RELIGION
CONNECTS WITH EVERYONE
Movers and shakers were drawn to both his powerful voice and
his spirituality. The fact that six very different presidents from
competing parties — Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, both father
and son Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama — sought him out is
testament to his ability to connect with everyone.
One particular evening, he sang for President Clinton before
rushing across town to sing at a major Republican function. He
sang at memorial services for Gen. Colin Powell and for civil rights
legend Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich once told Phipps that
“every time I hear you, you touch my life.”
Phipps feels he is just doing the job God intended for him.
“I tell people I go where people need the Lord,” he said. “My
ministry has been supported on both sides of the aisle.”
His unforgettable voice honored Rosa Parks at her 77th
birthday celebration at the Kennedy Center, took him to South
Africa to welcome Nelson Mandela from imprisonment and
celebrated Mother Teresa at a special event. The twice Grammynominated
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Phipps sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. His
WINTLEY PHIPPS PHOTOS
Phipps’ wife, Linda, who he met in college, always accompanies
the singing pastor as he travels around the world.
Sir Tom Jones responded with an invitation to meet
him after the concert.
PRAYERS ANSWERED
Phipps’ musical turnaround from rock to gospel
began at a Christian boarding school in Canada,
where he grew up. Disgruntled at being recruited into
the school choir, he grumbled to the headmaster.
“Why don’t you for once do what God wants you
to do, not what you want to do?” asked the wise
educator, and Phipps decided it was time to let faith
do its work.
His surrender allowed him a glimpse of what
God had been dreaming for him. When the Heritage
Singers American gospel group invited Phipps to tour
with them during summer break, he was stunned.
“It was the first time I’ve had a prayer answered,”
he said.
At Oakwood College, a Seventh-day Adventist
school in Huntsville, Alabama, he was introduced
to gospel music and to Linda, his wife of 45 years.
The school president, impressed by Phipps’ musical
ability, invited him to sing to the General Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists in Chicago. It was here he
met the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who invited him to accompany
him to Africa to witness the evils of apartheid
firsthand.
His reputation as a gospel singer grew quickly simply
by word of mouth.
“I never had a manager, publicist or agent,” said
Phipps, who for 25 years was part of the Rev. Billy
Graham’s famed crusades.
Former President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, listen as Phipps preaches.
The Vero Beach resident has sung for six sitting presidents.
President Bill Clinton confers with Phipps during a visit to the Oval Office.
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