Looking Back at April

With April almost gone, I've just been reviewing what turned out to be an extremely busy month. Along with all of our regular assignments, including a trip to Nashville for HEARTLIGHT RADIO recording, came the week in Tennessee working closely with the cast and crew of the upcoming film on the early life of Dr. Billy Graham. I want to thank not only Joe Carlson, but the team at THE PUBLIC SQUARE for their help with the movie radio promotion. I couldn't have done it without you guys. Thanks especially to Dave Zanotti who had the vision to back me up all the way.

Most importantly, the last full week of April was spent with my wonderful wife, Becky on a vacation celebrating our 35th year of marriage. We have been blessed by God beyond measure. Chief among those blessings are our two kids (and a daughter-in-law!), now grown and pursuing God's calling for their lives. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of our family.

We spent all day Saturday on the set of BILLY: The Early Years in Lebanon, TN. It was a long, but rewarding day talking with the cast, producers, and the director, Robby Benson. It took 12 hours of shooting to capture what amounts to perhaps 3 minutes in this film. The producer, Larry Mortoff, told me that is about on par with this entire production. So, you can see that movie-making is a very tedious process. When I asked the director, Robbie Benson, if covering everything in such detail detracted from his creativity, he looked at me slightly puzzled at the question and answered that details ARE his job as the director. And what an experience watching a director like Robby bring his passion to his work.

The scene involved a young Billy Graham preaching his first sermon in a little country church while he was a student at the Florida Bible Institute. I won't say more, you'll have to see the movie, except that when the call went out for extras for the scene, who stepped forward but 3 of our radio crew? Christian Klein, Alan Duncan, and Tony Zanotti were rushed to wardrobe and came back transformed. Alan even paid the ultimate sacrifice of shaving his beard. You can see the results :)

Tonight is the big scene in the tent revival meeting where Billy Graham walked the sawdust trail as a teenager. Filming starts around 8:00 pm tonight and should last until 5:00 am Monday. We'll see if I stay awake all night before flying home...

Movie Making

I'm in the Lebanon, TN area where filmmakers are shooting scenes for the new movie on the early life of Dr. Billy Graham. I watched behind the scenes all day yesterday. It's an amazing process-- and very time consuming. I now understand better that the men and women who make these movies work long, hard hours.
One of the interviews recorded yesterday was with the director, Robby Benson. It is a joy to watch Robby work and see the way he goes about his craft. His instructions to the cast and crew are always clear and given with great respect and care.
We'll go into high gear for radio stations starting tonight. Producers Joe Carlson, Christian Klein, and Alan Duncan all arrive tonight and we start with a round of live radio interviews in the morning. Plus, we'll be recording interviews all day and begin posting them on the site set up for radio stations. For access to those audio features, email me at wshepherd@ameritech.net.

Change Happens

For those of you following the adventure of our radio promotion of the new movie being filmed this week in Nashville on the life of Dr. Billy Graham, there's been a little change.  The on location filming that was to take place on Thursday this week, has been moved to the weekend.

We still plan to provide interviews and audio clips, but we need to adjust the days and times.  I'll keep the webpage updated as I head to Nashville today to work out the new details.  If you think of it, pray for our small team who is scrambling to keep up with the changes.

If you need more information right away, email me at wshepherd@ameritech.net.

OPEN LINE Ends

Without question, the most intense and exhilarating time of my life was the early 1980's when we re-invented Christian radio.  Satellite technology had made it possible to go live nationwide.  Our team totally revised the programming of Moody Broadcasting and created the Moody Broadcasting Network with a whole new lineup of anchor programs.  OPEN LINE was one of those programs-- really the first studio-quality live call-in show on Christian radio.  Many years later I became the host of the program in the 90's and learned to love doing long-form interviews and taking calls on every imaginable topic.

Of course, I was only one of many OPEN LINE hosts through the years.  Stan Ferris, Tedd Seeley, Chris Fabry, and others were all hosts at one time or another-- and there were a number of fine producers including Tricia Boyle these past few years.  However, since its inception OPEN LINE has had one constant voice two nights a week-- Radio Pastor Don Cole.   I'm listening to Don right now as he has four children in the studio asking him Bible questions.  It's still amazing to hear after all these years-- and sad to think that's it's all coming to an end.

OPEN LINE will finish it's run on Moody at the end of this month.  No more long form, conversational interviews (apparently some feel today's attention spans are too short).  And, most importantly, no more Don Cole answering listener's questions so patiently and with such common sense wisdom gained from decades of walking with God, reading His Word.  There will never be another radio program like it.

As a final hurrah, the producers have decided to re-play some programs from the past.  I was dial surfing on my way home from the airport last night when I heard a clip of an interview I did with Brother Andrew just a couple of years ago-- some of which I had already forgotten.  Friday night I see that they are playing portions of the interview with Paul Rusesabagina (the true story of HOTEL RWANDA), and the program with Joe Carlson as the producer in Beslan, Russia.  That trip and story will never be forgotten in my mind.  

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever.

BILLY: The Early Years

I spent most of the day today in Nashville on location with a movie production crew filming the early life story of Dr. Billy Graham.  The movie, not yet officially titled, covers his life up through the 1949 Los Angeles crusade.  The scene being shot today on location in an old office building was his departure from Bob Jones Academy when he "dared" to ask questions in class.  I was able to talk with the actor playing Dr. Bob Jones, Larry Black, as well as the young man, Armie Hammer, playing the part of Dr. Graham.

The movie is planned for release this September.

Why was I there?  I have been asked to do some radio interviews and promotion for the movie.  I'll be there again next week when they re-create the tent meeting that resulted in Billy Graham's conversion as a teenager.  Those interviews and lots of audio clips will be made available next week on my ftp site for radio stations to download and use.

Those of you in radio should be receiving an email from me soon with details.  If you like, send me an email now to make sure you are on the list.  Stay tuned!

Stowell Still Proclaiming

Back when I was a freshman in college, little did I know that the local pastor at the church I attended would end up impacting my life for a long time.  The young pastor in his first church at that time was Joe Stowell.  Many years later we ended up working together at Moody Bible Institute (well, to be honest he WAS the President and I was on the radio staff).  It took awhile after Joe came to Moody for us to convince him to do a daily radio program, but eventually we did PROCLAIM together for about 9 years.  Those were rewarding days of ministry together.  

After Moody, Joe and I did some webcasting in a program called STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY, which you can listen to online here when you click on STRENGTH FOR THE JOURNEY messages.

Joe is now the President of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, MI.  Will he ever do a daily radio program again?  You'll have to ask him :)

All this month, Joe is commuting back to Chicago to preach at Harvest Bible Chapel.  If you'd like to hear the sermon he gave this morning on John 4, the woman at the well, you can listen online.  He's still proclaiming Jesus, and God still uses his ministry in my life after all these years.

Olympic Crackdown in China?

I took this photo in Bejing just about a year ago when the Olympics in China seemed far off.  Now, they will be here in just a few months.  While I was in China with David Hunt, I saw and heard myself the stories of Christian persecution from underground Church leaders. Prior to that trip, I would have thought that the coming Olympics would cause the Chinese to ease up.  Instead, I learned then-- and recent events in Tibet have confirmed-- that the religious persecution and human rights violations have only escalated.  I'm sure we only see through a glass darkly and have no idea how oppressed people really are.  One of my assignments is to keep us informed through Envoy Ministries.  You can visit this page to get the latest news and hear my conversation with David concerning what he is learning from his sources in China.  The audio file we recorded yesterday should be posted soon.  And, we'll keep updating the situation as it is quite possible that things will get more difficult in China for the underground Church before and during the Olympics.