Billy Graham’s Guitarist, Franklin Graham’s Friend

Could ((music playing)) you imagine this? You're in a dark parking lot. You encounter a member of the Hell's Angels. Yes, those Hell's Angels, the infamous motorcycle club. You see an opportunity to talk with the biker ((music playing)) about Jesus Christ. You seize the opportunity and then you realize the biker is looking at someone behind you.

((music playing)) And I just talk to him what I'm doing there. He's looking over my shoulder and I turn around ((music playing)) and Billy Graham is standing right next to me and it's this mist, you know, of cold, foggy mist. And I ((music playing)) said, "Sir, would you like to continue?" And he said, "You're doing just fine."

And he stood there and I turned away and I finished my business. I said, "Sir, there is a God who cares." And the question I have, give me one good reason why people don't believe in God. any one of these educated people, sir. That's what ((music playing)) I'm asking them.

And then the guy's eyes kind of went and followed Mr. Graham and my eyes kept running on that biker. It was Berkeley, California, 1967. Dennis Agajanian had no fear about confronting the chaos of the drugfueled summer ((music playing)) of love with the true love of Jesus Christ. What he didn't ((music playing)) expect ever was that Billy Graham would show up at his divine appointment with a Hell's Angel biker.

This is just one of the rich experiences Dennis has had as he preached and played guitar around the world. And today he and his guitar continue to confront chaos with Christ. Dennis's story is our story in this episode of GPS God People Stories, a podcast outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

I'm Jim Kirkland. Dennis Agajanian is an award-winning guitar player who plays at Franklin Graham outreaches and at churches across the United States. He also performed at Billy Graham crusades. He knows well what his old friend Billy Graham also knew. >> Man is on a self-destruction binge, but God is still in the business of turning men and women's lives around and bringing them to himself. >> And it's up to us to share that good news with people.

You'll hear Billy Graham talk more about that a little later in the episode. But if you're in a place where you need God to turn your life around, please connect with us right now. You can visit us online at find peacewithgod.net. There you'll find just about everything you need to know about beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The address again is find peacewithgod.net. Or if you'd like to speak with someone, call our Billy Graham 247 prayer line. The number is 855255 pray. That's 855255 P R A Y. And if you didn't get to jot those down, you can find both the website and the phone number in our show notes. >> GPS. >> God, >> people stories. >> Dennis Agenian has ((music playing)) been called the world's fastest flatpick guitar player.

I said, "Well, that's a rumor Johnny Cash started, you know, cuz Cash was a friend of mine and he started a rumor that I was a fastest in America and I don't want to be known as that. I just want to be known as a good guitar player and that he is.

But Dennis is also known as a fast guitar player. He's won awards and performed for hundreds of thousands of people over the decades. Why has he spent most of his life mastering his guitar playing skills? >> It would be impress them with the guitar so I could lead them to Christ.

It's the only reason why I play the guitar the way I do. If I can get their attention, lead them to Christ. >> And Dennis has been making music and leading people to Christ for more than 60 years. He grew up in a small town north of Los Angeles, >> little place called Newh Hall.

You might think, well, north of LA, it's Los Angeles County, but it was out in the hills. I mean, a lot of actors and different people live there because it's very much in the country and um that's where they film Gunsmoke and a lot of the cowboy movies and and my dad, he had a rubbish company and we got in a lot of fights in junior high, people making fun of our rubbish company and so made us tough, you know. >> When he was around two, Dennis's mother and grandmother took him to Billy Graham's historic 1949 outreach in Los Angeles.

It was the event that put Billy Graham in the national spotlight. Dennis doesn't remember much beyond the stage and the steps leading up to it >> and a breeze kind of a breeze you know it was it was just a breeze coming through. I think the tent was up like this and the side curtains were up.

I just remember the music and I remember people coming forward. >> Dennis had no way of knowing then that he'd one day be playing guitar at Billy Graham Crusades. But he did hear his mom talk about Billy Graham and seeing her read his books while he was growing up with his parents, his twin brother Danny, and his older brother Roger. >> We were just a real working family, you know.

We had go-karts and Danny uh collected birds of prey, like redtailed hawks. We had two hawks and two owls and four buzzards and and one raven. And you know, we taught them how to hunt. And so we were outside kids. We ride our bicycles and we'd put an owl on on the left handlebar and and a hawk, red tail hawk on the other handlebar and we would we would wrap ace bandage on it where they would hold on and it was a country town we lived in.

