We Will Worship You – Scott Wesley Brown

What would I say to someone after 20-30 years of experience working at something? I might think about all of the things I had done, and count the awards – bask a little. Not the composer, Scott Wesley Brown, who wrote the song “We Will Worship You” in 1997 (which appeared on the 1998 album More Like You). He sings about things that have been lost in the song, but also more importantly what - or rather, whom – he has retained all that time. How does one worship, properly…kneeling before a stone and a flame (see the picture)? He’s been around the world, enough to probably have been jet-lagged and homesick, spreading a worship message. What else lies behind this worship song ?

Many things can be said about Scott Wesley Brown in 1997-98. In 1998, the same year the song appeared on the album, he was ordained into Baptist ministry. He was in his mid-forties, and had been producing Christian music on albums for 24 years already at that point. In fact, he’d been writing songs since the sixth grade in elementary school (about age 12), so he was what someone might call a veteran of the Christian music world. He would also compose a song “I Will Worship You”, so how is the song “We Will Worship You” different? ‘We’ tells us he was thinking about a group, about a body of believers, rather than just himself. Maybe he was reminiscing about all of the places he had already been at that point, spreading the message of Jesus in several countries, including behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany and the Soviet Union (in 1989). Was he encouraging new Christians in the song’s two verses to think about their temporal sacrifices, about ‘treasures’ (verse 1) and ‘all we’ve lost’ (verse 2) in exchange for Christ? His 1998 album Out of Africa suggests he visited that continent to communicate this Truth there too. This newly ordained, 40-something minister/musician must have had many impressions running through his mind in 1997-98.

The ‘we’ Scott Wesley Brown sings may include a swath of missions and activities that he has been supporting. He’s worked with nine different ministries listed on his website (see its link below), including the US Center for World Mission, in order to spread not just music and free musical instruments, but also food, health care, and the Word. He’s been active in ministry in the United States, as a pastor in churches in southern California and in Arizona. No one is an island, someone has noted, a perspective that Brown has adopted as a basic tenet in this song and more broadly in his life of worship. He notes in his biography that he’s visited more than 50 countries and every state in the U.S. His songs are about this journey, and are his confessions too, he says. ‘There is none beside You’, he confesses to God in the refrain of this song, quite a statement for a guy who’s been around the globe and seen so much. Maybe if we all saw as much as Scott Brown has, more of us would sing, and radiate these words. Time to get off the couch, and outta the pew, and worship.

The below links provide information on Scott Wesley Brown:

http://www.scottwesleybrown.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Wesley_Brown http://www.cbn.com/cbnmusic/Artists/Brown_Scott_Wesley.aspx

He Has Made Me Glad – Leona Von Brethorst

She had plenty of reasons to be sad, yet she was glad. As Christmas approaches, this statement about the musical composer Leona Von Brethorst sounds like it comes straight outta the cartoon special “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Remember the Grinch’s bewilderment on Christmas morning when he surveys all the joyous residents in Who-ville, following his nighttime raid on their village? ‘This sound wasn’t sad, but glad’, the Grinch notes as he listens for their expected wailing. Leona Von Brethorst’s countercultural reaction to life’s struggles, a la the Whos in the TV episode, might make one wonder if she saw their premiere (on television in 1966), and composed “He Has Made Me Glad” as a reflection on these characters. See what you think, after hearing her story. Leona would’ve had a lot more reasons than one stolen Christmas morning to dim her outlook if she had thought about her own life in 1976 when she wrote “He Has Made Me Glad”. She grew up poor in Tennessee during the Great Depression, then later on became a single mother, as her husband rejected her Christian faith. Consequently, she battled chronic gloom and overwork as she fought alone to support her family. Although she maintained her faith and even broadened her devotion as a worshipper through these years, she sank emotionally when her children left home after growing to adulthood. She says that it was at that point that her heart turned to Psalm 100. Something about Israel’s experience as worshippers dedicating the Temple, about their thanksgiving, got her attention. She didn’t know how to play an instrument, and admits she couldn’t even read music – none of which mattered. What mattered was that she wanted to be filled like the Israelites’ Temple, accomplished through a thankful spirit, a message that Psalm 100 spoke to her. Von Brethorst’s song caught on immediately at the church where she introduced it. Why was that? The answer seems pretty elementary, perhaps in the same, easy way a Christmas cartoon’s message works on us. The Who-ville residents had an infectious joy, one that when shared with others, swelled and overflowed – changing even the Grinch. The same idea is in Psalm 100 – ‘Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth’. This is a command, sure, but it also says something about what happens when a thankful, joyful sound is made. It spreads. Gladness overpowers gloom. After all, who chooses to be sad when they instead could be glad? Like the psalm suggests, singing “He Has Made Me Glad” helps the believer know something else about God-praise, too, particularly when it’s practiced with others. When He is lifted, we’re all lifted. God wins, and so do you and I. Kinda makes me wanna join hands in a circle of singing Whos. How about you? The source for Leona Von Brethorst’s “He Has Made Me Glad” 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. Also see “The Complete Book of Hymns-Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ,2006.

