\00:20:17.58
On holy ground
00:20:23.49\00:20:28.76
Gene, thank you so
much for coming today and,
00:20:41.90\00:20:45.04
just for sharing your heart.
00:20:45.07\00:20:46.57
I thank you for
giving me the opportunity.
00:20:46.61\00:20:49.61
I love the family reunion.
00:20:49.64\00:20:52.28
It's good.
00:20:52.31\00:20:53.72
Let's pray for
folks that are watching.
00:20:53.75\00:20:56.28
Father, thank You for everyone
00:20:56.32\00:20:57.99
who's sitting
watching right now.
00:20:58.02\00:21:00.36
And God, Your Word says that
00:21:00.39\00:21:03.53
no man comes unless
Your Spirit draws them.
00:21:03.56\00:21:05.86
And so we know that if anyone
is coming to faith right now,
00:21:05.89\00:21:09.03
it's because Your Holy
Spirit is drawing them in.
00:21:09.06\00:21:11.73
And so, Gene and
I joined together
00:21:11.77\00:21:13.57
with other believers
that are praying right now,
00:21:13.60\00:21:16.10
for those who are watching.
00:21:16.14\00:21:17.77
And I just want to
encourage them to just pray,
00:21:17.81\00:21:19.67
Father, I'm a sinner
and I'm lost without You.
00:21:19.71\00:21:23.55
I confess that. I admit it.
00:21:23.58\00:21:25.48
I agree with you.
00:21:25.51\00:21:27.32
Father, I thank You that
You made provision for my sin
00:21:27.35\00:21:31.35
when You sent Jesus
to die on the cross.
00:21:31.39\00:21:33.05
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 says,
00:21:33.09\00:21:35.02
"God made Him who knew no sin
00:21:35.06\00:21:36.46
to be sin for me,
00:21:36.49\00:21:37.83
that I might become
00:21:37.86\00:21:39.19
the
righteousness of God in Him."
00:21:39.23\00:21:40.56
And, Father, at the cross
00:21:40.60\00:21:41.93
the great
exchange that takes place
00:21:41.96\00:21:43.30
is He becomes my sin
00:21:43.33\00:21:45.03
and I become His righteousness.
00:21:45.07\00:21:48.00
Not because I deserve it,
00:21:48.04\00:21:49.50
not because I've
been good enough,
00:21:49.54\00:21:51.17
but because of Your great love.
00:21:51.21\00:21:53.38
And, Lord, by faith, I receive
Your free gift of salvation.
00:21:53.41\00:21:57.75
And I thank You for accepting me
00:21:57.78\00:21:59.11
into Your family.
00:21:59.15\00:22:00.48
And just like the
father in the story
00:22:00.52\00:22:01.85
of the prodigal son,
00:22:01.88\00:22:03.22
You welcome us home.
00:22:03.25\00:22:04.59
You lay out the feast for us.
00:22:04.62\00:22:05.95
You killed the fatted calf
00:22:05.99\00:22:07.69
and You celebrate
00:22:07.72\00:22:09.22
because those, that son
that was lost has come home.
00:22:09.26\00:22:12.56
And there are sons
and there are daughters
00:22:12.59\00:22:13.93
right now that are
responding and coming home.
00:22:13.96\00:22:18.10
And we welcome
them as just as you do.
00:22:18.13\00:22:20.44
Thank You, Father,
for Your great love
00:22:20.47\00:22:21.90
in Jesus' name.
00:22:21.94\00:22:23.81
Amen.
00:22:23.84\00:22:25.51
If you've just
prayed that prayer
00:22:25.54\00:22:26.88
and you've come
to faith in Christ,
00:22:26.91\00:22:28.24
would you please call
the number on your screen?
00:22:28.28\00:22:30.65
Let us pray with you.
00:22:30.68\00:22:32.01
Let us send you some information
00:22:32.05\00:22:33.62
to help you in your
new walk with the Lord.
00:22:33.65\00:22:36.08
Thank you for watching today.