We we loved it. >> Church was an important part of life for the Agenians. >> We went to a small little church. This one guy was uh no one ever invited him to speak. He was 70 years old. So he bought a bar outside of town about 10 miles and painted it white and black letters.

He put church on it and my mom liked his preaching. So we all went there. We're the only youth department and the only music department. There's like 30 senior citizens there. And I think that's where the Lord gave me uh the talent to play the trumpet at 9 years old.

And and then when I was 15, I was playing guitar. I played guitar and did the old hymns. The pastor said, "You know, you could play any hymn you want, any way you want, just don't change the words." And so, we took advantage of that. We'd play it, play songs like Victory in Jesus in a bluegrass way. >> Dennis was 11 years old when he made the decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Here's how it happened. >> A friend of mine invited me to church for a Wednesday night. It was cold, raining. I went to this little church and went inside. There was one little room with one light bulb and they had had a little felt board, you know, with the little characters of Joseph and, you know, and there was three friends in sitting in front of me in the front row and I was in the second row, just the four of us.

And this guy comes through the door wearing a suit that was three times too big for him and uh he just started preaching. It wasn't we're going to sing a song or hold hands and pray or nothing, you know. And when he was done, it really made sense to me.

And anybody want to accept Christ, raise your hand. I raised my hand. It's the only one that did. Made me stand up. Sure you know what you're doing. It's first time I ever talked back to an adult. I said, "Of course I know what I'm doing." Cuz you know the balance was heaven and hell. >> From that moment on, Dennis was fully committed to Christ and to the word of God.

He loved reading the Bible, which is noteworthy because he wasn't much of a reader in school. I felt like I was worth something. I believe the Bible, you know, I could read the Bible and comprehend it. It's kind of like the Holy Spirit was a was that pedagogical object, the teaching device that that you understood.

And so I understood the word when I would read it. >> His love for God's word continued. His love for music continued, and in the summer between high school and college, Dennis began developing a love for street preaching. Dennis got the opportunity to hone his new love when he enrolled at California State Polytenic University in Pomona. >> I didn't think that I had a great gift of street preaching until questions were thrown at me by professors that would see me at noon.

Like you could go at noon when you're on a college campus and there's a free speech platform and you can go up there alone and just say, you know, I'm I'm only going to give you I'm I'm giving you five minutes of your time. But I would just give them scripture.

There is a God who cares. He does love you, you know, and I would I would do that. And when they would come up and ask me questions, I was able to answer every pickin question because I was studying the scripture. Street preaching gave Dennis opportunities to combine his knowledge of the Bible with his love for music and his heart for people's eternal well-being.

He remembers one such occasion at a coffee shop in Berkeley. >> It was full of these hippie guys and I was standing in the back drinking a cup of coffee and the guy playing guitar on the stage said, "Hey, are you a good guitar player?" And I I don't usually talk about myself.

I said, "Yeah." cuz I thought I was, you know, he wasn't that great. He said, "You want to play during my break?" I said, "Be honored to." Because I thought, "This is a time to witness." You know, I got up there and I scratched away foggy him out and break down on the guitar.

And scratching means picking. And so they liked it and they went nuts and I'd looked at the guy if I should do another one. He said, "Do another one." They did another one. And I ended up doing four. And then I told them what I was there for and it got real quiet, you know.

And then I went in the back and some people thumbs up. Some guys, you know, didn't like it. One guy said, "You could leave now." And then this this big biker guy said, "You said that again, I'll punch you." Dennis walked outside and there in the parking lot was a group of Hell's Angels bikers.

Dennis likes motorcycles, so he started talking to one of the leaders about bikes and got him to open up. Then he started talking to him about Jesus. While he was talking, Dennis was unaware that someone was standing behind him. And I just talk to him what I'm doing there.

He's looking over my shoulder and I turn around and Billy Graham is standing right next to me and it's this mist, you know, of cold, foggy mist. And I said, "Sir, would you like to continue?" And he said, "You're doing just fine." And he stood there and I turned away and I finished my business.

I said, ' Sir, there is a God who cares and the question I have, give me one good reason why people don't believe in God. Any one of these educated people, sir, that's what I'm asking him. And then the guy's eyes kind of went and followed Mr. Graham and my eyes kept right on that biker.

