Leighton Ford wasn’t born a Southerner, but surely by now he qualifies – he has lived in Charlotte more than 60 years. Before then, back home in Canada, he met a young preacher named Billy Graham. He ended up not just working with Graham, but marrying his sister Jeanie. He went on to his own career as a teacher and mentor to young evangelist. But he and Billy Graham stayed friends to Graham’s dying day.
Ford is 87 now. He has spent a lot of time thinking about not just how he got to where he is, but what might lie ahead – and whether the things he has believed all these years will turn out to be real.
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Show notes:
- The Leighton Ford Ministries site
- His memories of Billy Graham
- A column about finding his birth mother
- His book of paintings, "Places of the Heart"
- An Easter poem from John Updike
Other music in this episode:
- James Pants, "Sweet Lord"
- Dee Yan-Key, "Lamb of God"
New episodes of SouthBound will come out every other week on Wednesday. Subscribe:
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SouthBound is a production of WFAE. Our host is Tommy Tomlinson. Our producer is Nick de la Canal. Our audience engagement manager is Joni Deutsch, and our main theme comes from Josh Turner.