Song Scoops

Let Me Be A Sacrifice -- Daniel Gardner

2012-01-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

Below in his own words is the story from Dan Gardner on how he came to write the song “Let Me Be A Sacrifice” in 1980-81. Notice what he shares about sacrifices, including those in the Old Testament (like one offered by Abel, see the picture here). Dan lives in the southeastern Michigan (Detroit) area. Thanks for sharing Dan!

Enjoy this fresh scoop fellow worshipers!

I began in full time worship ministry in 1980. The song “Let Me Be A Sacrifice” came to me as a result of personal devotion time with the Lord and around the time of writing and producing a worship musical called “The Ark and the Dove”.

The theme of the musical was to communicate how Jesus Christ became the Final Sacrifice; He paid the ultimate price that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus through salvation. The “Ark of the Covenant”, God’s presence, was approached once a year under the Old Covenant. The “Dove”, the Holy Spirit, God’s presence with us here and now, lit upon Jesus at His baptism. God identified Jesus to all present that day and set the course for His ministry on earth.

In the Old Testament, confession for atonement meant blood sacrifice. Under the New Covenant, we now praise (confess, profess, proclaim) the greatness of the One who saved and redeemed us.

As I meditated on Romans 12:1 (I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service) and Hebrews 13:15 (Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name), the melody and lyrics to Let Me Be A Sacrifice became my prayer and praise to God.

Let me be a sacrifice, holy and acceptable;

Let me be a sacrifice, consumed in Your praise.

Let me be a sacrifice, holy and acceptable;

Let me be a sacrifice, worshipping Your Name.

Our God Reigns -- Leonard Smith

2012-01-14T15:53:00.000-08:00

He might not have thought so at the time, but maybe having a rough time finding and keeping a decent job was a blessing for Leonard Smith. He was trying to help others express faith in God and learn to study, and soon found this zeal made others frown. He soon found himself frowning too, because of the blows he endured. But, that’s when he found there was an ultimate truth, contained in the song “Our God Reigns”, that would not disappoint him. It was something that would always be true, something meant to reach beyond what happens here. If you or I could get our hands on that kind of truth, wouldn’t that be something! Step into Lenny Smith’s shoes for a moment, and let’s see how he came through this.

It was in the 1973-74 period, and Smith had lost his way vocationally. He’d been a high school teacher, but his instructional methods, the way he reached out to teenagers, was risky, according to his supervisors. ‘Stop spreading God’s message’ was what he heard, and so he lost teaching jobs three times in the same number of years as he followed his heart. Relegated to painting houses and doing other jobs working with his hands, he felt miserable. How was he supposed to provide for his family without being able to use his college degree? Was his enthusiasm for God supposed to leave him destitute or struggling to make ends meet? Smith didn’t walk away from his faith, however, and the grip of God’s message on him was what led him to a discovery that gave him renewed hope. Isaiah’s prophecy showed him something that was happening centuries ago to a nation, and what they heard that caused them to re-think their despair. ‘God reigns!’ And, not only that, He comes with good news. Good news? Isn’t that kind of an understatement? What the prophet means is really so much more, Smith realized as he read the ancient prophecy. It’s amazing, breathtaking news. It was so powerful that Smith wept at reading it and realizing its import.

What would good news and knowing God reigns mean to me? After a rotten, stressful day at the office, what can I take from this, the way Smith did in 1974? If traffic woes eat away at my energy-level, or I hear disappointing, crushing news someday, what keeps my chin up? Leonard Smith found that it was considering the life and experiences of Jesus that kept him from wallowing in his own gloom. He wrote one verse in 1974, and then wrote four more in 1978 to try to encompass the Savior’s existence. They capture what things Jesus might have dwelled upon, particularly in the middle three of five verses that he wrote. He was ignored and scorned, unfairly convicted and responsible for my wrongdoing, and finally executed for things He never did. If anyone ever had a reason for despair, it was Jesus! But, verses one and five of Smith’s song bookend the bad news, with the electric, history-changing message. He knew the good news, and He didn’t keep it to Himself. My crummy job, my depressing life, and even death cannot steal from me what awaits me. This news has the power to overwhelm anything else that dogs me. God makes these rules, because He said so…He reigns. Now go shout it to anyone else who’ll listen!

“The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Perersen , published by Tyndale House in 2006; and the book “Our God Reigns (The Stories Behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs)”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2000 are the sources for this song story.

In Moments Like These – David Graham

2012-01-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

What was the moment? Did he look at the clock hands or a calendar to mark that time, with as much fanfare as some ancient clocks might have inspired (see the 14^th Century elephant clock in the picture)? He was probably experiencing something special, because he wrote a song “In Moments Like These” to commemorate that occasion. Maybe he was hoping that he could rekindle the moment if he created a way to remember what he felt like. Would it be a Pavlovian kind of word-action association, in which the words and music would remind him of the feelings of devotion to the One above? What was David Graham’s background and life up to that point? What does the song say about him looking toward Him?

We know little about this David Graham, except what we can read in the words he wrote in this song. Publicly available information (on the internet sites listed below) indicate that he was born in 1948, so that would mean he was 32 years old when the song was composed in 1980. He wrote probably at least a few other songs, including “Alalalelujah”, otherwise known as “Ha-la-la-la”, “We Worship Thee”, “Give Him Glory, Glory”, and a few others in the 1970s and 1980s. So, he wasn’t shy about expressing his faith openly, was he? Chances are that he tried to lead others to the Holy One’s throne through this music. Perhaps he was engaged in formal ministry in this effort too. Was his worship style of a pentecostal or otherwise very expressive nature, someone might ask, since he invites the worshipper to “lift up…hands” with his song? And, what were the circumstances of this song’s creation…what draws people to the Lord in love and devotion? Perhaps it was an answer to prayer, a ‘thank you’ for deliverance, or a recognition of blessing.

The moment could have been anything. And, it matters little to God what circumstances draw me toward Him. The challenge here is using the moments I have. Are you waiting for a special moment? …you just had one. Now tell someone how it felt.

See this site that indicates Graham was born in 1948. http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/AAHH2001/572

The following site suggests some other songs that David Graham wrote:

http://www.faqs.org/copyright/david-eugene-graham-a-collection-of-twelve-songs-behold/

You Are the Song that I Sing -- Doug Moody

2012-01-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

Doug Moody was pretty aware of how to regard his musical gift. And, he passed along to others how to think about music too. This contemporary Psalmist must have sensed what his biblical ancestor did – that musical inspiration has a providential source. If you had a gift that somebody else had given you, how could you best flatter the giver? That’s the question that Moody may have been trying to answer with “You Are the Song that I Sing”.

Moody had been teaching music in the 1970s, including to his brother and future fellow composer Dave, at the Glad Tidings Church in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. By the time he wrote “Your Are the Song…” in 1984, he was still teaching, but this time he was making sure his hearers knew how a song with his own name on it had been developed. His name appeared on the song’s subscript, where it says ‘composer’, but Moody knew who really deserved the credit. An author might put in endnotes or footnotes to give proper credit to a deserving source, but Moody used a more direct method. It’s right in the song’s words. And, if Moody’s ministry-life is an indication, he must have been living this same message every day he walked about the church and the community where he worked too. It’s said that his brother Dave’s life in music was greatly influenced by Doug. (Dave wrote few dozen songs, the most well-known of which was “All Hail, King Jesus”). And, as he likewise instructed others through the same ministry, many more probably witnessed his example.

Does one’s life have to be in music for one to feel the Divine influence? Can I be artistic pounding a nail, driving a delivery vehicle, or even cleaning up a mess for a living? Doug Moody’s not here to offer an opinion, but can you guess what he’d say? I can be a man after His heart, and be creative – mimicking Him -- in my own small way no matter what I’m doing. After all, songs that resonate with us have their origin in all kinds of experiences and meaningful stories, not just music instruction. That’s what can make each one so unique. Do you think that’s why He made all of us, so we could multiply His song-making potential with each life on this planet? Just imagine what all that music would sound like! Let’s see, that means there are billions of tunes gestating right now…

An indirect source for Doug Moody’s song story is the book “Our God Reigns: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2000.