Those were some of the most turbulent times in US history. And Dennis was in the thick of them in one of the hotbeds of the counterculture movement, the San Francisco Bay area. It was a movement marked by anti-war protests, sexual promiscuity, and heavy drug use. Dennis was sharing the message of Jesus Christ in the midst of the unrest and recalls one tragic day in particular.

This guy was playing a flute on the fifth floor of this this building. And I look and I see this woman sprawled right in the middle of the street. She was dead. And I walked up to her. This guy was playing the flute. And I looked up at him and he stopped.

He goes, "I'm playing her funeral. She was a little butterfly and she thought she could fly like a butterfly or a bird." And he kept playing that thing and I out of anger I looked up. I said, "Stop the music." And I just leaned down next to her, put my arm around her head, her neck, and her shoulder.

And I just felt like I should kind of protect her, you know. People stood away, ambulance came, police came, firemen came, and I gave her to him. I said, "Uh, looks like she she jumped." He said, "Oh, yeah. What's your name?" I said, "Dennis." Denises happens all the time.

And so, uh, I stood up and I walked up to the crowd. I said, "Are you blind to see what drugs does?" She thought she can fly. She lost her life. Does anybody here care that there's a God that can save you? Save you from this? And so, that's when I kind of started my open air preaching. >> Dennis continued to share Jesus as a street preacher for the next several years.

Eventually, his gifts of music and evangelism caught the attention of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. They contacted him and asked him if he'd be interested in performing at Billy Graham's upcoming crusade planned for Leach, Texas. Dennis accepted the invitation and he was surprised that Mr. Graham remembered their first meeting outside that coffee shop in Berkeley.

Well, I I remember telling him that just saying from the platform that I met Mr. Graham, I was witnessing to some Hell's Angels. And uh when I played the song and I got back to the seat, he turned to me. Uh I was sitting right behind him, one shirt to the right.

He looked at me, he said, "I see you haven't changed." [laughter] Yeah. He remembered me. It was during that 1975 Billy Graham crusade in Leach that Dennis first met a man who would become a lifelong friend. It was Billy Graham's son, Franklin Graham. They wanted me to pick something up in the office because somebody was going to drive me to a uh a mall.

I asked to be able to play in a mall and play different places during the day to invite people. That's what I'd like to do. So Franklin came up to me and said, 'I heard you're a fast guitar player. I said, 'Well, that's a rumor Johnny Cash started, you know, because Cash was a friend of mine and he started a rumor that I was a fastest in America.

And I don't I don't want to be known as that. I just want to be known as a good guitar player. You know, who cares if you're fast? So, we started talking and yeah, I got a Jeep. I said, "What kind do you have?" Well, I got a CJ5 and oh, that's a that's a V6.

What do you have that for? You should have a V8. And we're already arguing, you know. And then I thought, well, I don't know if this friendship's going to last. >> It has. That was 50 years ago. And the friendship is still going strong. And Dennis plays at many of Franklin's outreaches every year.

Dennis was also very good friends with Franklin's mom, Ruth Bell Graham. She appreciated his boldness for the Lord. One time in particular, his boldness and Mrs. Graham's encouragement led to an encounter with the police outside an adult bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina. And I just said, "Look, just stay here.

I'm going to go inside of that bookstore and yell at everybody, okay? Because there are people in there that should be in there. They're married and and I'm going to yell at the owner, you should he should just get another job." He stood in the doorway and told everyone in the store that they needed Jesus to set them free.

When he came back to the car, Mrs. Graham encouraged Dennis to play his guitar in front of the store to drive home his message. He agreed reluctantly. All right, I'll I'll sit on the the hood of the car kind of on the side fender and I'll play the guitar.

All of a sudden, a guy comes up. I'm against the wall like this. Freeze. >> The police officer wanted to know what Dennis had been doing. He explained and Mrs. Graham vouched for him. The officer then told him they needed a permit to preach and play music. So, Mrs.

Graham said they'd be back the next day with a permit and with a group of students from nearby Montre Anderson College. She drives up to the picking county building, goes up the steps, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And she walks right by everybody, goes right to the mayor.

He needs a permit. Permit for what? To preach. The guy looks at me with one arm up like that. To preach when tomorrow he writes on a piece of paper, spell your name, sir. Spelled it. Permit to preach. We were there the next day with about 20 kids.

A boldness for telling people about Jesus is something Dennis shares with his good friend Franklin Graham. And that boldness has placed them in some dangerous spots together while ministering to people around the world. We were in Beirut and bombs were going off, but you got buildings and cars that'll protect you.

