I had the privilege of working with James Robison and John McKay as their sound engineer from 1975-1980. - Remembering James Robison and John McKay -- Meck

James Robison, Southern Baptist turned Pentecostal influencer - Baptist News Global - By Mark Wingfield | James Robison — a fiery Southern Baptist evangelist who became a Pentecostal TV personality — died May 17 at age 82. -- This is a great article by Mark Wingfield today. A Must Read. https://baptistnews.com/.../james-robison-southern.../ -- I had the privilege of working with James Robison and John McKay as their sound engineer from 1975-1980. And then in 1981, John McKay who became a second Dad to me, put me in business free-lancing as a sound engineer working Southern Bapt conventions, crusades, Bible conferences, etc. until 1992. -- James and John hired me the summer of 1975 and at age 19, I moved to Ft Worth Tex. My mother was really excited for me as we pulled up to the headquarters of JREA. I traveled the country working crusades in stadiums, coliseums, arenas and churches. An amazing tidbit is I didn't know very much about being a sound engineer. But I was trained by Glen Stroud their great sound engineer who was leaving in several months and like John McKay said - Meck, You don't have any bad habits in sound - You don't have any at all. We are going to teach you and train you. And they surely did. John taught me a lot and so did James. John even contacted Cliff Barrows the great Music Dir for Billy Graham and sent me to work and learn at their Billy Graham Crusade in Tampa. Over 60k people a nite at Bucs Stadium. That's where I learned a lot about how to mic a choir. And one nite they had me underneath the stage as Billy Graham was preaching .. I was switching out a chord -- replugging. I said Lord, Please let this be the right one. And It was. I became very close to James and John. James was the best preacher I'd ever heard and no one could sing like John McKay and direct those choirs like he did. He was the Best. We all had the ministry of hanging out. We would always get together after the crusade service. Watch Johnny Carson and visit. Of course James was always working on his golf game. Chipping and putting in his room and practicing his swing in the mirror. We must have played 500 rounds of golf together and sometimes John would join us - always pulling for me. When I interviewed for the sound job - John said all you have to do is beat James in golf and you got the job. I hadn't played in several months but I played great that day and shot a 73 in Bogalusa La. And so did James. He was a great golfer. Several years later - He stood up one night before he started preaching and said -- David played great today and shot a 73. He only lost by 10. -- For real, James shot a 63 at McAllen Tx Country Club that day. His best round ever. I'll never forget when James took me to Augusta National and we played on Tuesday before the Masters started on Monday in 1982. It was so majestic and so beautiful. James shot a 78 and I had an 82. The member we played with had a hole-in-one on 16. Unbelievable. When we took a divot - our caddy would fill it in with seed and fertilizer. Unforgettable trip to Augusta National. I'll always remember our crusade in Spartanburg SC. They had a Krispy Kreme across the street and that was John's favorite. Me too. I'll never forget one nite during the crusade the band Boston played a concert underneath the auditorium we were in. Yes It was unreal. -- You could hear the music from below and I really wanted to go check it out after the crusade. I thought maybe I should just go back to the motel - I did and couldn't find James or John. They were at the concert checking it out. -- I remember sharing with Brad Delp of Boston about that nite and he remembered it. What a memory. I'll always remember the great Owensboro Ky crusade. Over 6,000 a nite in attendance. Packed every nite. They printed James' message - word for word - on the front page of the paper every day. It was amazing. Probably about 300-400 in the choir. John let me sing one nite, Thank you Jesus with the choir. I'm not a singer but he let me do it anyway. He was the Best. This picture of James preaching in a stadium in this great article I believe is from my hometown Dothan Al in May of 1976 - 50 years ago. It sure looks like Rip Hewes Stadium. We had about 7- 8 thousand a nite for that great crusade. Of course James and John hold the attendance record for Rip Hewes Stadium - Over 12 thousand for the final nite of the Sept 1973 crusade in Dothan. That week is when I first met James and John. James and I teed it up that week. Yesterday Cary McKay my dear friend, John's youngest son let me know about James passing. Cary and his brother Jay McKay and I use to travel the country together with their Dad John McKay. So many wonderful memories with the McKay family. Miss Julia, Laurie, Jay, Cary, Scott and Brian