The following site is to the church where Doug Moody ministered. http://www.gtchurch.ca/

Let All That Is Within Me – Anonymous, or Melvin Harrell

2011-12-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Some songs lend themselves to innovation, so that the worshipper may intone whatever moves his or her spirit. Whatever is inside comes out. What would you say in the presence of God? That is the method suggested by the song “Let All That Is Within Me”. Perhaps some campers were around a fire (like the one shown here), challenging each other to deepen their commitment to Him. What one word comes from deep inside a worshipper when the Lord is encountered personally? Any two-syllable word will do in this song, so anyone can contribute to its authorship, as long as the feelings are genuine.

Who was the song’s composer? Some sources indicate that Melvin Harrell wrote this song in 1963, while at least one hymnal (Songs of Faith and Praise, Howard Publishing 1994) shows its composer is considered ‘traditional’ (therefore anonymous). Another source (Praise Chorus Book, Maranatha Music 1983) shows Harrell as the translator, with the composer unknown, suggesting the song was in a foreign language at one time. Nothing further is known of Melvin Harrell. Did he associate with believers from another culture or language, allowing him access to this song?

The key words used in the different verses of this simple tune capture the basic responses of humans who contact the awesome God. ‘Worthy’, ‘risen’, ‘coming’, ‘holy’, ‘Jesus’, are just a few of them that have been recorded for us. What was it Moses and Peter said when they met the Almighty? You might call it worship, but the initial reaction seemed also to be of alarm, and recognition of their own deficiencies. So, if I’m honest and understand I’m in the same boat with these biblical characters, when I first meet Him I might instead say “Let all that is within me cry terror!” Fortunately, that’s only the initial response, not where God wanted Moses and Peter, nor me, to remain.

So, choose your emotional response, the song invites. Gather around the fire, and get in touch with what others might be seeing when they look for Him. Perhaps this was the goal of some believers or searchers when this song was born. It’s never too late to discover something new about Him that someone else has encountered. Am I in trouble, crying out to Him for help? How about marveling at His nature…is that where I’m at? Do I expect Him to return one day, prompting me to sing with joyful anticipation? Perhaps my emotions are mixed up, and I only cry out with my spirit, unable to vocalize what I feel. Just call on His name. One of the verses allows that response too. ‘Jesus’ is all I need to say, sometimes. Just let Him hear from you.

The below sites indicate that Melvin Harrell is the composer (possibly original?), copyright in 1963.

http://www.hymnary.org/tune/let_all_that_is_within_me

http://www.higherpraise.com/lyrics/cool/l/LET%20ALL%20THAT%20IS%20WITHIN%20ME.htm

http://www.songslyrics.jotoexplorer.com/vineyard/let-all-that-is-within-me-lyrics-and-chords-artist-melvin-harrell/

O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing – Charles Wesley

2011-12-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

He was celebrating and feeling inspired by some words he heard another believer say. If you asked 42-year old Charles Wesley what he was feeling in 1749 when he wrote “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”, that would be his short answer. You could also read the verses of the 19-stanza poem that he wrote if you wanted to imagine his feelings. What was it that moved the original speaker of the words, the ones that Wesley remembered for so many years? What did Wesley want with such a powerful instrument like the tongue (seen here)?

Wesley and his brother John met some Moravians in 1738, and got an eyeful and no doubt an earful too, leading them to choices they made that changed the rest of their lives. In short, they personalized their faith in Christ because of the influence of the Moravians. And, this sense comes through in the words that Charles wrote. Check out the link below to all 19 verses, especially verses 9 through 13, which are very personal words that Wesley records, but which we in the 21^st Century rarely sing. It’s said that the first verse of Wesley’s hymn recorded in today’s hymnals-‘O for a thousand tongues…’-was actually the ninth verse when he originally wrote this poem. And, the hymn’s title was in fact “For the Anniversary of One’s Conversion”, evidently a way for Wesley to commemorate the day he realized Jesus’ sacrifice was indeed for him. So, maybe those verses actually came first, including verse 9 – ‘On this glad day…’. The other verses of the hymn broaden the worshipper’s view to mankind, a perspective that Charles and his brother John had already adopted when they encountered the Moravians. The Wesleys were returning to England after a missionary trip to the American continent, and on board a ship and later in their own homeland they began to appreciate the Moravians’ spiritual depth. Moravians are a people noted for, among other things, missionary zeal and love of music. Reportedly, one Moravian leader, Peter Bohler, spoke the words to Wesley that inspired the hymn’s contemporary title ‘O for a Thousand Tongues”. They resonated with Wesley until they were recorded 11 years later.

One might say that Peter Bohler’s words became Charles Wesley’s theme song. He played a key role in the Weselys’ lives, convincing them that faith must be genuine and passionate, a general movement in the Protestant world called pietism. Peter Bohler may not have had a thousand tongues, but Charles Wesley did his part to manifest that phrase musically, writing 19 verses in this one hymn, and over 6,000 other hymns throughout his life. What did Wesley hear when he imagined 1,000 tongues singing together? I might think that’s not too difficult, if I go to a mega-church, right? But, think like a Wesley or a Bohler, as a missionary might. Think about perhaps 1,000 languages, spanning the globe, reaching every human. Then, multiply that through the generations, perhaps just since Wesley’s time. That’s what this hymn and its message could do, potentially. Thousands become millions and billions. Keep singing, and warming up for the hereafter.

Information on the song was obtained from the books “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990, Kregel Publications; “101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1982, Kregel Publications; and “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

See the following website for the hymn’s 19 different original verses:

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/o/f/o/ofor1000.htm

The following are links to the Moravian church and one of its followers, Peter Bohler, who reportedly inspired the composer’s words for the hymn:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_Church

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_B%C3%B6hler

Worthy Art Thou -- Tillit S. Teddlie

2011-12-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

He must have been doing something that God wanted to extend for an extra long time. Look at the life of Tillit Sydney Teddlie, and that’s what you might say about him. Not that many people live 102 years, so that piece of trivia alone is enough to make one curious about him. What was his lifestyle that allowed him to live so long? Do you have some passion that would propel you every day, as something must have in Teddlie’s life? Everyone who knew this songwriter, teacher, minister, and publisher would probably echo loudly ‘yes!’ The song “Worthy Art Thou” that he wrote in his mid-40’s (in 1930) is a window into Teddlie’s character. Let’s see what he was like.

Teddlie was a lifelong Texan (although he did spend some years in ministry in Memphis, Tennessee), in several roles that allowed him to touch thousands of people with God’s spirit. His musical family imprinted on him this trait that he carried throughout his century of life. He dedicated himself to God as a teenager, and also was teaching singing that same year, 1903. Over the next six decades, and by some accounts even longer, he taught singing, wrote some 130 songs, published 14 hymnals, and ministered in at least six churches (of Christ). It is said he was still occasionally guiding singing in churches and preaching at the age of 94. Imagine that, still a fire for worship in his mid-90’s! This fiery devotion in studying and proclaiming God’s message is said to be how the song “Worthy Art Thou” came into being. Apparently, Teddlie was preparing a message for a church service in Belton, Texas one day in 1930, and was poring over Revelation. A picture of the 24 elders worshipping at God’s throne in chapters 4 and 5 struck him, prompting him to scrawl the song’s words in the note pages of his bible (perhaps not too unlike the one in the picture here).

You think Teddlie’s method for his spiritual life was the key to his temporal longevity? It seems in Tillit’s experience, he wasn’t just a note-writer, or a whimsy poet. No, his song-writing was an appendage to his personal testimony about Him, and the result of study. The Word was ‘life’ for him, and it’s no accident that communicating this seminal truth with his being converted more than a thousand people over his lifetime, according to one source (a fellow blogger). Singing was a basic worship element that Teddlie must have recognized was key to a believer’s daily routine, a way to emotionally attach oneself to the worthy One. Perhaps that’s why he kept it up for so long, at least into his 90’s. Whaddya think? Is he still singing? Maybe that’s why God has someone compose…so he can still be singing, even after leaving the earth. It makes me wish I had met Tillit S. Teddlie before he departed. Hmmm, I think I might meet him anyway, someday.

