MONTREAT, N.C. — The late Rev. Billy Graham’s personal pastor, Dr. Don Wilton, of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, has been comforting loved ones since the evangelist’s death on Wednesday.
"We often think of Billy Graham as this powerful, passionate man who could stand in front of thousands of people and boldly preach, but he had his own church and his own pastor here in Spartanburg,” Wilton said.
SPECIAL SECTION: Rev. Billy Graham, known as 'America's Pastor,' dies at 99
Wilton and Graham were also good friends.
"One can only imagine the deep honor and unbelievable privilege of sitting, literally at the feet of Dr. Billy Graham," Wilton said.
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Wilton met Graham in 1993 after Graham saw First Baptist Church on TV.
Graham and wife, Ruth, invited him to their home in Montreat.
"The Lord just did something that I think only God could do, and formulated a friendship that was almost instant," Wilton said by phone from the Graham’s home in Montreat.
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Wilton was leaving his home to have lunch with Graham Wednesday when he got the call about his death.
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"I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, today, determined, that he wanted to have lunch with his servant, Billy Graham."
He last saw Graham and son Franklin Friday and said the impact of their loss is his too.
Wilton said the Grahams have lost a father and a grandfather just like any other family. He described their pain as very real and personal.
"God just reached down into my heart, because I loved this man so much, and I'm going to tell you for the rest of my life, Billy Graham will never leave my heart," Wilton said.
Wilton will do the private internment service when Billy Graham’s body will be laid to rest next to Ruth Graham at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte.
"If I can be just a fraction of the man of God that Billy Graham has been, I will be most grateful to the Lord for allowing me to be so," Wilton said.
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