00:22:36.12\00:22:37.45
I'm Billy Blackwood,
00:22:37.49\00:22:38.82
my dear friend,
Gene McDonald here.
00:22:38.85\00:22:40.46
And we thank you for
spending this time with us.
00:22:40.49\00:22:43.93
We hope you have been encouraged
00:22:43.96\00:22:46.83
in your walk with the Lord.
00:22:46.86\00:22:48.20
And those of you who've
come to faith in Christ that,
00:22:48.23\00:22:50.80
you've given us the
privilege of being a part
00:22:50.83\00:22:53.03
of that journey with you.
00:22:53.07\00:22:54.97
God bless you.
00:22:55.00\00:22:56.34
My faithful Father,
00:23:13.29\00:23:16.99
Enduring Friend
00:23:20.53\00:23:25.50
Your tender mercy's
00:23:25.53\00:23:28.90
Like a river with no end
00:23:28.94\00:23:35.61
It overwhelms me,
00:23:35.64\00:23:39.55
Covers my sin
00:23:43.18\00:23:47.82
Each time I come
00:23:47.86\00:23:50.89
Into Your presence
00:23:50.93\00:23:54.96
I stand in wonder once again
00:23:55.00\00:24:00.44
Your grace
00:24:03.44\00:24:07.28
Still amazes me
00:24:07.31\00:24:11.18
Your love
00:24:11.21\00:24:14.55
Is still a mystery
00:24:14.58\00:24:18.52
Each day
00:24:18.55\00:24:22.32
I fall on my knees
00:24:22.36\00:24:28.03
Your grace
00:24:28.06\00:24:30.37
Still amazes me
00:24:30.40\00:24:35.50
Your grace
00:24:35.54\00:24:37.67
Still amazes me
00:24:37.71\00:24:40.78
Oh, patient Savior
00:24:56.86\00:25:00.60
You make me whole
00:25:04.40\00:25:09.30
You are the Author
00:25:09.34\00:25:12.61
And the Healer
00:25:12.64\00:25:16.44
Of my soul
00:25:16.48\00:25:19.68
What can I give You
00:25:19.71\00:25:23.72
What can I say
00:25:27.06\00:25:31.69
I know there's no way
00:25:31.73\00:25:35.03
To repay You
00:25:35.06\00:25:38.93
Only to offer
00:25:38.97\00:25:42.07
You my praise
00:25:42.10\00:25:47.38
Your grace
00:25:47.41\00:25:51.01
Still amazes me
00:25:51.05\00:25:54.68
Your love
00:25:54.72\00:25:58.25
Is still a mystery
00:25:58.29\00:26:02.16
Each day
00:26:02.19\00:26:05.73
I fall on my knees
00:26:05.76\00:26:11.17
Your grace
00:26:11.20\00:26:13.60
Still amazes me
00:26:13.64\00:26:18.67
Your grace
00:26:18.71\00:26:20.98
Still amazes me
00:26:21.01\00:26:25.01
It's deeper,
00:26:25.05\00:26:28.28
It's wider
00:26:28.32\00:26:31.99
It's stronger,
00:26:32.02\00:26:35.62
It's higher
00:26:35.66\00:26:39.29
It's deeper,
00:26:39.33\00:26:42.96
It's wider
00:26:43.00\00:26:46.57
It's stronger,
00:26:46.60\00:26:50.11
It's higher
00:26:50.14\00:26:52.54
Than anything
00:26:52.57\00:26:56.18
My eyes can see
00:26:56.21\00:26:59.75
Your grace
00:26:59.78\00:27:03.25
Still amazes me
00:27:03.28\00:27:07.09
Your love
00:27:07.12\00:27:10.73
Is still a mystery
00:27:10.76\00:27:14.30
Each day
00:27:14.33\00:27:17.80
I fall on my knees
00:27:17.83\00:27:23.30
Your grace
00:27:23.34\00:27:25.57
Still amazes me
00:27:25.61\00:27:30.81
Your grace
00:27:30.85\00:27:33.08
Still amazes me.
00:27:33.11\00:27:40.96