Biographic information on the composer found in the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillit_Sidney_Teddlie

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/t/e/d/teddlie_ts.htm

http://www.therestorationmovement.com/teddlie,ts.htm

Also, here’s a link to a celebration of the composer’s 100^th birthday:

http://www.dallaschristiansound.com/title.asp?title=TillitSTeddlieNationalTreasure

See the below link to a story that tells how he developed the song “Worthy Art Thou”:

http://homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/629915/

Oh How He Loves You and Me -- Kurt Kaiser

2011-12-04T10:49:00.000-08:00

Maybe he couldn’t remember where or from whom he’d heard it, but he thought about its profound meaning one day. This phrase “Oh How He Loves You and Me” stuck with him, so without much effort (15 minutes, he says), Kurt Kaiser expanded on its import for us by fusing the words with some music. What was it that made him retrieve this compact message that he’d filed away? Does this song say something about human memory, telling us why I might recall something months or even years later? Can memories be seen (as in this statue 'Memory' by Olin Warner) ?

The 40-year old Kurt Kaiser produced the song about Jesus Christ’s love in 1975, probably the way he composed other songs in his career. Kaiser apparently for years has developed songs by what someone might say is the ‘post-it note’ or ‘sticky’ method, otherwise known as the ‘scribble’ method. He scrawls a phrase that has struck him in some way, and files it away for future development. ‘Oh How He Loves You and Me’ was one like that in 1975, a time when the ‘Jesus’ movement was a phenomenon of American religious life. Is it possible that Kaiser encountered a ‘Jesus freak’ who’d been overwhelmed by this love-nature of Him? Notice the phrase is ‘Oh, how…’, not just ‘He loves you and me’. That’s suggests an extraordinary event someone was describing, which was either told to Kaiser or was something he heard. Perhaps it was similar to another experience that Kaiser relates about a worshipper who was sobbing by the close of an Isaac Watts hymn (At the Cross). This was a memorable occasion for Kaiser, one he recalled years later. Emotion – passionate expression -- that’s what burns a memory into the brain. It’s a medical-musical phenomenon too, as detailed in the book ‘Musicophilia’ (by Oliver Sacks).

Kurt Kaiser was raised on simple music, but he later developed an appreciation for classical music and hymns. The Plymouth Brethren church taught him early about acapella, what some call ‘unplugged’ worship. One of Kaiser’s passions, after his classical music- and hymnody-focused college education (at American University and Northwestern University in the Chicago area) has been preserving hymns, and their theological messages. So, maybe it was one of those ‘love’ hymns, sung in the Brethren tradition, that helped spur his creativity in 1975. Try this exercise. Look in any hymnal and count how many of the selections are ‘love’ themes. One of the more well-known, ‘Why Did My Savior Come to Earth’ (J.G. Dailey – 1892), is a musical question with an answer that sounds remarkably like Kaiser’s compositional statement. He loves me so…Oh, how he loves you and me. Now that’s worth a sticky post-it note, right? Make mine gold-plated.

“The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Perersen , published by Tyndale House in 2006, is the only source for this song story.

See this site for biographic information on the composer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Kaiser

Also see the book “Celebrate Jesus (The Stories Behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs)”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003 for some biographic information on this composer.

On Zion's Glorious Summit -- John Kent

2011-11-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

John Kent may have seen or dreamed something extraordinary, or perhaps he just believed in something very fervently after reading about it in 1803. What made him write the words of “On Zion’s Glorious Summit” is unknown, though some of his background allows us to ponder his words and wonder about his life in light of this composition. What would make you or me write strong words about heaven (see picture) and its inhabitants?

In 1803 the 36-year old English believer John Kent was working, though his education and vocation did not clearly set him up with opportunities for developing his ‘second’ job. He was a shipwright by trade, meaning he was a builder and-or repairer of ships to make his living, after having received minimal education. He had enough, and accomplished more in his song-writing - his ‘second’ job - than I might have given the same slate, however. A penchant for bible study must have been one of his basic habits, based upon the words we can read in the hymn poetry. Evidently it was a skill he used to compose other texts, at least 200-plus efforts according to what is known of him, including the Collection of Original Gospel Hymns in which “On Zion’s Glorious Summit” probably first appeared. Its words are associated with scenes in Revelation (chapter 14:1-3), so perhaps the hymn is a result of Kent’s inspired thoughts after a period of study. Verse one is written in the past tense, so was Kent paraphrasing what he thought the beloved apostle might have wanted us to sing? We believers might try visualizing heaven’s scenes in Revelation while in the midst of a loved one’s demise also, so could that have been part of John Kent’s motivation? He lived until age 76 in 1843, so we can surmise he wasn’t yet struggling with his own mortality 40 years earlier, but maybe an older relative’s death made Zion’s summit more relevant for him. It’s said that Kent’s poems also had a strong inclination toward Calvinism – an emphasis on the certainty of God’s sovereignty. So, we could say that whatever Kent wrote, he felt quite confident in divine power. Perhaps his theology in part drove him to compose, to show this omnipotent power to others about him.

John Kent wrote many verses about Zion that we don’t usually see (see link below). These verses allow me to muse more about heaven using imagery I often overlook. Its Revelation-like pictures tell me I can expect to meet the thief whom Jesus told about Paradise. Mary and Manasseh will also be there. I’m told to imagine my soul soaring with wings, and to prepare my hands for the palm branch I’ll lay in His path. Get the voice warmed up for all the different languages to be sung there…maybe I’ll even sing in some of these tongues for the first time, huh? I don’t tell enough people I know what I think about heaven. What about you? Maybe it’s also why we sometimes avoid Revelation – it’s too wildly imaginative for our earthbound minds to grasp. Got a bible? John Kent says ‘Go look up Revelation, and sing it loud and long!’

See the following blogs/sites for information on the composer and the song:

http://homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/602701/

http://www.hymnary.org/text/on_zions_glorious_summit_stood_a_numerou

See the following site for several hymnals that show extra verses (up to 7 total) for the hymn:

http://www.hymnary.org/text/on_zions_glorious_summit_stood_a_numerou?tab=instances

Additional biographic information on the composer found in the following:

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/k/e/n/kent_j.htm

http://www.hymnary.org/person/Kent_J1

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing -- Robert Robinson

2011-11-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

Robert Robinson’s biography is not an easy one to hear, though it has its high points. His story ebbs and flows, as you might guess if you pay close attention to the words of the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that he wrote in 1758. He never forgot from where he’d come, and knowing what happened later on in his life, you wonder if he was trying to warn his hearers, that he was afraid of slipping back into old habits. The hymns he wrote must have been a reminder of what he had obtained, and the distance he had traveled to make his purchase of a new life. Did the fountain keep flowing for him, in impressive fashion (like King Fahd’s fountain in Saudi Arabia in the picture)?

Robinson’s was not an easy beginning. His parents could not offer much of advantage in his early life in 18^th Century England, and his father died when he was just eight. His mother sent him to barber school in London when he was 14, but he befriended some local gang-members too, an apparently inauspicious turn of events for a future God-follower, preacher, and songwriter. He suddenly changed direction at age 17 upon hearing a George Whitefield tent meeting sermon, however, and eventually became a minister himself. Six years later, he wrote the words of this hymn “Come Thou Fount…”, perhaps his first, his reach for the God he must have felt he needed to cover many faults in his life. Verses two through five each express his spiritual hope in light of his own shortcomings, and the longing of his inner being for Eternity. What’s it like to leave an old life, making a radical switch like Robinson did? It would not be unusual for old acquaintances to scoff, reminding the newly clean convert of the dirt he once wore. Gangs are kind of like that. Robinson stayed true to his newfound faith; his “Ebenezer” (stone of help) expression in the hymn was as unique as his life. First a Methodist, then an Independent, and later a Baptist minister, he was known as a capable theologian and hymn writer, although only two of his hymns are known (the other was “Mighty God, While Angels Bless Thee, written in 1774 when Robinson was 39). Other accounts say he turned to Unitarianism late in life, showing his ‘wandering’ streak, of which he wrote in his first hymn.

