Participants:
Series Code: BBF
Program Code: BBF170006S
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00:03 Hi, I'm Billy Blackwood.
00:05 Through my years in music ministry, 00:07 I've had the privilege of meeting many great people 00:09 and making a lot of great friends. 00:14 Some have been friends for literally decades 00:15 and some have been more recent. 00:19 It's my hope that 00:20 you will enjoy getting a glimpse 00:21 behind the scenes 00:23 and into the real lives of my friends. 00:25 Sit back and enjoy as you watch 00:27 Billy Blackwood and Friends. 00:33 Gene, welcome to the program today, buddy. 00:35 Thank you, man, I appreciate it. 00:37 So glad to have you here. 00:38 It's good to see you. 00:39 You know, one of the things that, 00:41 that God has allowed me to do is to over the years of my life 00:45 in gospel music, 00:46 meet a lot of great people. 00:48 Like me. 00:50 Like you, and you and I go back to allowance 00:55 I'm considerably older than you are. 00:57 But we go back to when we were really 00:59 you were a little kid and I was not a very big kid. 01:03 Been a while. 01:04 Been a while, and your dad and my dad were friends. 01:08 Yes. 01:09 Tell the folks how long your dad's been on radio? 01:12 Pop started on the radio, 01:14 I guess in about '76, somewhere in there. 01:17 So he's been on the radio about 40, 41 years. 01:20 Forty plus years. Yeah. 01:22 Tommy Mac? Tommy Mac. 01:24 TommyMacshow.com TommyMacshow.com 01:27 And Tommy and your mom have just been, 01:30 they were dear friends of my mom and dad and... 01:35 And I remember as a kid, 01:37 I was probably I'm gonna guess I was. 01:41 I don't know, 15, maybe 16. 01:46 When we first met you were about 01:48 eight or seven? 01:49 Yeah. Few years back. 01:52 And I was traveling with the Blackwood Brothers 01:54 playing drums and... 01:58 In Southeast Missouri, where you grew up 02:01 there in the Bootheel or close to it. 02:02 Yeah, Comet, Missouri. Comet, Missouri. 02:04 Your dad's radio program was there. 02:06 And we were doing a concert in the area. 02:08 And I remember your dad being on the bus. 02:10 And I remember him bringing you up on the bus. 02:13 And you were just you know, you're just his son, little kid 02:15 come upon the bus and all, 02:17 you know, bright eyed and on the big bus 02:19 and how much fun that was. 02:20 I think you probably rode to the concert 02:22 or something with us, I don't remember. 02:23 I did, my friend. 02:25 And that's my first... 02:26 Well, that was my, first time we met, 02:27 my first memory of you. 02:29 And now we're 40 something years later, 02:32 is that right? 02:33 No, it can't be that long. Yeah, I'm 52, so. 02:35 Well, I'm not gonna tell you how old I am. 02:37 But anyway, here we are all these years later. 02:39 And God has blessed you and given you so much favor. 02:45 For folks who may be watching today 02:47 who don't know, he currently singing 02:50 with a guy who's pretty well known 02:53 in gospel music. 02:54 Been on tour with Bill Gaither for since 2008. 02:58 So it's been... 2008? 03:00 Yeah, I was in from '98 to 2007 I sang with the Florida Boys. 03:05 Okay. So sang with them for 15 years. 03:07 And so, Lord blessed me a lot. 03:11 Sometimes you forget how blessed you are. 03:15 But when you reminisce a little bit 03:18 and you realize that I've gotten do a lot of things 03:21 that a lot of people love to do. 03:24 And be around a lot of people that are true heroes for me. 03:29 I mean, the Gaither videos. 03:31 For me, I was the kid in the candy shop. 03:35 I mean, all my heroes, 03:38 because of my father and mom, and music. 03:43 I mean, all my heroes were there. 03:45 There wouldn't be anybody that you know. 03:48 And so, it's been an awesome, awesome journey for me 03:52 to have the privilege 03:56 of getting to know them 03:59 on more of a personal basis, and just, you know, 04:04 getting to love on, you know, 04:07 and letting them know that they've, 04:10 they made a difference in a kid's life. 04:13 When we were talking earlier just before, 04:15 before the program, you were telling me a story 04:17 that just comes back up for me right now. 04:19 And I found it's just so cool, 04:22 so interesting about the church camp 04:25 that your son's now going to, and share that with folks 04:28 because that's a cool story. 04:31 This is a great, it's Camp McClanahan in 04:35 outside of Kennett, Missouri Black River 04:37 Baptist Association. 04:39 And my father went to this, 04:42 to the camp in the '50s. 04:45 And then I went to the camp in the '70s. 04:50 And I have just taken my son from the fourth year in a row 04:55 to this camp. 04:56 At first he didn't know 04:58 if he would like it because it was... 04:59 There's no electronics. 