BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

arrangement to the song, "Just As I Am." She recorded the song, which later led to her solo album, Lady. The song became the largest- selling gospel record that year. It didn't fi t in any category so one was created: contemporary Christian. Lady also won a Dove Award. Alone In a Crowd "When Lady did so well, I received calls to sing at Jesus festivals and colleges," Reba remembers. "After a lot of prayer, I went out on my own. "Mom and Dad wanted to take a break, so I leased the band and the bus. My second concert on my own was in Texas. I was scheduled to open for Andraé Crouch and The Disciples, except they got caught in a blizzard and couldn't make it. The place was sold out with more than 3,000 people in the audience. "When they announced that Andraé wouldn't be there, most of the crowd booed," Reba remembered. "I stood in the folds of the curtains as they introduced me. The audience was promised a full refund if they didn't like my performance. The audience was hostile, and I felt terrifi ed. "I looked up and saw huge angels all around the room. All of them were looking at me. I heard the Lord say, If you'll lift Me up, I'll draw all these people to Myself. "When I walked onstage, the band was playing the intro to our fi rst song. I signaled them to cut it and said, 'Give me a C.' I'd never done anything like this before. I sang prophetically, Lift Him up, lift Him up, lift the Name of Jesus higher. The band picked up the melody and played with me. God gave me a full song with three di‹ erent verses. Before it was over, 300 people gave their hearts to Jesus. Nobody asked for a refund." In 1980, at the suggestion of her producer, Reba began writing songs with Dony McGuire. They were well-matched. Although they could each write lyrics and compose music, Reba's strength was her lyrics. Dony's was composing music. They married within a year. Reba and Dony wrote a musical called The Lord's Prayer. Each line of the prayer became a B V O V : 1 5 song. It won a Grammy in 1981. They performed a six-minute medley of it at the awards show, and it received the longest standing ovation in the history of the Grammys up to that time. Changing Laws and Changing Lives In 1982, Reba and Dony wrote a musical called The Bride. The play was a metaphor about the Bride of Christ. Across the U.S., thousands gave their hearts to Jesus after seeing it. That number grew to millions as the play went around the world. To date, it has been translated into 30 languages. That year, Reba and Dony fl ew to South Africa to see it performed there. At the time, it was illegal to have a cast of mixed races. That law was changed to allow The Bride to perform there. While their music career thrived around the world, at home Reba and Dony faced a private problem. Reba su‹ ered three miscarriages. She had several corrective surgeries. Seven specialists told her that she could never have children. About the same time, they heard Kenneth E. Hagin teach on the authority of the believer. B V O V : 1 5 "My heart is drawn to broken people because we don't have to stay broken."

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