It’s also reported widely that Robinson must have felt despondent late in life, particularly during an encounter with a woman in a stagecoach who was studying the hymn he wrote decades earlier. Had his passion waned from the time when he’d first penned the words of “Come Thou Fount”? Perhaps, but that would make him no more unusual than others of faith who have ups and downs. At least Robinson was honest and genuine with his hymn-writing, knowing and sharing his own foibles. Robinson died suddenly in 1790 at age 54, an apparent struggler and searcher, but someone whose authentic words over two centuries old still sound familiar today…at least if I’m willing to share the way Robinson did.

Information on the song is in many publications, including the books “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications,1990; “101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982;“The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; and “A Treasury of Hymn Stories”, by Amos R. Wells, Baker Book House Company, 1945.

Also see the following website for information on Robinson and the original five verses of the song:

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/r/o/b/robinson_r.htm

See a more extensive biography of Robinson at : http://www.hymnary.org/person/Robinson_R?tab=texts

No Sweeter Name – Kari Jobe

2011-11-11T10:53:00.000-08:00

Music minister. Either of those words would be OK with Kari Jobe, but together they give her a mission. She might seem a bit like a youngster, so how could she advise or minister to anyone, you might wonder. After all, she was just 23 years old when she wrote “No Sweeter Name” in 2004. The truth is, she had been ‘minister’-ing through music for many years already, and by the time she’d graduated from college and became a professional, she’d known for over a decade what her calling was. This Jobe was in touch with her job, even before she attended school. Most children might think chocolate (see picture) is the sweetest creation, but Kari might have said something else.

Kari Jobe’s early life made an indelible mark on her. She began singing in the church in Texas where her family took her when she saw just three years old. Perhaps her mother and father had spotted something special in their daughter, for Kari says she recalls worship music in their house that seemed to spawn her desire for praise. And, apparently the music was not mere words in the Jobe house. Its lyrics seemed to match what people they knew needed most, not surprising for a young girl whose father was a minister. You could imagine him spending lots of time with hurting people, exposing his family to their troubles, and to their cures too. Kari was taking a leading role in music ministry by high school-age, and her college study also steered her toward something she knew she’d wanted since the age of 10. The words to “No Sweeter Name” are a reflection in 2004 of her already two-decade old experience. She wanted to help broken people discover the therapy that she’d seen Jesus Christ use to mend others. It’s the psychology and pastoral studies degree she’d acquired in college being put into action.

Kari admits she likes being in touch with her emotions in music. There’s no mystery what emotion she’s driving at with “No Sweeter Name” – it’s love. But, that’s probably not enough to tell it all. Her aim seems to be imprinting Him on worshippers, to communicate that He’s everything. According to Jobe, He’s Life, Light, Hope, Truth, and not just one way, but the Way. Devotion, dependence on Him. It’s the life she seems to have lived since childhood, the experience He’s imprinted on her. She’s just trying to pass it on.

See these sites for information about the composer:

http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/music/new-artist-spotlight-kari-jobe-11605124.html?ps=0

http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/artistdetail.php?artist_id=1210

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kari_Jobe

http://karijobe.com/

His Name Is Life – Carman Licciardello and Bill Gaither

2011-11-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

If nothing else could be said about the man named Carman, at least one could say he knew a winner when he saw it. And the same might be said of his collaborator Bill Gaither in 1983. The two of them composed something that neither of them could claim as his own, and even together, they could not assert that their thoughts were original. Much of the song’s lyrics are obviously taken from ancient texts. For both Carman Licciardello and Bill Gaither, that is OK. You cannot do better than what the poets said centuries ago, which their two contemporary counterparts have repeated some two millennia later in “His Name Is Life”. Together, Licciardello, Gaither, and the ancient poets define ‘life’ for us, though scientists might suggest it looks like an amoeba (see picture).

The 27-year old Carman and 47-year old Bill must have been reading their bibles, like Christians you’d expect, and marveling at all the ways to relate to God’s son when they wrote this tune in 1983. They had been travelling musical companions in the early 1980’s, and so you can imagine they must have shared lots of time together discussing what each other thought about Jesus. He has lots of names, but they centered their thoughts on thirteen of them. We don’t know what particular events brought about Carman’s and Bill’s creativity, but with gifted musicians, it doesn’t take much. Just a few well-chosen moments of study, of Spirit-led immersion and focus, mingled with plucking on a guitar or tinkling on the ivory keys. Maybe Carman and Bill were merely humming some notes when they ran across the names that struck them one day. Some of us are moved by his humanity, his compassion for His earthly children, and so we might favor ‘Teacher’ or simply ‘Jesus of Nazareth’, an identity we can more easily grasp. Not so with these two composers, at least not when they reached out to Him and to each other in this musical inspiration. Most of the names they chose evoke images of Jesus the transcendent. Perhaps it’s a phenomenon of music, to reach for the highest rung with our hearts. Maybe it was also His way of drawing these two composers closer to Himself.

Why’d Carman Licciardello and Bill Gaither choose thirteen names, not twelve or fourteen or more? Well, perhaps the syllabic tempo of the music they chose dictated that certain names were used. With their sense of musical pace, perhaps they just let go until it felt right, until that moment when they said ‘Yeh, that’s it.’ Is it ever an accident when the Spirit is engaged during songwriting? Was it for David when he strummed on a lyre while watching sheep? How does one touch creative musical genius? It seems two guys in 1983 might have found a method that worked for them.

Look at these two websites for information on the two composers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carman_%28singer%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gaither_%28gospel_singer%29

There’s Something About that Name – Bill and Gloria Gaither

2011-10-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

It has five letters. All of them, by themselves, are unexceptional. What’s special about His name, then? Believers and non-believers alike have spoken it. Many people must think it’s a good one, because they have named countless children with this ‘Jesus’ name. Even when praying, lots of believers declare ‘in Jesus name’ to add weight to their conversations with the Father. On the other hand, much of the world more casually throws His name around, too – an exclamation in a fit of frustration, perhaps. Why? “There’s Something About that Name”, Bill and Gloria Gaither declare, but they’ve left out the word ’special’ that’s implied in their statement. What was ‘special’ for them in 1970? Was it raindrops, of all things (see picture)?

Bill was 34 and Gloria was 28 years old in that year when ‘Jesus’ was on their minds. ‘Healer’,’ Comforter’, ‘Peace-Giver’ are other names they could have put in their composition in 1970. The Gaithers had gone through a difficult, but yet enlightening chapter, with the loss of grandparents and the onset of their own parenthood and its responsibilities. They observed loved ones on either end of the age spectrum who felt the impact of His name. Their grandparents, though feeble and often mentally confused, still knew His name. And, as Bill’s and Gloria’s children experienced sickness, these composer-parents counted on ‘Jesus’ for wisdom and confidence to ease their anxiety. What they wrote communicates that something peaceful and refreshing came over them, something like what happens in the creation He made for them. Perhaps they felt His presence in the wake of a rainstorm one day, like an invigorating aroma that clears the mind, as their words indicate. Rain washes the pollution out of the atmosphere, and the creation senses the nourishment He provides. If you’ve ever watched someone’s health falter in old age and the inevitable demise of the human body, you understand what it means to those people, both the dying and the surviving, as they emerge on the other side of that experience. Is it the anticipation of renewal that our grandparents’ can see, when they utter ‘Jesus’? Undoubtedly, it was the same objective these parents had for their sick children – renewal and its strength – when they said ‘Jesus’.

Keep saying ‘Jesus’, is the message of the song the Gaithers wrote. Seven times, that’s how much they have me say that name in this brief tune. Make it saturate the entire world. And, like moisture that evaporates back into the heavens, it eventually comes back down again, effecting a meteorological cycle we call weather. It cannot be stopped. I observe its repetitious nature, but is it seven or seventy-seven times, (a la Peter’s discussion with Jesus about forgiveness - Matthew 18:21-22)? How many times has it rained in your life? Keep counting, and keep saying ‘that name’.