But in Cambodia, there's there's no cars or or buildings and it's flat and you hear a mortar rocker come and you go and you jump in a ditch and I their ditches are their sewers and I jumped in a dry ditch but across the road Franklin jumps in a wet ditch and the mortar rocket hits.

The second mortar rocket hits and right before the third one hits, I look up and Franklin looks up and he runs over to my ditch. And what am I doing? Trying to throw him out of my ditch cuz he stunk. He smell as get out of my ditch.

And the third one hit and then the van comes up. The door opens. Franklin gets in the van and I get in the van. What drives Franklin to run into dangerous places, says Dennis, is his love for people and his desire for them to know the hope that Jesus offers them.

Dennis remembers a time he and Franklin ministered to a little girl in the burn unit of a hospital. Here was this child that was just about dead purposely. I think somebody had done it to her and that that the face was like a cabbage. Two holes for eyes.

She was blind. Two holes for ears and for nose and mouth. And and Franklin is holding this child. He's he's whispering in her ear uh this little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. And tears are running out of the holes for the eyes. Tears are coming out.

I'm playing the guitar. This Franklin's just wording them. This little light of mine. You talk about love. You talk about somebody that would hold somebody to his face, kiss her, that little burn baby's face. That's the kind of man he is. There's that compassion. Billy had that compassion.

Ruth has that compassion. That's the kind of Christian that he is. >> Franklin played an important role in Dennis marrying his wife Victoria. Because although he's bold in sharing his faith, Dennis was lacking some boldness when it came to asking Victoria to marry him. They met at church and had been dating for a while.

When Franklin asked his friend a question after eight months, he goes, "Now, Victoria, do you do you love her?" I said, 'Yeah, I do. Said, 'Well, do you want to marry her?' I said, 'I'd like to. Have you asked her?' I said, 'N no. And he knows that I've didn't date very much in my life.

He goes, "Do you want me to ask her for you?" I said, "Yes." And he goes, "Okay, cuz he knows my situation. I don't. He's my best friend." >> So Franklin asked Victoria on behalf of Dennis. And she said no. But Franklin encouraged Dennis to keep dating Victoria and to ask her again at Christmas time.

And that's what he did. As Christmas approached, Dennis went to her home with an engagement ring and he knocked on her front door. So, open the door and we talk Spanish back to each other. She speaks Spanish fluently. She opens the door and I I propose to her and she says, "Oh, Vita."

What does O sound like? No. Dennis thinks he's been turned down a second time. He calls Franklin and Franklin asked Dennis to put Victoria on the phone. >> Why'd you say no? I said, "Oh, oh, sounds like no." And then give me back to Dennis. She said, "Oh, ask her again."

And then she said, "Yes, I'll marry you." >> Franklin hosted and officiated their wedding at one of his favorite spots on earth, Port Alsworth, Alaska, in the remote South Central part of the state. Victoria helps run Dennis's ministry and she shares his and Franklin's love for people. Dennis sees it all the time in his wife. >> Some lady at cashier's crying.

She's praying for him and she comes to the car and talking to somebody, but she is praying with someone neighbor down the street, knocks on the door. 85year-old lady answers the door. I haven't seen you on the street. I wonder if you're okay. Do you need anything? It's kind of like that.

You okay? The cashier's how do you know I'm not okay? Can I talk to you in 10 minutes? Yeah. She's waiting there basket comes over and talking to the lady. Leads her to Christ. >> Dennis leads people to Christ through his music. For example, >> last Sunday I led 53 people to the Lord.

Before that it was 58 75. It was a Hell's Angel and 20 other people. If I could play the guitar and get their attention, I could lead them to Christ. Only God knows how many people got saved. But, uh, we average about 1,700 a year, I guess. >> All of Dennis's appearances at churches are in addition to his being part of many of Franklin Graham's outreaches every year.

((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) >> Dennis plays a variety of styles of music on his guitar and he believes that God uses that to reach people. >> A guy may say, "Okay, let's hear what he has to say. music's not my type, but I like what he said. Or I like what he said and and the music.

Hey, I didn't know that he, you know, I didn't know that a guy like this guy could do classical. It's interesting to know that you're playing the old hymns, you're playing classical, you're doing country rock, you're doing country, you're doing bluegrass, you're doing different styles. It's the poetry to song.