All Things Bright and Beautiful – Cecil F. H. Alexander

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander loved three things, if the song she wrote in 1848, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, is an accurate portrayal of her personality. God, nature, and children are blended into the verses of the song, weaving a message that was unmistakable. It would surprise no one if the song was said to have been written by someone with a child-like spirit -- she had been a poet from her childhood years. The song communicates something clearly, easily understood even by children. Each verse says something every human has experienced.

Cecil Alexander was 30 years old when the song was written, but adults like herself were not the intended audience. She wrote this song and others as part of the publication Hymns for Little Children. It is thought that she may have composed the words near Sligo, Ireland while at Markree Castle (see a picture of it above), suggested perhaps by one verse that speaks of a castle and its inhabitant, versus the more humble existence of a poor man. But, rich or poor, all experience equally some basic elements of our shared existence on planet Earth that Alexander mentions in this poem. Even children could identify them: little birds, mountains, sunsets, wind, fruit, tall trees, green grass. They all present themselves without my help. I might have planted seed for fruit trees or grass, but who made them grow? I can climb the mountain, but who put it there in the first place? Arguing about how these things arrived on the scene, while ignoring the wonder of Him who made them, is pointless. I, in my attitude of strict discipline and conviction about my faith, might have called the unbeliever impudent, if I had authored this poem’s conclusion. But, is that the way a child would say it? No, there is another message of the song that I have missed, until now.

The words of “All Things Bright and Beautiful” are gentle. They caress the mind and soul with images that remind the hearer of the power and grace and certainty of God’s creation. Alexander reminds me as a worshipper in the song’s last verse to testify confidently about the Creator, since He has given me eyes and lips to witness His greatness. But, if I do this like a child – as it seems Cecil Alexander suggests - I don’t need to be pushy or arrogant as I do this. I merely act, as I exist in the shadow of my Creator, like the other things He has created. I’m here because He made me, nothing more or less. I’m humble like a child, so that I can magnify Him. See the below link for all six verses that Mrs. Alexander wrote: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/l/l/allthing.htm

Information on the song was also obtained from “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006.

See this link for biographical information on Mrs. Alexander: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Frances_Alexander

We Are the Body of Christ – David B. Hampton and Scott Wesley Brown

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12) 

 

Exercise. Why do it? Because I want a healthy body, and it comes by exercising my muscles (see the picture). There’s a song about what a healthy body does…In David B. Hampton’s own words below, read and imagine what the body of Christ might do when it’s motivated, as he describes how the song “We Are the Body of Christ” was born. Thanks for the inspiration, David Hampton! 

 

We Are the Body of Christ was written on a day that Scott Wesley Brown and I had just finished the first of two songs for Promise Keepers. We had the “theme song” of sorts for a couple of years and we had just completed the song “Godly Men” when I played Scott a melody. I had been playing around with this melody instrumentally on the piano for a couple of weeks but hadn’t had a chance to show it to anyone. I was playing piano and keys for Scott on the road at the time and we normally used sound check as a time to do some writing. This melody however, hadn’t even made its way to a sound check. 