I Will Follow – Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan

2011-10-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

‘Be careful being so bold, Peter.’ That’s how the writers of “I Will Follow” might begin if you talked to them about this song and what it says. Being confident that Jesus is the one to follow is a good thing, right? But, before you get lost in the song’s power and the synergy you feel singing or listening to this 2010 composition with others, step back. Think. Consider what you are mouthing to Him. After considering all the implications, the word ‘follow’ might seem as daunting as walking in an astronaut’s bootprint on the moon (see the picture). The composers might even sit with you and open up with a story from Mark 8. You could turn there right now…

Would you be prepared to have the Creator-God call you Satan? That’s what Chris Tomlin reminds us happened to Peter, as he tried to tell Jesus that He was wrong, that He could not possibly be right about the approach of the Messiah’s death. You’re not really ready to follow, unless you fully appreciate the total cost. Not just for one day, but a lifetime. If you want to follow me, you have to be willing to do what I do, even die like me. And there’s also that part about loving and serving people too. And, you cannot get comfortable, because you gotta get up and move, and go anywhere He goes. So, what happens to my agenda? I have none, except His. That’s the blunt message. Pretty raw stuff, if you’re not prepared for it. Tomlin says ‘It’s a huge thing to say’, these words the worshipper vocalizes in the song’s chorus. He emphasizes that over and over again in a video he lets us see as he tells what he thinks about this proposition of being a no-holds-barred disciple.

Tomlin seems to have the humility about the song’s development that he admonishes the song’s listeners to adopt. He says that Jason Ingram and Rueben Morgan were the real masterminds behind the song, and that he jumped into its development in a comparatively small way. Maybe that means Ingram and Morgan were the ones who really initially saw the need to spur their own personal discipleship, their commitment to Him. Tomlin describes this commitment as cross-like for the believer, but also as an honor to carry daily this promise. So, it’s kind of a mixture of being humble to His lifestyle, but also being a risk-taker, a pledge-taker. Maybe I’m not quite there, I admit at times. But, I can watch others around me, and see what the risky life looks like. Maybe that’s what happened to the twelve. They hung around Him enough, and finally figured out that life was really about giving in to His way of doin’ it. ‘It’s huge’, Tomlin reminds me. But, the payoff will be too. As huge as following someone to the Moon? It might seem as impossible as that, sometimes, but in reality He wants me to follow Him even further. All the way to Heaven.

The below links take you to some comments by Chris Tomlin about the song’s meaning:

http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=9EE2EMNU

http://www.watchgmctv.com/video/chris-tomlin-song-stories-and-if-our-god-us

A link to a biography of Jason Ingram:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Ingram

A link to a biography of Reuben Morgan:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Morgan

Jesus, Name Above All Names – Naida Hearn

2011-10-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

..that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:10)

Mundane, mingling with the sublime. That might be the best way to describe in five words or less how Naida Hearn composed a song one day in 1974. It was a warm summer December day for Naida, so you might have figured out by now that she was in the southern hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed from those in the northern hemisphere. It was near Christmas time, when perhaps thoughts of Christ are more prevalent, though there was no chill or snow like I might imagine accompanying that special time of year. “Jesus, Name Above All Names” was on 43-year old Naida Hearn’s mind as she went about her daily chores.

Naida Hearn was doing her family’s laundry that December day in 1974 near Palmerston, New Zealand. Whether it was actually North Palmerston (on the northern island of this southwest Pacific island nation) or the smaller town Palmerston (on the southern island) is not clear. Since she was using a wash house, maybe it was the much smaller, and therefore more rustic, southern island town of eight or nine hundred people. Puketapu Hill (translated ‘sacred head’, or known as ‘Holy Hill’ by the locals), which is seen from most places in Palmerston, was probably within Naida’s eyesight as she washed clothes (see picture). She’d been thinking about Jesus, and wanted to keep her brain focused on Him as she did the wash…in kind of a way, like having Puketapu Hill in front of you in Palmerston – something so dominant that it’s hard to miss. That’s how Jesus is, as He becomes front and center in a believer’s thoughts, if one opens the mind’s eyes to Him. Naida used a method that’s common at Christmastime. She pondered the various names of Him, including ‘Emmanuel’ that we often hear in December, and which she repeated in her composition. Perhaps it was a King James or Wycliffe or Revised Standard Version of Matthew’s virgin birth story that she read, since most other bible translations might have spelled it ‘Immanuel’ in Matthew 1:24. She sang as she worked, and sensed He gave her the song’s first line. So, she kept going, intoning some of the other names she’d found in her bible. She grasped that she had something special after a few moments, and left the wash to plunk out its melody on a piano. Once she had the finishing touches on it, she asked for His OK, and got it. Then she went back to the laundry.

Is life ordinary, even tedious? ‘Yes’, Naida Hearn might have admitted, along with the rest of us. Maybe that’s the reason she wanted to spice up her average day, that day in 1974. She gives me a model for the way to do that. Even during the Christmas season, the hubbub of the Yuletide might distract me if I’m not careful. I could take for granted the hill that’s in front of me every day. Is there one in your world that you see daily? He’s like that, but I confess that I often overlook the details of His landscape, the nuances of His various names. I need to start picking out more details of that peak I see every day .

The following is a site giving details of Naida Hearn’s home in New Zealand. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmerston,_New_Zealand

The below site suggests that she was born in 1944 and died in 2001.

http://www.hymnswithoutwords.com/hymns/Category:Naida_Hearn

Blessed Jesus – Joey Holder

2011-10-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

He lived a short 51 years, but his beliefs were written for all to see in the song “Blessed Jesus” and several others that he composed. Though one could be sad, realizing that he died at a relatively young age, there’s a peace too, knowing that he lived to share His Spirit in music, and helped others worship that way too. Joey Holder, praise and worship leader at Calvary Fellowship Church in Florence, Alabama…that’s how his friends and loved ones remember him. He evidently touched many people, and was involved in producing music for albums for 20-30 years, quite an accomplishment for anyone. But, one suspects that Joey’s goals were not earthly ones, but ones best summed up in the words of the song that he composed in 1987.

Holder was 28 years old when he wrote “Blessed Jesus”, and had already been engaged in music productions for at least the previous five years. Let’s see, that means he began in his early 20’s, singing background vocals for an album Will McFarlane cut called “Right from the Start” in 1982. It wasn’t long before he took on more, for he’s listed as a songwriter, among other roles, on McFarlane’s 1984 album “A Colony of Heaven”. He also apparently wrote songs for Mylon LeFevre’s “Faith, Hope and Love” album in 1992, too. In between those two album efforts was the “Blessed Jesus” song he wrote. One wouldn’t have to read his biography (in his obituary) to assume he was gifted, given what we see of his ability in this one song. The tune’s words tell us he was looking to Him for peace, comfort, and communion. Joey must have been like many of the rest of us who’ve ever lived in their 20’s, with life having some dips, mingled with hopes and dreams propelling one forward. But, his song words suggest he was counting on Him for life’s accomplishments…”as I look to You alone”. It’s good to know he’d figured this out then, and one can imagine it must have stuck with him and been communicated to others about him for the next couple of decades, given the role he played at the Alabama church.

What would people say about me if my biography concluded today? What would yours sound like? Joey Holder had dozens of people writing remembrances of him at his memorial. Will McFarlane, his partner on their 1982 album, evidently provided some of the music at his friend’s memorial. …think one of them might have been “Blessed Jesus”? That would be a pretty good line in anyone’s biography, one of which his family could be proud. His brother Jesus is perhaps blessing him right now, because of this. Think of it…Joey asked for a blessing in 1987, blessed us with a song, and now he’s blessed by the Blessed One. Kinda great how that works, huh?

