Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross – Fanny Crosby and William Doane

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2 Cor. 12:9)

Awesome! Have you ever read someone’s biography and had this reaction? That’s what draws me most often when I read…a great life. Try on some of these names: Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela…what would it have been like for the Great Emancipator to meet the first black South African president? Or how about Clara Barton, or Florence Nightingale….great humanitarians, and did you know they were contemporaries (Florence, 1820-1910; and Clara, 1821-1912) ? And of course, Jesus Christ, the most amazing life ever. How about Sally Smith…or Victoria Sterling…or James Black? Nope? Well, what about Frances Crosby? If this name still has no spark, maybe it’s because she’s more commonly known as Fanny Crosby, or ‘Aunt Fanny’ to some. Did you know that she was also Victoria Sterling, Sally Smith, and even James Black? She used many fake names, or pseudonyms, at least 100 in her hymn-writing career.

Crosby (1820-1915), who was also a contemporary of Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale, presents no small task to a blogger trying to sum up her life. A three-paragraph blog entry just doesn’t make it, really. Here’s some links if you want to read more about and appreciate her more. But, if you want the short version, read on. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Crosby http://nethymnal.org/bio/c/r/o/crosby_fj.htm One of the most loved of Aunt Fanny’s 8,000 hymns was “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross”, which she co-wrote with William Doane. Doane wrote the music first, and then Crosby penned the words we know so well. Her words show the familiarity she felt with her Lord: from the ‘beams’ around her (verse 2), to the cross’ ‘shadow’ over her (verse 3), senses that were sharpened as she pondered the sight she lacked here on earth, but would inherit to see Him in Eternity. Perhaps you’ve heard this quote attributed to her: "when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!" Her glad heart shows in the song she co-authored with Doane, in way I never noticed, until I delved into this song story. Doane gets the credit for the song’s music, which is in 6/8 time, or meter. Any musicologist will recognize this form as a waltz, made most popular by the “Waltz King” Johann Strauss (1825-99), who was also one of Crosby’s contemporaries. Think she or her collaborator William Doane might have heard a Strauss waltz? It’s an upbeat, happy occasion, a celebration when a waltz is played, usually. Isn’t it odd, that someone would celebrate a symbol of cruel death, a cross of crucifixion? Not for Fanny Crosby, whose life is an example of someone who turned conventional thinking on its head, who exuded a positive attitude, even in the face of trial. How on earth does a blind woman learn to play two instruments (she learned the guitar, piano, and singing while a student at the New York School for the Blind), become a teacher and speaker, and one of the most well-known women in America in the 19th Century? Most would not prescribe the way Fanny began, blinded at six-weeks old by a substitute physician whose remedy for her eye inflammation was tragic. But, could her experience have made her that much more prolific? She, indeed, epitomized what Paul writes to the Corinthians about human weakness versus Godly strength.

Yes, there’s more than meets the eye when one looks at this lifelong Methodist, who was raised by her mother and grandmother. Fanny Crosby amazed and inspired – still does. So, what’s that say about the Mighty One who strengthened her? He’s still at work today, if I’ll just look for Him, if I use Him as my eyes. Aunt Fanny may have been blind, but maybe that’s what it takes to see my world the way God does. There’s a 4th verse to this song that you may have not heard…I had not. Here it is: "Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, hoping, trusting ever, till I reach the golden strand just beyond the river. "

See more information on the song discussed above in The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006. Also, see: Amazing Grace: 36 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

Faithful Love - Ken Young

He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." (Genesis 15:7) 

I’d trust that guy about as far as I could throw ‘em! I think I’ve heard myself mutter those words as I walked away from the car dealership, or some other shady business establishment that made me suspicious, haven’t you ? I usually gird myself by reading Consumer Reports, ‘cuz no one wants to get ripped off…no, you want to get your money’s worth, the best deal. And, am I not being a good steward of God’s blessings when I think like this? I’m so glad that God is more trustworthy-infinitely more trustworthy, in fact- than a car salesman! Otherwise, we might all be wise to try jumping off this spinning top planet Earth he created, huh? Even so, did Abraham react like he thought God was reliable, that the Creator was offering him a good deal when he moved from Ur? Did he consult Consumer Reports, or examine God’s business references? Ken Young and his family admit they too felt some uncertainty in 1993, when they planned to move-- from Irving to, of all places, the desert of Midland. Ken wrote the song “Faithful Love” to tell us his feelings about his Lord, even as he wondered what lay ahead.