05:01 No... 05:02 And it's out in the middle of the woods, 05:04 out in the middle of the woods 05:05 in Southeast Missouri that out in the middle 05:07 of a watermelon patch. 05:09 Yeah. 05:10 And you tell me where it was located 05:12 something about there was a creek? 05:13 There's a 19 Drain, 19 Ditch is what it's called. 05:17 But it's a drainage ditch, 05:19 but it's where we swam 05:25 before the church camp put a swimming pool. 05:27 Okay. 05:28 And so we swam in 19 Ditch, 05:30 and on this side is Camp McClanahan, 05:34 and then the ditch 05:35 and on this side was my grandfather's land. 05:39 And so my father, whenever he would go, 05:42 my grandfather had a general store 05:44 in the middle of our land, 05:46 and my dad would get tired of going to church camp 05:50 and he would swim the ditch and go to grandpa store 05:53 and sit with him until brother Mac 05:55 would realize it, pop was gone, 05:57 then he go, get him back at the store. 06:01 And so now your son is going? 06:03 Yeah, he is. 06:05 He loves going. 06:06 And we've... 06:08 The first year I took my son, 06:11 the second year, I took two boys. 06:14 And the next year, I took two different boys. 06:17 And this year, we took four kids 06:19 from Tennessee to this church camp. 06:24 So I think, you know, every year that my son goes, 06:27 he brings four or five more friends. 06:29 And, you know, if it's just fun, 06:33 I love doing it. 06:34 You know, the thing that I love that story, 06:37 because it's that faith that was passed down. 06:40 Yes, sir. 06:42 You know, from your dad to you, now to your kids, it's just, 06:47 you know. 06:48 That's just such a cool thing to watch and to see. 06:53 And you know, I mean like our dads, 06:54 our dads were friends. 06:56 Right. 06:57 And because they were friends, we're friends. 06:59 I mean, they passed that down. 07:01 Gene, if you see this, but in the world, you know, 07:03 a lot of people can have friends. 07:04 Right. 07:05 But the thing that I've noticed, 07:07 and I think maybe you've seen too, 07:10 is that in the kingdom, 07:11 and particularly even in gospel music. 07:14 Right. You know, we have friends. 07:17 There's such an interconnectedness. 07:19 There's such a family of people. 07:22 It really is. 07:24 I think that if we don't, 07:28 we cannot convey God love 07:31 if we don't share love with each other. 07:35 How can I tell somebody 07:39 about His love 07:41 if I can't feel love from the guys 07:45 that I'm with? 07:46 Our industry, you know, I might not see you 07:51 for another year. 07:54 But we'll pick up 07:55 where we left off from this time. 07:58 Because there is a common bond 08:02 that no other genre of music has. 08:04 Right. You know it. 08:06 We have wonderful singers, great things. 08:10 But if we don't have the common bond of salvation, 08:14 then it's not the same. 08:18 I mean, we have to have, that is what connects us all 08:23 in this in our industry anyway. 08:27 You were talking earlier before we were filming today 08:30 about Ben Spear. 08:31 Yeah. You know, the Spear Family. 08:33 I think a lot of our viewers tonight 08:35 would know the Spears 08:36 but like the Blackwood Brothers, 08:38 you know, a family group. 08:39 I remember Dad and Mom Spear, Ben's parents. 08:44 When I was a kid, 08:45 I went to both of their funerals in Nashville, 08:48 because the Spears and the Blackwoods 08:50 and all the Favers 08:51 and all those old family groups were, 08:54 you know, were friends and statesmen 08:57 in all those groups, you know, it was such good friends. 09:00 As I grew up in the gospel music, 09:02 the people that were my dad's friends, 09:05 even though they were a generation ahead of me 09:07 became my friend. 09:08 Right. And people like Ben Spear... 09:10 Your mentor... They're mentors. 09:12 And your correctors and your... 09:14 Right. 09:15 And it's just such an interesting dynamic to see in, 09:20 you know, in ministry, 09:21 and in this industry, particularly, 09:24 how that, that just seems to leapfrog on down 09:27 from generation to generation. 09:29 I think it has to. 09:30 I don't ever consider myself a hero of nobody, 09:34 but there are people 09:36 that are going to look up to me, 09:38 whether I want them to or not. 09:40 Oh, they are. 09:41 And, so it's my responsibility to act right. 09:46 It's my responsibility to lead them 09:50 or give them votes of confidence. 