This link is an obituary for Joey Holder, who died April 30, 2010 at the age of 51. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesdaily/obituary.aspx?n=joey-e-holder&pid=142455554&fhid=7055

This is the Facebook page for the Calvary Fellowship Church in Florence, Alabama where Joey Holder was the worship pastor/minister: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Calvary-Fellowship/334585099001

Other songs by Holder include: “Holy Lord”; “ I Will Sing to the Lord Forever”; “Unto the King (Now Unto the King)”; ”We Are Your Treasure” , according to this site: http://www.innerechos.com/authors/Joey+Holder

He’s listed as the songwriter on two albums by singers Will McFarlane and Mylon LeFevre at this link. He also contributed to two other albums by them. All four albums were produced between 1982 and 2003:

http://www.christianmusicarchive.com/artist/joey-holder#credits

Have You Seen Jesus My Lord? – John Fischer

2011-09-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

He was a founder. Of what, you say? Someone might say he found Jesus Christ, and helped others do the same. He was 23 years old, had been out of college for just a year, and was probably still feeling the effects of his experience on the American west coast as a young adult. Studying for ministry was probably also still fresh, along with the influence of his mentor. These probably impacted his life for many years, in fact. What made John Fischer write a song with a question mark? “Have You Seen Jesus My Lord?” The way he asks the question in the song initially seems rhetorical…’of course’, you want to answer. But, notice how he shifts gears midway through his composition, and see if he’s not asking you to look at yourself, too.

John Fischer went to college (Wheaton) in Illinois before he went to the west coast for mentorship in Christian ministry at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California in the late 1960s. You can imagine what the times were like, if you’ve ever heard of the 1960’s. Vietnam, Peace Movement, Jesus Freaks…all familiar ground for John Fischer, especially since he was a college student during that time. His mentor at the church in Palo Alto was Ray Stedman, a friend and adviser to many like John Fischer, with a reputation as a gentle, humble, and generous spirit. And, there was the central California coast, with its Pacific Ocean-front view. Can you picture the sunsets? All these factors no doubt contributed to John Fischer’s thoughts in 1970, as he composed his song with a question mark. He hasn’t recorded if a particular incident or multiple circumstances compelled him to write the song, but its words give us clues. He was struck by His creation, the ocean he experienced and the magnificent California sky at dusk that he observed. Could anyone deny the reality of deity when taking in such marvels, Fischer asks. The Jesus movement’s simple message also comes out in Fischer’s music. See Him, horizontally and vertically. The ‘get Jesus’ proposition with a folk rock beat cannot be ignored. It’s a love message straight out of the ‘make-peace-not-war’ times, with a divine streak in it.

What’s common to you and me? John Fischer saw four things, all of ‘em free. There’s no cover charge for the ocean and the sunset, not for the others I have around me, nor for what He’s done for me. John Fischer’s simple questions ask my elemental acknowledgement of the obvious. Nothing else is asked of me…it’s an evangelism that’s not pushy. He doesn’t even really tell me to worship Him, just see Him. Admit He’s there. Then, let my conscience take me in the logical direction. Is that so hard?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fischer_%28Christian_musician%29

http://www.fischtank.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Stedman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_music

O Lord, Our Lord -- Horatio Richmond Palmer

2011-09-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

Is music medicine? Would you call it salve, maybe therapy for a sufferer? In the case of Horatio Richmond Palmer, one might think music was a call from deep inside his consciousness, something subliminal. Although his life was devoted to music, he’s credited with writing just a few songs, including composing the words and music for the hymn “O Lord, Our Lord” in 1874. Now, what was hidden about that song, that might make you think he was concealing something? After all, he’s proclaiming to everyone through the song that there’s a great and magnificent Lord, the most important confession anyone can make. Look at Palmer a little closer, and see if you think there’s something else there.

Horatio Palmer began his musical life early on in New York state, a vocation and an obvious passion that we can assume lasted throughout his lifetime, given the number of musical ventures in which he was involved. Maybe his father, Anson B. Palmer, deserves the most credit for Horatio’s direction, for it was he who undoubtedly endorsed his son’s inclusion in the church choir (directed by the elder Palmer) at the age of just seven. Horatio’s mother had died when he was just three years old, in 1837, leaving Horatio’s upbringing to his father, and perhaps not insignificantly to the church’s musicians too. For the next several decades, this son of the choir director studied, organized, and led numerous musical endeavors, including a chorus of many thousands at Madison Square Garden. What a sound that must have been! At the age of 40, Palmer wrote “O Lord, Our Lord”, a composition he must have envisioned a large chorus of angelic-like voices directing upward, if you’ve ever heard it. We know not the precise incident that inspired Palmer to write this hymn, but there are two things we can surmise, with a little exploration. Palmer chose words from David the Psalmist (Psalm 8) to echo his praise to Him, so Horatio had a palpable passion for his God that he wanted to convey in a grand way, worthy of Him. Looking at its construction, and comparing it to other songs that Palmer wrote, there is also an interesting pattern. Female voices alone begin the hymn, just a composer’s routine choice, or a habit? Two other earlier Palmer compositions (“Love One Another” [also known as “Angry Words”] in 1867, and “Yield Not to Temptation” in 1868) also exhibit this same tendency. Horatio obviously appreciated the female voice, and wanted to hear it without male accompaniment. Did he miss his mother’s influence in his early life, even into adulthood? Perhaps he did, even if his father and the church helped fill the gap.

How did Palmer fare, despite his mother’s absence through most of his life? From all appearances, Horatio Palmer was a productive, God-fearing, positive influence. Maybe he never knew something was missing. Look at David, Horatio’s musical predecessor…who was his mother? We know his father was Jesse, at least here on earth. Perhaps the more significant parent for David was the one in heaven. It wouldn’t be too hard to deduce that Horatio Palmer had perhaps figured out that part too. I’m part of a family, and my goal is to be part of one forever. There’s only one place and one parent that can make that come true.

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/p/a/l/palmer_hr.htm

He Is Able – Rory Noland and Greg Ferguson

2011-09-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Bill Hybels remembers the time well. The way a fragrance, or a picture, the taste , or even the touch of something can bring back memories of a special time, the sound of a song makes this minister at a large Chicago-area church remember what it was like there in the 1980s. Hearing Hybels speak, one senses that the song’s composers, Rory Noland and Greg Ferguson, must have been aware of the struggles of the church’s leaders. “He Is Able” is a song that stirs their thoughts of overwhelming challenges and mutual purpose among the members of that growing church, an experience Hybels indicates would have been difficult or even impossible to bear except for the truth of the song’s message. Its message is compact, right in the title.

Willow Creek Community Church was growing in the 1980s, but Bill Hybels says it wasn’t all roses. Sure, there were lots of people arriving to populate the church, creating energy and momentum. It must’ve been exciting. But, there was also anxiety and exhaustion. How would Hybels and the other staff of the church accomplish tasks too large for them? They were overwhelmed by obstacles, and ‘outta steam’, he says. It was then that two of the church’s members, Rory Noland and Greg Ferguson, wrote the song that seems like a blueprint for relieving those worried, overworked ministers. Just unload whatever challenge you think you cannot handle, the song says. Noland and Ferguson must have struck a special chord with Hybels, who still talks about the song a generation after it was first written. The church’s members sang it ‘over’, ‘into’, and ‘for’ each other, he remembers. It was used to comfort people when loved ones died, as well as in church staff meetings, so it captured people in various walks. It sounds as though it became a theme song for those people, a catch-all vehicle to transport them out of trouble, in their present and expected in their future.

The words Noland and Ferguson wrote suggest that the Willow Creek people sought God’s reassurance in four ways. First, they had daily needs, perhaps stuff that was considered trivial in the grand scheme of things. And yet, they knew that He cares. Second, they trusted that He would guard their future, come what may. Third, they needed God to make dreams become reality; after all, who but the supernatural One could manage all of the crises, both personal and corporate, among thousands of people, and vault a group beyond its mortal limits? Finally, the fourth way sounds like the people wanted change in themselves, a transformation desire expressed with a resolve that He would answer. ‘Only sinners allowed here’ the church sign says to the discouraged. That’s because transformation is His specialty. Time is His, too. To the non-believer, transformation and time might sound like the Twilight Zone. But, that’s not Rod Serling you’re hearing in the background. God has no desire to make me eerie, though His capabilities are startling. No, the chilling part of life is living it without Him, without His ability.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xnkrQyJ3mI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_Creek_Community_Church

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Authors/Author.htm?ContributorID=NolandR&QueryStringSite=Zondervan

http://www.heartoftheartist.org/about-rory/

When I Look Into Your Holiness -- Wayne and Cathy Perrin

2011-09-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

If you have trouble sleeping, with your mind going into overdrive in the graveyard hours of the night, you should take note of how Cathy Perrin managed her insomnia – in a productive, positive way. It makes me reconsider what to do the next time the dark ceiling stares back at me from a prone position on my queen sleeper. Do crickets speak to you from the dark, prompted by God? How about dreams…are divine messages slipped into one’s consciousness this way? What if the light was suddenly snapped on in the middle of the night, bright as the sun (see picture)? Would that be Him trying to get your attention? Listen to the story the Perrins (Cathy and Wayne) tell about the song “When I Look Into Your Holiness” that they wrote beginning in the wee hours one night.