 Ken doesn’t seem to fret about the uncertainty, about our faith being invisible (Hebrews 11:1)…you see, he says Faithful Love has a face (see His picture above). Ken describes “Faithful Love’s” beginning: “It was August of 1993. We had lived in Irving, TX for only three years, but we were making final plans to move to Mid­land. Hallal’s ministry (the Youngs’ musical enterprise for worship renewal in churches) had really taken root and God was opening new doors of influence each day. What we were not prepared for, however, was the spiritual warfare that would accompany the blessings. It became so brutal we considered leaving full-time ministry. After much prayer and testing, it be­came clear God had called our family to a ministry in wor­ship and we could not run away, even if it meant going through the fire. He also called us to the desert. When friends heard we were moving back to West Texas, they thought we had lost our minds. To be honest, there were days when we thought they might be right. But what God did through Hallal from the desert over the next decade exceeded our greatest dreams. He is so faithful! “Faithful Love” was written during that move from the Metro­plex (our Ur) to the desert.”

 God told us that even a mustard seed-like faith has power (Matthew 17:20), so maybe that’s what Ken Young and his clan had going for them. Their experience suggests human faith grows as we draw upon the Holy One’s faith – allowing Him to change us, as the song’s words declare. If you check it out, “Faithful Love” has been like that – starting out small, and blossoming into more, from being the song of a stricken family in Kay Evans’ book, “A Song for Your Honor”, to going to distant lands like France and Costa Rica. Hallal’s growth, however, is probably less about Ken and his family, and instead more about God and the intimacy we can have with Him when we sing the words of the song Ken composed. When I take the words of “Faithful Love” to heart, I fathom God’s faith toward me with more confidence. You can sense that buoyant attitude from the Youngs, who’ve been taking steps out from Ur…to Tennessee in 2003, as well as to places around the globe. So, am I still hanging around in Ur? Are you? How might our mustard seeds sprout, if we just let Him blow them where he wants?

The above information gathered from the Hallal website: http://hallalmusic.com/, and a Hallal newsletter that was posted at the same website in October 2007.

Thank You, Lord - Gary Mabry

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)


What’s your favorite holiday? Lot’s of people say Christmas, because of the gift-giving, or maybe because of the spirit it engenders. Others pick Halloween, especially if they like handing out candy to kids standing at the door in adorable costumes. Maybe it’s one of the patriotic days, and the holiday from work that you really relish. I know I like holidays because it’s then that I get to do what I like – sleep in a little and skip the traffic! How would it work, though, if you were ordered to take a holiday to do something you don’t really like to do, or told to do something you’re not good at? Consider Ebenezer Scrooge, that thankless Christmas-time curmudgeon who was finally compelled to be kind. We think of him usually just in December, but maybe his story would also fit well at Thanksgiving, whaddya think? The ultimate complainer converted at Thanksgiving…yeh, that would be poetic justice, right?  I have to admit, I have lots of reasons to be happy and grateful, but too often I’m forgetful about expressing my thanks sincerely…I’m Scrooge. If that’s you too, Gary Mabry has written us a song to remind us of gratitude, to draw this emotion out of us. He also shares how he came to compose this tune, and how God uses unlikely people to teach us profound truth.

Gary Mabry spent his high school and college-age years in Abilene, Texas, where he met Stanley Shipp, a Christian missionary who became a link to Gary and the song “Thank You, Lord”, though probably neither of them suspected how this would come about in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After his conversion to Christ, Mabry continued to grow in the Lord’s work at his local church in Abilene, becoming a song leader and then youth director through Stanley Shipp’s encouragement. Although Shipp moved to St. Louis to start a campus ministry, he and Mabry kept in touch. Gary sometimes was the song leader during National Youth Outreach Campaigns that Shipp organized, and on one trek to St. Louis Mabry began to write “Thank You, Lord”. In Mabry’s own words …” One of the men from Abilene who moved to St. Louis to work with Stanley Shipp was a cerebral palsy victim (although he never considered himself to be a “victim”) by the name of Robert Reid. … I drove Robert from Abilene to St. Louis as he relocated. He was such a positive, fun and funny person….His spirit gave new meaning to thankfulness to God. …I began to have an idea for a song and jotted down the words and melody on a pad I kept close by. Robert was the first person to hear it…” If he didn’t know it before, perhaps Mabry had discovered something about how God translates a song to a composer. Could it be that the Creator places special people – like Robert Reid - in one’s way to spur and craft something unique, something extraordinary and long-lasting?