09:54 You know, I can remember when I was a kid, 09:56 Rex Nelon or Chief or, you know, Hello Kids. 10:02 You know, but he didn't know my name from Adam. 10:05 But it was the fact that he talked to me, you know, 10:09 JD Sumner, I mean, my goodness. 10:12 If he, if there was a kid that walked by him, 10:15 he was going to agitate him just because that was JD, 10:19 but it made that kid instantly a fan of JD. 10:23 And I think that because of that, 10:27 that is our responsibility for the next generation 10:31 to show them what love he is, 10:33 to show them what camaraderie is, 10:36 to show them that we have love 10:41 that God has given us something 10:43 that nobody else has, you know, 10:45 and that we need to share it. 10:47 Absolutely. 10:49 Hey, I want you to sing a song. 10:50 I love this one, 10:52 got a cool little bluesy feel to it 10:55 and as Gene prepares just kind of get comfortable 10:58 and sit back, you gonna love this, 11:00 this is called "Stand By Me." 11:14 Now there are times we feel alone 11:19 Although you know we done no wrong 11:24 Oh, Lord, Oh Lord 11:29 Stand by me 11:34 And there are times we stand the tears 11:40 Oh you know me done our best 11:45 Oh, Lord, Oh, Lord 11:47 Oh, Lord, Oh, Lord 11:50 Stand by me 11:52 Stand by me 11:55 Stand by me, Lord 11:57 Oh, Lord, won't You stand by me 12:00 While I walk this lonesome road 12:05 Stand by me, Lord 12:07 Oh, Lord, won't You stand by me 12:10 Help me to bear my heavy load 12:15 And if I stumble pick me up 12:20 Help me to drink this bitter cup 12:26 Here I reached my home in glory 12:31 Stand by me 12:33 Stand by me 12:36 Now there are times we're made to cry 12:41 Oh, Lord, wipe those tears from my eyes 12:46 Oh, Lord, Oh, Lord 12:51 Stand by me 12:56 Now there are times we're made to fail 13:01 Oh, you never failed us yet 13:06 Oh, Lord, Oh, Lord 13:11 Stand by me 13:17 Stand by me, Lord 13:20 Oh, Lord, won't You stand by me 13:22 While I walk this lonesome road 13:27 Stand by me, Lord 13:30 Oh, Lord, won't You stand by me 13:32 Help me to bear my heavy load 13:37 And if I stumble pick me up 13:42 Help me to drink this bitter cup 13:47 Till I reach my home in glory 13:52 Stand by me Stand by me 13:57 Tonight my father and my mother 14:02 And my sister and my brother 14:08 It was amazing 14:10 Oh how You saved me 14:13 It was a grace, Lord 14:16 That brought me 14:18 Till I reach my home in glory 14:23 Stand by me 14:28 Till I reach my home in glory 14:39 Stand by me 14:47 Stand by me 15:00 Wow! 15:01 Stand by me, Gene McDonald. 15:04 You know, when I first called you about 15:08 being a guest today, you surprised me. 15:11 And I said... 15:13 I said, "Hey, 15:15 I'd like to do a song together." 15:16 There's something, you know, there's something we could do. 15:19 And you said... 15:20 Love Held Jesus To The Cross. 15:22 Love Held Jesus To The Cross, 15:23 which is a song I wrote back in the early 1980s. 15:26 And you had mentioned that song one other time 15:29 that you heard it, but I'd kind of forgotten that. 15:31 And I was, at first, I was kind of shocked that 15:34 you would even remember that song. 15:36 I would, I was do, 15:38 periodically your dad would sing. 15:41 And he would want me and my dad to come 15:44 and sing backup for him 15:45 whenever he was doing solo stuff 15:46 after the Masters V, 15:48 before the Blackwood Brothers reformation there. 15:52 He gave me a cassette of you. 15:56 And it had Love Held Jesus To The Cross. 15:58 That's probably about '88, '89. 16:00 Okay. 16:02 So I met you again through the Gaither videos about '94. 16:07 In the person I came up to you, and I said, 16:10 "Man, I love Love Held Jesus To The Cross." 16:13 And you looked at me, like, 16:15 I can't believe you even know the song, you know. 16:17 And I said, "Your dad gave me the CD, this cassette." 16:21 It wasn't CDs. 16:22 He gave me this cassette. 16:24 And I listened to it, man, I love the song, 16:26 can I get a copy of the words. 16:29 And I never thought I'd hear anything about it, 16:32 you sent me the copy of the words. 16:34 And I have never recorded it. 16:37 I've always wanted to record it. 16:39 I've always wanted to sing it. 16:40 I've never sing it live that I know of. 16:43 And it was just. 16:46 man, such a great song. 16:49 If anything, there's nothing in this world 16:52 that could help Christ, but loved yet. 17:01 He loved me. 17:05 And that's to me the ultimate gift 17:09 that I can have. 17:14 I'm not worthy of anything. 17:20 But He died for me. 17:22 And He died for me alone. 17:25 It's not... 17:27 He died for everybody by themselves. 