 

I asked him at the end of the day if he had a second to listen to this melody. We had completed the demo for PK and I really only intended to play through the melody and go home. Scott sat and listened quietly and then asked me to play it through again humming the melody line. He began to scribble on his legal pad and then asked me to play it another time. He scribbled more and the last time I played it he began to sing the words, “One heart, one spirit, one voice to praise you...” At that point it was almost like the song wrote itself. 

 

I wish I could say all my songs came that quickly but this was just one of those “flukes”. When Scott finished singing it with me playing that last time we literally looked at each other and laughed. That song has since gone on to be included in a number of worship compilations and even a hymnal. I have had a number of stories about how churches experiencing division have been able to at least let down their walls with one another after singing this song together.… I think the lyric came to Scott the way it did because so much of what we had been focusing on for the PK songs were ideas about standing together, being for one another, creating anthems that men could sing in unity. So, I believe this song was just a natural outgrowth of where our heads and hearts had been focused for a few days already.

 

Great lesson in unity, huh? It makes me think of other questions – If a group (even just two guys) who are focused on unity can create a song, what could happen if a whole community were united? How about one nation? The globe? What would it sound like to hear the awestruck laughter of every believer in unison? Ahhh, heaven! 

 

The story for the song was accessed via an e:mail with David Hampton on 11-11-2010 and 11-12-2010: The below link provides a brief biography on David Hampton: http://www.worshipofgod.com/speakers/index.html

God Is So Good – Anonymous

Does God care what I think of Him? He must, I hope, for Jesus the Savior would make no sense otherwise, right? Sending the Son must have been the Creator’s expression of concern. And so, a believer’s response to God’s outreach should please Him. There must be plenty of anonymous tunes, or even poems that never were paired with music, that believers have composed to honor our Maker, to please Him and to say ‘thank you’ that He extended Himself beyond heaven. The tune for today is one of those – “God is So Good”. It’s compact, and says something so elemental. Its simplicity, its common, ordinary message could have been invented by just about anyone. But, am I an anonymous nothing when I sing this to Him?

God is good –that’s an understatement. As are the rest of the declarations in the tune. He cares, and He answers me (although sometimes I cannot hear His answer), and hopefully I love Him in return. The song, though its origin is rather vague, is thought to have been perhaps an African-American folk melody. Does that mean it originated in the slave culture of the 1800’s? It would have been a very simple, easy song for slaves to cling to in the fields. But, it works in modern times too, when life can be very confusing and frustrating. (Just take this sometimes flaky, unreliable computer, for example!) According to one commentator on a hymnody website (see below), the composer of the tune was one Bobby Burnett, along with Videt Polk, in 1958, so perhaps it’s evolution has been more recent. But, this remains uncertain. Another name potentially associated with the song is Kevin Prosch, who composed a popular gospel tune by the same title. The mystery lingers, nevertheless.

‘Known but to God’, as it says on many markers in the military cemetery. He knows me, including when I sing. And, if I’m genuine in worship, I know the connection is real with Him, even if bystanders can detect nothing. I’m known by Him. He’s the only one who may know me. Is someone out there the composer of ‘God is So Good’? Even if you don’t identify yourself, you are known by Him. And, maybe someday He will let us in on the story, the episode that made this tune come to life in you. He knows every story, and so He must have a never-ending library of songs waiting to be born. Wow, can’t wait to get there! Awesome, huh?

The following link provides information on the song “God Is So Good” http://homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/540838/

This Is How We Overcome – Reuben Morgan

‘Mourning into Dancing’ is one of the repeated phrases of Reuben Morgan’s 1998 song “This Is How We Overcome”. It’s a message that’s packed with meaning. We know it had meaning for King David in Israel - he’s the author, who wrote because he’d felt shame, been punished, repented, and felt forgiveness. Is it physical, emotional, or spiritual trouble that has me snagged today? There’s a way through the dark tunnel, Reuben says with this composition.