Cathy and Wayne Perrin say the song’s story actually began six years before it was written, in 1974, and continued well past its 1980 advent. A minister on a singing tour the Perrins took in 1974 predicted the couple would compose a song that would one day travel across the globe. In 1980, Cathy’s insomnia pushed her to write many of the words to “When I Look Into Your Holiness” at 3 AM. Though it was dark, perhaps a pitch black or moonless environment, Perrin evidently saw a light. It was God’s presence, His very nature that had her rapt attention. It might as well have been a prayer in isolation, in her own closet, as Cathy composed solitarily. Little did she or Wayne know that this was the song the minister six years earlier had foreseen would travel so far. It took 10 years from that minister’s forecast, until 1984, for the Perrins to comprehend the song’s destiny. Through word of mouth, literally, the song had been in transit for many years, and was taking on broader wings to South Africa and Singapore by the mid-1980’s (albeit, with the words “…my will becomes enthroned\enthralled in Your love, versus “…my heart is enthroned in Your love” as the Perrins originally composed the second verse). Amazing, but not incredible when God gets involved.

With no other soul between herself and Him, we can be thankful that Cathy Perrin responded that night in 1980 with something other than a sleeping pill. How would you or I have reacted ? The song she began, and which Wayne helped finish later, captures a moment. Cathy says that the song puts in a nutshell for the believer a basic truth – I’m here to worship, and it starts with really looking at Him closely, not sleeping or trying to ignore Him. The negative form of this kind of attention is labeled ‘obsession’. It’s a habit, an irresistible desire, an addiction. That’s how strong it is, when\if I really see Him, and then let it grow. He wants me to see Him in whatever place I am, to compare the creation to the Creator. Try it on, and see where it takes you …from a dark closet to the fantastic beyond.

The Perrins’ song story link is here:

http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/song-story-when-i-look-into-your-holiness-1286092.html (article written by Melissa Hambrick [contributing writer], 21 September 2004)

Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee – Henry Van Dyke

2011-08-27T14:13:00.000-07:00

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works—(Psalm 104:31)

Henry Van Dyke was inspired when he was 59 years old, although what caused his inspiration was probably not unlike what he had probably seen many times before. The hymn’s genesis was over 100 years old already, a timespan that the timeless God might call young, really. Three artists contributed to the hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” over the 125 years of its birth, development, and complete fruition. There was a fourth – he was actually the first -- whose original imagination connected in a unique way with the last of these artists.

Henry Van Dyke apparently saw something in the Berkshire Mountains (see picture) in western Massachusetts that year of 1911, something that motivated him in an artistic way, similar to his two German predecessors who wrote about their emotions in a compelling way. Friedrich Schiller wrote “Ode to Joy” in 1785, nearly 40 years before his compatriot Ludwig Van Beethoven borrowed its theme and many of its words to compose his choral-orchestral Ninth Symphony in 1824. Some 87 years later on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Van Dyke was visiting a college to preach a message, and wrote the poem that called out to the same sensation that had motivated his ancestors. It’s said he immediately directed the college’s president to use Beethoven’s music in concert with the poem. So, could that have been the hymn’s premier? What were Van Dyke’s sermons like during that visit? Perhaps someone remembers and has recorded them, but nevertheless this joyful hymn is a sermon all by itself, and one that is well-known both inside and outside of the church. One wonders if Van Dyke insisted on the Schiller/Beethoven connection with his poem in order to appeal to the secular world, as well as to those of Godly faith. To whom was Van Dyke writing in his hymn?

The easy answer, looking at his own words, is that he’s addressing God. ‘Thou’ and ‘thee’, the poetic equivalents of ‘you’, are used liberally by Van Dyke as he lauds Him. Consider the first few words he composed. Is ‘Joyful’ a name for God, according to Van Dyke? ‘Joyful, joyful, we adore thee’ – it sounds like an address. If that’s what Van Dyke intended, he indeed created something unique, for God is not addressed this way biblically, at least not directly. Did the composer see something in the Berkshire Mountains that drew him nearer to God’s creative genius? Undoubtedly. Genesis tells us that God saw it was good to create, so He must have felt some emotion, a divine satisfaction. Is it joy when a mood takes me to another plane, next to Him, even? That’s what He does for me, especially those days when I’ve had enough of the ‘here below’. The Creator-Joyful’s mountains communicate volumes, lifting the human spirit. Schiller and Beethoven, though most often considered gifted secularists, also reflect Him. Look at Schiller’s Ode to Joy. He knew joy’s author. Maybe a more perfect joy was what the stone deaf Beethoven – by the time he wrote his Ninth Symphony – was reaching for too, when he composed. Joy. It’s Him, and it’s our way to Him.

Information on the song was obtained from the books “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990; and “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006.

Also see the following websites for information on the hymn’s tune, which was set to music by Beethoven in ‘Ode to Joy’. Ode to Joy was also a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785…see the link to it here:

http://www.raptusassociation.org/ode1785.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ode_to_joy

More Than Anything – Chris Christensen

2011-08-20T08:10:00.000-07:00

If you had lived all over the world, traveled and seen a dozen cultures in your childhood and early adult years, what would be your anchor, your home? Perhaps a home, although you might not live in it for long before being uprooted? How about friends you could be with for a few years, before once again moving? Your livelihood? Your family? Don’t be surprised if meeting Chris Christensen gives you the answer he found for himself, a discovery his song words in “More Than Anything” suggest he made and recorded for the rest of us. See what he says. Where do you think his mind goes when he thinks of ‘Home’ (see the picture of where he might, if you know his story) ?

It was 1989, and Chris Christensen at 32 years old had already probably grown used to radical changes in scenery. He was born in Philadelphia, but raised in South Africa by missionary parents and grandparents, a missionary-life, even while still in diapers, that imparted to him a lifestyle that he has carried into adulthood. He went back to the U.S. to study at Wheaton College in Illinois, and then moved with his wife Laura and family to Belgium in 1987. Along the way, he learned guitar and developed his gift for music, a global language that in tandem with his missionary background he eventually put to use. You get a hint of what he felt two years after arriving in Belgium in “More Than Anything”, something very simply stated, but a message that probably resonated with the people who he’d known up until that time. Africa – what would be important there? Maybe one hears a little bit of his missionary parents’ and grandparents’ experience – as well as his own -- in the song’s lyrics. Nothing matters more than the love of Jesus, a theme that speaks to a Third World. Not wealth, not even life matters the way Jesus’ care for me does. Chris and Laura have been all over the world with the message, on four different continents with a ministry they call ‘Exo’, reaching French-speaking peoples with its straightforward, genuine truth. It doesn’t matter if you’re in North America, Africa, Asia, or Europe, the south Pacific, or the Caribbean basin. Jesus is a rock, a stable foundation. He works in any culture.

