Longtime friend Art Bailey began his professional career with Sears-Roebuck and Company. During that time, Art and his wife, Wanda Bailey, became keenly aware of a call to minister for Jesus in the Philippines. They went.
Certainly it was an unusual background for one who was to become Director of Counselling and Follow-up for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Amid a wide range of ministry responsibilities – to which Art was very faithful — Art served Director of the last Billy Graham Crusade in New York City in 2005. (During my Oklahoma Baptist University days, fellow student Lloyd Henderson and I spent a summer working and serving in the 1957 BGEA Crusade in New York City in Madison Square Garden, the first one in New York, I think.)
That strategic role for Art, in retrospect, contained “challenges” in seeking a location for the event. It even contained aspects of humor! In this recording Art notes that the proposed crusade location changed five times. In keeping Franklin Graham current regarding the situation, Franklin would respond each time: “Talk to Daddy!” So Art would fly to North Carolina to sit around the kitchen table, or whatever, to explain to Billy Graham what they faced.
Very evident to Art in his many visits with Billy was later described by son Franklin at his father’s funeral. He reported something like “There was just one Billy Graham. The gracious and loving gentleman that the world saw before large stadiums of people and on television … was the same Billy Graham at home, loving his wife and children!”
Art Bailey would certainly affirm that to be true!
Terrific Wanda Baily served as the BGEA “Prayer Coordinator” for many of those years. Her brother, Tom Phillips, for years the Director of the Billy Graham Library (which is much more than a “library”) in Charlotte, NC … now serves in a leading role to secure financial support for the ongoing Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, of which Franklin Graham is President.
To see impacting pictures of the Billy Graham funeral, click here.
Much more wonderful, inspirational, and informational content is available at www.billygraham.org.
Related brief and interesting Billy Graham radio links of the past
To hear …”Art Bailey re Franklin Graham’s www.rocktherivertour.com, St. Louis Arch, other cities” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2009/07/13/art-bailey-re-franklin-grahams-www-rocktherivertour-com-st-louis-arch-other-cities;
To hear … “Anne Graham Lotz, Billy Graham’s daughter: “USA’s only hope: return of Jesus or a God-sent revival” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2014/07/07/anne-graham-lotz-billy-grahams-daughter-usas-only-hope-return-of-jesus-or-a-god-sent-revival/
To hear … “Urbana 18 (www.urbana.org) returning to St. Louis; Director Ruth Hubbard explains. Volunteers needed” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2018/04/16/urbana-18-www-urbana-org-returning-to-st-louis-director-ruth-hubbard-explains-vols-needed/ (www.urbana.org notes that the late Billy Graham has said: ““Billy Graham has said that half of American missionaries can trace their vocational call, at least in part, to Urbana.” He has spoken at the different Urbana Mission Conferences through the years.)
To hear … “Tom Phillips Executive Director, Billy Graham Library; Vice President, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association explains the ‘Modesto Manifesto”’ … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2017/03/06/tom-phillips-ex-dir-billy-graham-library-vp-billy-graham-evan-assn-explains-modesto-manifesto ;/ (Tom Phillips is the brother of Wanda Bailey, Art’s wife, who served as the Prayer Coordinator of the BGEA.)