Rueben Morgan is the worship pastor at the Hillsong church in Sydney, Australia. Dispensing grace, as Jesus Christ’s bride, that’s the mission of any Christ-centered body. It’s a process that David did not know as we know it today, but he experienced the transformation. The Hillsong church’s work has no doubt touched many hurting people, with various ministries to reach people in need. Maybe some of them arrived in their condition as David and his nation did, by their own doing. David’s sin was pride, manifested in counting his army (1 Chronicles 21). Oh, he was warned, as many of us are today, that calamity ensues when we screw up, and that we deserve whatever happens. If I’m in tune with my conscience-spirit, I repent eventually. Was Reuben Morgan struggling similarly, and coming up the other side of a deep valley – a mourning into dancing, as David remembered in Psalm 30:11? Maybe he was witness to such an episode, not uncommon when you’re on the front line at a large church? Maybe he’d also seen something that resembled what David did, building an altar to honor God and so recognize His lordship and the expectation of His provision of grace.

The song’s words are few, inviting me to focus on one thing – the reason for my deliverance. ‘This is how we overcome’, but what’s ‘this’ ? If I feel overwhelmed in my life rather than ‘overcome’-ing at times, I could be asking myself how much I really believe what crosses my lips in praise as I sing Reuben Morgan’s song. How’s my mourning turned upside down? Perhaps the clue is in the title of the album on which “This Is How We Overcome” appears. “By Your Side” is the name the Hillsong church’s praise ministry gave the album, with “This Is How We Overcome” the final track on the recording. Am I with God, or against Him? If I’m ‘by His side’, as the album theme suggests, I can count on Him, here and in the hereafter. God is ‘this’ for me. The song invites me to address Him directly – ‘Your Grace…your light…your hand…your praise’. I need to stick with Him no matter what. The following websites provide some biography on Rueben Morgan, the Hillsong church where he serves as worship pastor, and the album on which the song “This Is How We Overcome” appears: http://myhillsong.com/need-help http://www.fivelines.com/newindex.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_Morgan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By_Your_Side_(Hillsong_album)

Give Thanks – Henry Smith

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)


 It wouldn’t be a surprise if the above was a familiar verse to Henry Smith, especially in 1978 when he wrote “Give Thanks”. Had he just been hired to his dream-job? How about a healing, so that he overcame a dreaded disease? No, neither of those was true. Indeed, the opposite was Henry’s reality. Nevertheless, he had several reasons to assume an upbeat emotional posture, despite some of the melancholy circumstances that plagued his life. Perhaps when Henry Smith read the Apostle Paul’s admonition, the key word for him was the tiny three-letter adjective, ‘all’. What equation do you use when evaluating the sum of life?


Henry Smith must have seen life this way: God’s side of the equation outweighs whatever is on the opposite side. At least, that’s what the words he wrote indicate. God is the ‘all’ of existence, so that I am called to ‘give thanks’ six times in the song’s opening words. When I’m done here on planet Earth, all that will matter is what lies ahead – in God’s presence. That must have been alluring for Henry Smith, who was struggling to find steady work, despite having just earned his college degree. When he says ‘the poor’ are rich in “Give Thanks”, that’s an echo from his difficulty in finding work. His eyesight was also failing because of a degenerative condition that would eventually leave him legally blind, certainly a ‘weakness’ that he expressed in the song as his eyesight faded. Thankfully, theological training informed him that God’s side of the equals sign was what mattered. And other parts of his life further motivated the song that leapt from his heart. He’d found someone to love, his future wife. And, he was grateful to be through school, which his deteriorating vision had made difficult, and to be back home in a church he loved in Williamsburg, Virginia. If God was all Henry Smith had in 1978, He could be praised, and yet He provided even more. It’s no surprise that Smith’s heart overflowed in a song. And, the song resounds still in Henry Smith’s hometown and around the globe today.


On the opposite side of the globe, it’s said that “Give Thanks”, when hummed by strangers from the West, is recognized by Chinese Christians who are otherwise reluctant to reveal their faith. And, Henry Smith is able to play a bass guitar or the keyboard to offer songs at a church in the U.S. today, despite being blind. These two facts say physical circumstances may challenge me, but I’m the image-offspring of an unbounded God. Fasten your mind and spirit to this seminal fact, and give thanks.

The source for Henry Smith’s “Give Thanks” 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. Also see “The Complete Book of Hymns-Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. ,2006.