McKay. I'm so grateful they always included me in their family. I was texting my longtime friend Gov Mike Huckabee yesterday in Jerusalem re James passing. He was sad to hear the news. It brought back so many memories. There's a great photo in this article of a young Mike Huckabee back in the day. He was in charge of Media for JREA. James and John asked me to do the Sound for their Rally with Ronald Reagan, Jerry Falwell, and EV Hill. It was August of 1980 - 18,000 people packed ReUnion Arena in Dallas. It was Incredible. Mike Huckabee was in charge of the Media that day and I was working the sound. John McKay's wonderful music included the First Bapt Dallas Choir and orchestra. James brought a powerful message. Ronald Reagan was great and so was Jerry Falwell. And EV Hill's Prayer was off the charts. - This meeting was the official beginning of the conservative movement. I will never forget when the Secret Service Agent asked me to Tell the Media to back up from the stage. They were about to do a sweep. I said sir you can tell them. The mic is on -- He said. No, Go ahead and tell them. So I did. - Then he asked me, What I was going to do if my podium mic went out? .. I said Sir, I have a back up mic right here by the podium on a mic stand. He said that's good. I will never forget driving James' boat to Lake Guerrero in Tamaulipas, Mexico to go bass fishing. 14 hour drive. - I always tried to cross the border with the fishing boat about 2 or 3 in the morning, when everyone was asleep. It was quicker but you still have to tip the guy helping you and his friend near by. - We made the trip at least 4 or 5 times. It was the best fishing at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains. James was a great fisherman. Big Time. I'm not a great fisherman but I caught 69 bass in one day. And I was low man in the boat. I believe James caught 98 bass that day. The reason I'm not exactly sure .. is I was more interested in drinking the cold sodas and eating sandwiches. It was so hot even in February. I was told because it's close to the equator. It was a 4 hour drive in Mexico back to the border and one day it rained about 10 inches and I was driving the boat back. Floodwaters were close to the 2 lane highway and suddenly I had a flat tire. I thought - Oh this is great. There was really no where to pull over from the flooding. I was just parked in the right hand lane. Cars and trucks passing me and suddenly within 10 minutes a truck pulls up from the Tourist Dept and a Man says - I'll change your tire for you. I couldn't believe it. My mother still had the Angels watching over me. Even in Mexico. So many wonderful memories with James Robison and John McKay. The great Richey Craig and Reba Ware and Joyce Mott on piano and organ for John. And Rick Jackson too. Plus Rick was the pilot for JREA. And a really good one. James was also a pilot. And a real good one too. Sometimes I flew co-pilot with Rick or James. They were both great. Jeannie Rogers was a great soloist and the legendary Clayton Spriggs who ran JREA for many years. He was an incredible friend to me. A wonderful man. I have many wonderful memories with James Robison and John McKay and working with JREA. I'm grateful that both men hired me in 1975 and included me in their lives. They both changed my life forever. James was a great friend to me. The last time we talked was several years ago on the phone. And I saw he and Betty at John's memorial service in Sept of 2024. I was sad to hear of the passing of John and now James. John was like a Dad to me. I am so blessed to have known both of them. They were an incredible team. I really miss the times when John McKay would choose not to ride on the plane because of the weather and he'd ride home with me in the Sound Truck .. sometimes an all niter. We had some great times and talks together. John McKay was The Best. - Wonderful memories with John and Cary and Jay McKay in the Sound Truck traveling the country. And finally I miss the many times James and I would stop at McDonalds on the way to play golf and every time James would say - Get something Ready Made. Translated -- We were in a hurry to play golf and you could just rake off the sandwich what you don't want. Many great memories with James. My best to James' wife Betty. She's a real sweet lady. My thoughts are with her and the Robison family. And my prayers. Thanks to James Robison and John McKay for Hiring me in 1975, when I was only 19 .. and Including Me In Their Lives. I will Always Be Grateful. -- Meck - David Meckley --- I'm not sure - but this great photo of James Robison with Ronald Reagan could be from the historic rally Aug 1980 in Dallas at Reunion Arena. My Photos - Pianist Joyce Meyer - Pianist Organist Reba Ware - John McKay and Meck on stage. - Morning Show in Dothan - Meck, Jeannie Rogers, Ann Varnum, John McKay. - Meck - Crusade Sound - #JamesRobison #JohnMcKay #LifeToday #MikeHuckabee