It's being able to do a song that really touches people. You want every note right? You want to play it right and you want it good and you want to blow them away. You don't want to blow yourself away. You want to just play good. Dennis says he's a better guitar player than a preacher.

But he's been doing both for a long time. So we asked him, "What would he say to someone about accepting Jesus as their savior?" >> Look, there is a God. He does love you. He did send his son Jesus Christ to this earth on a rescue mission to die for your sins because he's God.

His blood was pure. And when he shed his blood, he was able to take away every sin you've ever done. And when he died on that cross, he paid the debt of sin for you. And when he died on that cross, when you put your faith and trust in him, you'll never see death.

And so when you die, you will immediately be with him in paradise. And so you can accept or reject Jesus Christ. And he's made a way for you to know him. For that same spirit of God, the father, the son, the holy spirit, his holy spirit will come into your soul that you're born with that never grows old.

If you just say this prayer, repeat it after me. Lord God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sins. I accept Jesus Christ into my life right now. Thank you for coming into my life and living in my soul. Thank you that I'm a Christian. Thank you for dying on a cross for me.

Thank you for rising from the grave, Lord, from the tomb. Thank you, Lord, for loving me. Lord, I love you, Lord. Help me to be strong in you. Help me to serve you. Help me to share your love with others. I love you, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen.

If you said that prayer, he's right now ((music playing)) just come into your soul and he lives inside your soul and he'll never ever leave you or forsake you. And I want you to ((music playing)) share this love with other friends. From the rough side of town, you can hear the tent ((music playing)) sing.

Oh, sinners come. >> Dennis Aaganian has devoted his life and his musical gifting to telling people about Jesus Christ, who loves you and who will never leave or forsake you. If you haven't already accepted Jesus as your personal savior, you can do that now. We can help you with that.

Connect with us online or over the phone. Online, we're at find peacewithgod.net. You can explore questions and answers there or live chat with someone who can answer your questions. The address again is find peacewithgod.net. If you'd rather speak with someone, you can call the Billy Graham 247 prayer line.

The number is 855255 pray. That's 8552557729. There are some events that just lock in your memory. You'll always remember where you were when they happened or when you heard about them. Dennis will share one of those memories he has in just a moment. >> You're listening to GPS God, ((music playing)) People Stories, a podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Man is on a self-destruction binge, but God is still in the business of turning men and women's lives around and bringing them to himself. >> Billy Graham. >> People are disillusioned. ((music playing)) Secular answers have failed them. We've tried everything in our search for peace and security and fulfillment and we haven't found it.

Materialism, politics, drugs, and alcohol have failed. Thus, millions are open to the message of the hope of new life in Christ. The words of Jesus challenge me as never before. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your ((music playing)) eyes and look on the fields, for they're white already under harvest.

They're ready and waiting. The human heart is filled with sin. We've broken God's commandments. We're estranged from God. We're separated from God. We need reconciliation. And the only reconciliation is the cross and the resurrection and repentance in faith. We can tell you more about how to be reconciled to God at our website find peacewithgod.net.

That's find peacewithgod.net. Our guest on this GPS is Dennis Aagenian. He's won multiple awards, including the inspirational country music association's entertainer of the year and living legend awards. Dennis and Franklin Graham are close friends, and he was close friends with Franklin's parents. He remembers when he learned of Billy Graham's passing in 2018. >> Yeah.

I got up in the morning, they they announced it on television, and I remember Mr. Graham telling me, "I'm looking forward to to death, but it's just the process I'm not looking forward to." And uh I remember he used to say that to me. He would uh grab my hand and put it on his heart and put it on his chin and say, "I love you."

Yeah. I played guitar for him two weeks before he passed. out at his table and played for him some songs that he loved and u I played Jesus to a man's desire and he said that that was played at his wedding so that meant a lot to him and uh Ruth was a real friend.

I knew her before I knew Franklin you know she was a a dear friend. >> We're grateful for the time that Dennis Agenian gave us to share his story on this episode of GPS. If you enjoyed this episode, would you do us a favor? Would you please leave us a review or a rating?

And also be sure you're subscribed to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. We drop new episodes every other Wednesday. ((music playing)) I'm Jim Kirkland and this is GPS, God, People, Stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Always good news. ((music playing)) I believe it today. My friends think I'm crazy.

I don't care what they ((music playing)) say. I walk down the line. I believe it today. I'm worried ((music playing)) about I believe today. There's a red and white tent going up outside. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) >> Heat. Heat. ((music playing))