God is bountiful. However, sometimes, given my circumstances, I could easily curse and wonder ‘where’s God’s blessings in my life?’Robert Reid could have brought gloom, but instead he brought cheer to others – was that providential? Mabry’s first verse in the song tells me to thank God for “making me whole”. It must have been something to hear Robert sing those words, and know he counted on God to make them true. Mabry’s song and its story remind me that our Father’s “whole” gift comes in heaven, and in an unexpected way here on earth too. I need to find people who have little, seemingly, but who still manage to smile. They have what I often lack, although to the secular world the opposite appears true. “Thank You, Lord” communicates something elemental about my God and me. If I dwell on the essentials – Godly love, His blessings, and the full life He promises here and in Eternity – I have all I need. My frown turns upside down, I cast off Scrooge, as I think upon the song’s message, and let its music indwell me. Thank the Lord for Gary Mabry, for Robert Reid and Stanley Shipp, and the musical Spirit that collaborated on this song!

The above story was acquired via an e:mail with Gary Mabry on 3/31/2009, and through his association with the University of Texas at San Antonio gary.mabry@utsa.edu.

Days of Elijah – Robin Mark

If you watch the evening news frequently, you have felt some anxiety on occasion, am I right? Indeed, the world’s events seem like a great weight, for who can control them, or predict their course? One would have to be a prophet to do that, you answer. What must it have been like to be a prophet in the old earth days? An Elijah? The earth’s behavior was less well understood then, more of a mystery, holding humans in a fog as they encountered life-changing calamities, or at other times perhaps God’s favor. Earthquakes, floods, eruptions, hurricanes…all are described as ‘biblical’ events or ‘acts of God’ when we read the fine print in our insurance policies. You cannot stop ‘em, and although we’ve come two or three millennia since Elijah, we really haven’t found our way around (nor above or beyond) the earth’s fickle behavior. That was Robin Mark’s reaction in 1994 when he wrote “Days of Elijah”.

Though he’s been a Christian in Belfast, Ireland and a worship leader for some time, Mark has asked himself if God is really in control at times. The composer was watching the news in late 1994, and he admits he despaired at what he saw, for it was the year of Rwanda, when a million people perished. To call it a tragedy is an understatement, but what else can we do but cry out to God? Mark’s conversation with the Lord informed him, he says, that God is present. He calls us to be people of right-living, and trust-giving – to Him. And, though 21st Century humans may think they’re far-removed from somebody like Elijah, Mark sees him, and events in our day too, as signposts for the Creator. Famine, but also harvest opportunities are evident in our time, Mark tells us musically, and it’s no accident that they are reminiscent of Old Testament events. And, Mark’s words also draw upon the biblical imagery of bones knitting together in Ezekiel’s day to remind us that we as a church should unite, to proclaim a cohesive message of hope in the Lord. We as His people should, above all else, be worshippers, Mark says, an imperative that “Days of Elijah” proclaims as well.

To sum it up, Mark says the song gives us four directives: “….declaration, righteousness, unity and worship. I chose to express these thoughts by reference to the characters that represented these virtues in the Old Testament. It is in essence a song of hope for the Church and the world in times of great trial.” So, remind others that God is watching; He wants us to act with integrity; the Lord yearns for His people to come together; and the Holy One communes with us in worship. Hard to go wrong with those, huh?

You can read Mark’s “Days of Elijah” story in his own words, and read some about his life with the links below:

https://robinmark.com/the-story-behind-days-of-elijah/ (this is the link to the story behind the song).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Mark(this is the link to Robin Mark’s biography).