To hear … “Will Graham, Billy Graham’s grandson re Louie Zamperini of ‘Unbroken. and 2015 Rose Bowl parade” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2015/03/14/will-graham-billy-grahams-grandson-re-louie-zamperini-of-unbroken-and-2015-rose-bowl-parade;
(More info: to read about … “‘Unbroken: Path to Redemption’ Continues Louis Zamperini’s Story in Theaters This Fall” … click on … https://billygraham.org/story/unbroken-path-to-redemption-continues-zamperini-story/)
To hear … “Dr. Larry and Creda Lewis report on the ‘Homegoing’ service of the great man of God, Billy Graham” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2018/03/16/dr-larry-and-creda-lewis-report-on-the-homegoing-service-of-the-great-man-of-god-billy-graham/;
To hear … “Ron Shea, son of Bev Shea, Billy Graham’s singer for 60+ years; moving stories re Bev, 104 at his death” … click on http://haroldhendrick.com/2013/09/28/ron-shea-son-of-bev-shea-billy-grahams-singer-60-years-moving-stories-re-bev-104-at-his-death/;
To hear … “Art Bailey re Rock the River with Franklin Graham under the St. Louis Arch…” … click on … www.haroldhendrick.com/2009/03/06/art-bailey-re-rock-the-river-with-franklin-graham-under-the-st-louis-arch/;
To hear … “Former St. Louis Attorney John Galvin, follower of Jesus, a leader with 2,000+ Billy Graham Rapid Response Chaplains” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2017/06/27/atty- john-galvin-follower-jesus-leader-2000-billy-graham-rapid-response-chaplains/
To hear … “Vicki Stamps: Since 1993, 100,000,000+ [at this writing, 157,000,000+] OCC shoeboxes to poor children worldwide. Volunteers needed” … click on … http://.haroldhendrick.com/2014/03/22/vicki-stamps-since-1993-100000000-occ-shoeboxes-to-poor-children-worldwide-volunteers-needed/
(Samaritan’s Purse … www.samaritanspurse.com … is the sponsor of the great “Operation Christmas Child” ministry which has gathered and distributed millions of shoebox gifts to poor children worldwide. Franklin Graham is President of Samaritans Purse. Vicki Stamps is a longtime St. Louis area volunteer leader for Operation Christmas Child reports: since the early 1990’s when “Operations Christmas Child” began, 157,000,000 (157 million!!) shoeboxes of love gifts have been distributed to poor children in 160 countries and territories … all in Jesus Name!)
To hear … “Appalachia’s Mary Damron loves poor children; voice of Franklin Graham’s Operation Christmas Child” … [Unusual, great, and even humorous story] … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2010/10/26/appalachias-mary-damron-loves-poor-children-voice-of-franklin-grahams-operation-christmas-child/
To hear … “Franklin Graham re www.rocktherivertour.com; St. Louis Arch, Quad Cities and Minneapolis” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2009/07/22/franklin-graham-re-www-rocktherivertour-com-st-louis-arch-quad-cities-and-minneapolis/;
To hear … “To hear Will Graham: grandson of Billy Graham, son of Franklin; visiting Ferguson, helping in ‘We Are One’ .”.. click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2015/01/24/will-graham-grandson-of-billy-graham-son-of-franklin-visiting-ferguson-helping-in-we-are-one/. And …
To hear … “Felix & Patsy Snipes … ‘How Charles Stanley got to Atlanta….’ June 2008” … click on … http://haroldhendrick.com/2008/07/03/felix-patsy-snipes-how-charles-stanley-got-to-atlanta-june-2008. — This one requires an explanation as to how it relates to Billy Graham. Toward the very end of the 1952 Billy Graham Crusade in Tiger Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi, I was in the choir … under Cliff Barrows leadership … with one of my very best high school friends, Felix Snipes. During the invitation he land over to me and said: “Come go with me, Harold. I want to rededicate my life!” Of course I did.
Already an accomplished “sleight of hand” magician at that young age … and a dramatic on-stage performer, Felix told me later that it was in that same evening that “I was saved!”
Soon after he was called into a ministry of music. At a “Percy Crawford Bible Camp” a few years later, a young preacher there … Charles Stanley … asked Felix to team up with him: Charles preaching … Felix handling the music. – A few years later, Felix made Atlanta his ministry headquarters and he and wife Patsy joined the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. In time Felix was invited to be a member of the “search” committee, seeking to secure a staff minister (not senior pastor).
Charles had only be pastor of the Florida church a short time … with no thoughts of leaving.
Felix called him and said: “I want you to consider something you probably have not thought about! I want to recommend you to the staff ministry at FBC of Atlanta!” After prayer, Charles gave Felix permission to submit his name. Through the usual channels, the call was extended … an Charles accepted! — Charles and his family … which included Andy Stanley … lived with Felix and Patsy a few weeks before moving into the new Stoney residence.
So that is the background as to how “Charles Stanley came to Atlanta” … which became a nation and world-wide preaching and teaching, radio and television, ministry.
Felix Snipes … who came to saving faith in Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade as a Centrah High School student … was the human link that God selected to get Charles Stanley to Atlanta!