Clifford Burton Barrows (April 6, 1923 – November 15, 2016) was a longtime music and program director for the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) is a non-profit Christian outreach organization that promotes multimedia evangelism, conducts evangelistic crusades, and engages in disaster response. The BGEA operates the Billy Graham Trainin ...
. He had been a part of the Graham organization since 1949. Barrows was best known as the host of Graham's weekly ''
Hour of Decision
The ''Hour of Decision'' was a live weekly radio broadcast produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. First broadcast in 1950 by the American Broadcasting Company, it was a half-hour program featuring sermons from noted evangelist Bi ...
''
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
program, and the song leader and choir director for the crusade meetings.
Life
Barrows was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
as a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
minister in 1944, and served as an assistant pastor at Temple Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minnesota through 1945. Barrows joined Graham at a rally in Asheville, North Carolina that year, and remained with Graham ever since.
He appeared in the 1970 film ''His Land'' with British pop singer
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
. The film reviews Biblical events as both Cliffs took a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
to Israel. It was produced by Graham's production company, World Wide Pictures.
In 1988, Barrows was inducted into the
Gospel Music Hall of Fame
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1972 by the Gospel Music Association, is a Hall of Fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music.
Inductees
This is an incompl ...
in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
by the
Gospel Music Association
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership co ...
.
In 1996 he was also inducted into the Religious Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the
National Religious Broadcasters
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint comm ...
. Barrows' longtime colleague, the late Canadian-born singer George Beverly Shea, is also a member of both halls of fame.
Barrows died at a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, on November 15, 2016, at the age of 93.
Personal life
Barrows and his first wife Wilma Newell (1925–1994)Billy Graham Center Archives, Wheaton College, http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/622.htm had five children; Bonnie (born 1948), Robert (1950), Betty Ruth (1953), Clifford ("Bud") (1955), and William Burton (1962).
In 1995, Barrows married Ann Prince and resided in
Marvin, North Carolina
Marvin is a village in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 5,579 at the 2010 census. A suburb of Charlotte, Marvin has been noted as the wealthiest town in North Carolina.
Geography
According to the United States Censu ...
.
See also
* ''
Hour of Decision
The ''Hour of Decision'' was a live weekly radio broadcast produced by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. First broadcast in 1950 by the American Broadcasting Company, it was a half-hour program featuring sermons from noted evangelist Bi ...