17:31 And so it that song has always meant a lot to me. 17:35 And through rough times, 17:38 that song came back to me 17:41 periodically through my life. 17:44 And so it's just been a great song. 17:47 Wow. 17:48 Well, this has got to go on my list of favorite things 17:54 I ever get to do is to sing with you, 17:57 and this is song that God gave me 18:01 like I said back in the early '80s 18:02 and I've sung it for years but never. 18:09 This is gonna be the first time for us 18:10 to do it together. 18:11 So I hope you enjoy Gene and I, as we sing, 18:16 "Love Held Jesus To The Cross." 18:24 Ever since I can remember 18:27 I heard the story told 18:31 Of Jesus death on Cavalry 18:37 How the soldiers marked his name 18:41 Crowned his head with thorns 18:44 And nailed His hands and feet to a tree 18:49 Not long ago I discovered 18:54 What the soldiers never knew 18:58 And it made all the difference 19:00 in the world to me 19:05 I found out what it took 19:09 To bear the sins of the world 19:14 Was the very thing he placed inside of me 19:25 Love held 19:28 Jesus to the cross 19:38 Heaven's gain was Satan's loss 19:48 Man has never 19:51 forged a nail 19:54 That could have held him to a tree 20:00 No love held 20:04 Jesus to goal 20:15 Now I had come to think of love 20:19 In terms of gain and loss 20:22 Where we then made to take 20:24 But not again 20:28 Then I saw an act of love 20:31 In a just upon a cross 20:34 By a man who had every right to live 20:40 And I realized, I might had never know 20:44 The Father's love was real 20:48 If I had not seen it in a man who died for me 20:57 And in that moment Jesus showed me 21:01 Loves not just a state of mind 21:07 As He gave His life so love could live in me 21:19 Love held 21:22 Jesus to the cross, 21:32 Heaven's gain was Satan's loss 21:41 Man has never 21:45 Forged a nail 21:48 That could have held him to the tree Lord 21:55 Love held 21:58 Jesus to the cross 22:07 Man has never forged a nail 22:13 That could have held 22:16 My Savior to the tree Lord 22:22 Love held 22:26 Jesus 22:29 To the cross 22:49 I sometimes say in concert. 22:55 Years ago, there was a popular songs, 22:58 number one song around the world. 23:01 The name of it was, I want to know what love is. 23:05 And then I'll say the writer of that song 23:07 just never read 1 John, because it's right there. 23:10 It's right. 23:12 This is how we know what love is. 23:13 Yeah. 23:14 While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 23:20 And it's amazing how he makes room 23:22 for everybody. 23:24 You know, one thing that 23:27 I always wondered when I was a kid was 23:30 whenever I felt God was away from me, 23:35 or I was away from God and that had called out 23:38 sometimes in wonder, you know, 23:42 but the table never moved. 23:46 You know, home is still home. 23:50 And we are apt to whenever we mature 23:54 or think we're maturing. 23:57 We're apt to leave home and sometimes we lose our way. 24:03 But the house has never left. 24:06 The house didn't move. 24:08 And so that's for me, that was God's love. 24:11 God's love never left me, I left God's love. 24:16 And so that that's the reason 24:21 why I feel like 24:23 the love that we have, 24:26 the camaraderie that we have, 24:28 that common bond is God's love 24:34 and knowing that it's always there. 24:39 I don't want to put you on the spot. 24:41 But I want to ask you to do something. 24:43 Would you just talk to our audience for a minute? 24:47 Because there's probably some people out there 24:49 who feel like they've left the house 24:52 and the house is moved 24:54 or the table is no longer there. 24:56 Would you just take a minute and share your heart with them? 25:02 You are loved. 25:05 There's nothing that you've done. 25:12 Nothing that you've done 25:14 that can take Him away from you. 25:20 The table is always there. 25:22 The setting is always there. 25:26 He's waiting for you to face at His table. 25:32 God loves you more than life itself, 25:35 because He died for you. 25:40 I didn't realize what love was 25:44 until I had a child of my own. 25:52 I could not stand 25:53 if my child died, 25:59 but He was given up for us. 26:04 That took a lot of love. 26:08 And there's nothing that 26:10 you've done nothing where you are. 26:13 You can't go far enough 26:15 that God won't take you back or won't take you at all. 26:23 He loves you more than anybody else. 26:26 There's no one else in this world that 26:28 He loves as much as He does you. 26:33 And if you don't know Him today, 26:36 it's really easy to find Him. 26:40 God loves you, so do I. 26:44 Gene, thank you so much for coming today. 26:48 Thank you for giving me the opportunity. 26:51 I love doing this. 26:53 I love the family reunion. 26:55 It's good. |
Revised 2021-05-13