Donald J. Wilton - Saturdays with Billy: My Friendship with Billy Graham

Just a Word

I will never fully understand why Dr. Billy Graham loved me as he did. The joy of sitting at his feet for so many years will remain deeply embedded in my heart for the rest of my life. I am forever grateful to the Lord Jesus.

Our relationship was one that grew from a personal invitation into all it became. After some ten years of friendship, Mr. Graham asked me to be his pastor. We spent hours on end just being together. This is what friends do.

Sometimes I talked and talked because he wanted me to share with him. Many times I listened and listened because he wanted to talk. Other times we said nothing. Nothing was said because nothing needed to be said between friends. We sat and ate a meal. Sometimes we took a walk, and sometimes we watched television or listened to others talking.

Saturdays with Billy, for the most part, took place on one piece of property. Mr. and Mrs. Grahams beautiful home, built on the side of a mountain overlooking a magnificent town and valley, was, for me, the ultimate place of worship.

In many ways, our times together were like worship services. Two men who loved the Lord Jesus, each with the challenges and blessings of life in his heart, sharing together and presenting their requests before God.

When we met, there were no recordings. There were no other people. Seldom were any others listening in on our conversations. He and I were free to talk, listen, share, and enjoy each others company.

Saturdays with Billy came to me as a request from a publisher friend. This book is not a biography of Gods servant. Hundreds of books about Billy Grahams life have been written. This book makes little effort to be smooth or logical or read like a novel. How could it be when it is based on memories of conversations between a pastor and his friend, sitting drinking coffee together? With the help of David Bruce, Billy Grahams executive assistant, I have done my best to fact-check the recollections of my conversations over many years. I am so grateful to David. I am also grateful to my assistant, Jimmie Davis, for her tireless work in the compilation of this project. I am most grateful to my wife, Karyn. She watched me leave our home for years, especially on Saturdays, when family time was so special. She was a constant source of encouragement as she entered into the full joy of the privilege God had afforded me. Mr. Graham loved Karyn and took great pleasure in teasing her. In his later years he even suggested to her that he come on holiday with us to the beach! How much we enjoyed the banter between us.