God of This City - Bluetree

Urban blight…crime…drug gangs…slums…prostitution. Could you ever imagine feeling positive about this kind of existence? Would you have dared to live in Sodom and Gomorrah, or maybe Nineveh? The characters we read about in the Old Testament who visited those diseased places were repulsed too …after all, who wants a mob pounding on your door, demanding you hand over your guests for gang rape (Lot’s quandary in Genesis 19) ? I’d have run away, wouldn’t any sane person? Who willingly goes to such places, especially after seeing the pictures of squalor? But, hold on! If you see the pictures of a contemporary Sodom-like city, it does look rather enticing. The travel guides know how to dress up a place like Pattaya Beach, Thailand (see the picture above). I wonder if the members of the Irish band Bluetree knew what awaited them when they prepared to visit Pattaya a few years ago. Bluetree -- the band’s name tells Christians to stand out from the crowd, like blue trees in a green forest – is from Belfast, Ireland. That was how the group’s lead singer Aaron Boyd says they must have appeared to a crowd in the “Climax Bar” – basically a brothel -- in Pattaya. After all, why would a group of Christians sing for two hours in such a place, and in a city of such infamous reputation, considered to be a world-renowned hub of the sex industry? Boyd admits he and his bandmates were leery of this proposition at first, but their powerful witness in the song “God of This City” came to them as they considered the city’s lifestyle and its poverty, afflicting the spirit as well as the daily life of its residents. You can read about their story and even see a video by Boyd, who tells of the experience in Pattaya, with these links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh_tgjnYJw http://www.experiencingworship.com/articles/reviews/2009-2-Bluetree-God-Of.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattaya Bluetree has not forgotten Pattaya. They are preparing to begin a charity in May 2009 called "Stand Out International", an effort to save kids from the sex industry. Boyd relates their attitude about themselves and the world about them, in an age when morbid news can desensitize even Christians …"you eventually grow so numb that when you hear that a car bomb killed 10 people, you immediately go on with the mundane business of the day without as much as giving it a second thought." Boyd doesn’t want his Christian message to stop at the stage, and Bluetree’s charity raises the bar for all of us. I can be like Lot, and try to live in my own cocoon inside an evil that will eventually claw at me. Or, will I be like Jonah, angry and dismissive of the depraved, wishing for their destruction? It's tough to be a lonely blue tree, but with others we might persuade to paint themselves this garish color, maybe we can turn the green forest into a brilliant sapphire.

Come Share the Lord -- Bryan Jeffery Leech

(The Clownfish and the Sea Anemone share the ocean floor)

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had (Acts 4:32). Do you remember hearing this one growing up -- ‘Now share that toy with your brother’? Or, maybe it was a lollipop or the TV control your momma had to pry loose from your fist. Would Halloween exist if neighbors refused to share with kids, maybe even kids they don’t know? And what about Christmas? It’s down the tubes without that holiday giving spirit. How about our roads or even our global economy…what if we refused to share the transportation routes, or commercial goods with others? I confess that sometimes I have really wished that someone would get outta the way on I-495, or that I wasn’t all that fired up about Halloween or Christmas. How about you? Bryan Jeffery Leech has written a song that calls us to share, but curiously to share someone, rather than something. How do we do that? His song’s words tell us how, but its genesis also shows us something else, a reality we often miss or under-appreciate about God and each other. Leech was born in England in 1931, and came to the U.S. in 1955 for part of his ministerial education at Barrington College and Chicago’s North Park Seminary. But, he did not take up the composer’s pen for several years, not until he was in his mid-30’s. One might say, with hindsight, that maybe the Lord was patiently preparing him. Leech has authored over 500 tunes, written several plays and books, and pastored several churches from coast-to-coast. Still, when he wrote “Come Share the Lord”, Leech remembers he had a creative block that was broken only by sharing. It was 1982, and that autumn Leech had fixed in his mind that he would write a communion hymn, but then forgot about his resolution. Or, had he? At Christmas in England with his family, Leech composed a melody, “but my mind was barren of any lyric ideas”, he admitted. It wasn’t until the next summer that he played this orphan tune for a friend, in order to get an objective opinion about its utility. His friend’s reaction -- ‘It’s obvious: Holy Communion.’ Spurred on by this, Leech says he wrote the song’s lyrics that same hour. Do you think he realized how important, even crucial, sharing with someone else can be after this? Indeed, the song’s words, which had been gestating for months, gave birth in rapid fashion to a message, the same message that Leech discovered was active in his own experience – sharing. Leech is living evidence that God is a patient, but not inactive, being. When we know this, and can live it, our world changes. He provides, most notably in the people He puts around me. I guess I have forgotten this at times, if I’m honest. But, a great principle is at work in Leech’s composition, one that should motivate and energize us, and make us appreciate and spur forward each other – like Leech’s friend did for him. It’s called symbiosis in the science world, like the sea anemone and the clownfish that mutually provide for each other in the ocean (see picture above). We have each other as a family, as the song says, and collectively have the Creator as our model. A great, amazing calling is ours. His church should be the world’s greatest creative engine, but perhaps only when we share with each other, and thereby draw on one another and upon Him too. He may seem absent at times, but realizing that the great creative force who made me is nevertheless present is more than just comforting – it unlocks something inside. I love to think that I am mimicking God when I’m creative, and that He’s put this family around me to help me be more like Him.