God’s value must become apparent the more of His creation we see. A missionary has this advantage over the rest of us. Everywhere there’s someone who needs to overcome life, whether it be Third World poverty, decadent wealth and selfishness in the West, or disease that afflicts everyone despite socioeconomic status. All of us can see Him. Christensen’s missionary reminder communicates all over, but also even if I’ve never set foot outside of my hometown. Where does your mind go when you think of ‘home’? Where does a missionary’s mind go? Does it matter? One day, we’ll all be in the same home.

http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/ChrisChristensen

Crown Him with Many Crowns – Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring

2011-08-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

It was (and should still be) a popular hymn, if knowing its history is any indication. It was written by not one, but two composers, a generation apart. Something well-loved is something to keep fresh, to renew its meaning and appreciation by those who use it. Matthew Bridges started it in 1851 and Godfrey Thring continued its development 23 years later in 1874. “Crown Him with Many Crowns”…perhaps that was a call these composers took to heart as they cultivated and produced more verses, musical crowns, to enthrone Him.

Bridges and Thring came from similar backgrounds and contributed to His kingdom in many similar ways in 19^th Century England. Matthew Bridges was an Anglican who converted to Roman Catholicism in 1848. Three years later he composed the hymn’s original verses, at least four of the eventual nine verses, although some believe that the hymn actually had as many as 12 verses, with Bridges writing six of them and Thring another six some two or three decades later. Bridges’ verses, as one might think, had some meaning for him as a Catholic, while Thring’s verses emphasized themes that Protestants could appreciate more. It’s thought that Thring wrote additional verses for this very reason, at the request of an associate who did not approve of the reference to the virgin Mary in one Bridges’ verse as the ‘mystic rose’. Both men were 51 years old when they composed their works, and produced either many hymnals or other works both before and after “Crown Him with Many Crowns”. Crowning Him wasn’t just words of theory with either believer, then, but a lifelong endeavor. Some circumstances at age 51 moved both Bridges and Thring to honor Him. Are there clues in the themes of the verses for you and me, things that might resonate with someone at the half-century mark, or elsewhere along life’s path in the 21^st Century?

To be sure, both Bridges and Thring must have been familiar with Revelation 19:12, and the awe-inspiring scene there. The Lord wears many crowns, John tells me. So, perhaps it’s fitting that there are as many as twelve crowns to consider in this time-tested composition. Nine of the twelve verses are known, with evidence that some mixing of the verses’ words has also been a feature of this hymn over time, making its exposition challenging. But, the themes, and the message that He can be praised for the many facets of Him and His kingdom, are not confusing. Crown Him, because He’s the perfect Lamb; the Peace; the sum of Life; the Son of Man; Love itself; Lord-King over what’s above and below; the Redeemer, whose infancy fulfilled prophecy; heaven’s preparer and caretaker; and time-ruler. No other being has all these qualities, or even one of them. How does He wear all these crowns at once? One of His mysteries, and something more to discover up there. Don’t you love a mystery?

The source for the song story are the books “Amazing Grace, 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990; and also “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006.

See also the following site for nine of the song’s verses:

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/r/o/crownhim.htm

See also this link for further history on the songs verses:

http://wordwisehymns.com/2011/01/14/crown-him-with-many-crowns/

Master the Tempest Is Raging – Mary Ann Baker

2011-08-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Mary Ann Baker had a story incubating deep inside her as she struggled emotionally and spiritually. Why had tragedy happened? How could a loving God do such a thing? It’s not fair! Why must I hurt this way? These were the vocalized feelings one might have heard her shout in 1874 in the wake, a literal wake, of her heartbreak. It’s probably not unfamiliar to you if you’ve lost someone whose life wasn’t supposed to be over yet. If that is so – and who hasn’t gone through this? – then listen to how Mary Ann Baker dealt with this body blow, this storm (see painting by Rembrandt).

When Mary was 42 she suffered the loss of her brother – her only brother – to a disease that had also stolen her mother and father from her. She had grown up in Illinois and lived in Chicago, giving of herself in the temperance (alcohol prohibition) movement. So, it can be assumed that she rated purity, trying to live a ‘right life’ before God, high on her personal to-do list. So, when she was sick and could not go to be with him as his health became critical, one can imagine her heart searching for meaning. Her dear brother, a man she felt was precious and unique in character and potential, was gone. It was then that she rebelled in spirit, denying that the God she had obeyed since childhood was compassionate. But, in that period of angst, she says that He responded, becoming the God of peace. In her recovery, Baker recalls that her associate, Horatio Palmer, asked her to compose the words for songs that would address the theme of “Christ Stilling the Tempest”, which was the subject of Sunday school lessons being taught in the church. The rest, as they say, is history. Her personal trial, a tempest, did have meaning after all. In fact, this trial added depth and purity to her faith, she declares.

Mary Ann Baker must have gone through stages in her storm, according to the three verses she recorded for her fellow believers. And, perhaps they are words for others too, for those who want answers but have no one to ask. Baker’s verses tell me that it’s normal to question Him (verse 1), to remind Him that I have the capacity to doubt when I’m buffeted by events that grimly taunt me. Perhaps that’s what I need, really, to grip His hand even tighter. I could give in and sink outta sight (verse 2), but even then it’s not too late to call out to Him. Verse 3 tells me that endurance will be rewarded. I’m glad she used the familiar example of the Apostles – those closest to the Master – on the Sea of Galilee to tell me how a storm might catch me unawares. It won’t matter how much I’ve done to curry His favor, or how much I think I’ve served Him. I’ll likely go through these phases when something punches me in the gut. Those sucker punches are the only ones the Enemy throws, although he might begin with gentle, pleasant caresses. Isn’t it strange how the Devil and the Lord seem to operate from different ends of the pain spectrum? One might stroke me to win my confidence, and then later knock me flat. Conversely, hurts that seize me ultimately chase me toward Him, the Comforter. Now, where do you think He’s waiting…on the comfy couch, or in the life raft?

The source for Baker’s song story is: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/m/a/s/mastertt.htm

Great Is the Lord -- Deborah D. and Michael W. Smith

2011-07-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

She wrote its words, and he wrote the music, at least according to what the copyright law in 20^th Century America tells us. But if you listen to the story that Debbie and Michael W. Smith relate, they had some help that night in the early 1980s. Michael and Debbie are partners, and they ‘partnered’ with some others to encourage listeners to offer up their admiration to Him, using some ancient words and feelings to say in a room’s dim light what cannot be hidden. “Great Is the Lord” is a statement the Smiths make that any of us can declare, using the same method of discovery that they did that night in Nashville, Tennessee. Let’s see how they did it.

The Smiths met as Michael was beginning his career in the period 1979-1981, while he was with a group called Higher Ground. Later, he was writing music for Meadowgreen Music as he and Debbie began their life together. They were partners not just in marriage but in music composition too, often at night, apparently because one of them (Michael) does his best work then. They also employed a method of devotion that is not uncommon to what other believers practice. They read and studied His words in the Bible, drawing inspiration from what David had originally composed in Psalm145:3 on that evening in 1982. It’s not implausible that the Spirit also steered them in the prayer they shared that night, helping guide them to their centuries-old musical compatriot’s thoughts. Not a bad place to go, to this ‘man after God’s own heart’ (1 Sam 13:14 and Acts 13:22) when hunting for words to say something musical. The couple was also working with a local church, looking for ways to add to its music. So, their intent was not entirely personal that night, but also involved their desire to communicate some fresh words for many others. “Great Is the Lord” was one of the tracks on Michael’s first album in 1983, The Michael W. Smith Project. So, the song manifested some firsts, or at least an early effort, in more than one way – a new marriage and partnership between the Smiths, and a first album. Isn’t it interesting that they gravitated toward something old to get something new started?

Who’s my partner here? I could shrug and say I’m solo, but that’s not really so. The Smiths didn’t think of themselves as alone the night they wrote “Great Is the Lord” either. Even God’s not alone, with all of His power and creativity. The Holy Trinity, though I cannot completely fathom Them, are together for a reason. “Great Is the Lord”? Maybe Debbie and Michael felt that the Triune God is indeed one, because of their singular purpose. That singularity doesn’t stop with those Three, but will ultimately encompass all of us too, if we’ll permit it. Wanna be great? Now you know where to go to find it – no Them. Same place the Smiths went looking in 1982.

The source for the Smiths’ song story is “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006. Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Is_the_Lord for a brief synopsis of the song story.

Also see Michael W. Smith’s official website: http://www.michaelwsmith.com/welcome.html