Information on Bryan Jeffery Leech and the song obtained from these three websites. http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=3900 (article written by C. Michael Hawn, Aug 8, 2008) http://songsandhymns.org/people/detail/bryan-leech (Center for Church Music) http://www.fredbock.com/Promo.asp?page=258 (Fred Bock Music Companies)

The Old Rugged Cross - George Bennard

It won’t be long now, I thought, until the grass starts to grow, the plants leap outta the ground, and the trees begin to bud. It wasn’t hard to conjure up thoughts like that as I walked through the yard on a warm March Saturday morning. I have two trees, a maple and a dogwood – about 25 bags of leaves every autumn. Every spring, the dogwood blooms are a shade of pink, and come out first, followed by the Maple that comes on in a flash in a two-week stretch in May. That’s about as much notice as I give ‘em, really, and it shows. Another maple I used to have was taken over and eaten by beetles (or so I was informed by tree experts) because I didn’t see what was going on in time … and neither did my tree experts! How about your trees…do you notice ‘em? Most of us know about a tree that was made into a cross 21 centuries ago, even if we haven’t been to a church in ages, or maybe go just occasionally. Many songwriters have thought about this famous tree, but perhaps none have written about it with more memorable words than George Bennard, who wrote “The Old Rugged Cross”. Bennard wrote “The Old Rugged Cross” in 1913 at a time when he was going through a difficult, though unspecific, experience. It made him think about Christ’s cross suffering (Philippians 3:10) and how the Lord’s redemptive act for mankind was so central to his faith. He soon penned the songs’ words and gave them to Charles Gabriel, a leading hymn-writer in the early 20th Century. As someone has said, ‘Now you know the rest of the story’, for the song has been so well-loved that by some estimates it was America’s favorite hymn in the 1925-60 period. Three towns -- Al­bi­on, Mi­chi­gan; Po­ka­gon, Mi­chi­gan; and Stur­geon Bay, Wis­con­sin -- have claimed to be the birthplace of Bennard’s song. In Reed Ci­ty, Mi­chi­gan, where Bennard spent the last years of his life, the Cham­ber of Com­merce put a cross near his home, and a museum has been dedicated to his work. This song appears very different from the hallelujah psalms that Jesus and His Apostles might have sung, with words like ‘cross’ -- a very cruel instrument of death -- and ‘blood’, ‘suffering’, ‘slain’, ‘reproach’, and ‘shame’. Not much praiseworthy there, right? But, as I read a little more about “The Old Rugged Cross”, I discovered something that struck me. George Bennard began his Christian life as a worker in the well-known relief organization The Salvation Army, when his father died and he needed to support his mother and sisters. Bennard and his wife served in the Salvation Army in Illinois, and later he was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church and conducted revivals in New York and Michigan. Think about The Salvation Army -- the good-hearted folks who stand in front of K-Mart in the cold in December, ringing bells and asking for donations -- for a moment. We don’t ring bells, and the collection plates don’t look like kettles at the church (usually), but we do have one thing in common with Bennard and his co-workers. We who are saved are also part of God’s Salvation Army, and we (like Jesus, see Hebrews 12) overcome our sadness because of the joy set before us. When he wrote that he loved the old cross, George Bennard wasn’t expressing an illogical attachment to a hunk of wood…he was zeroing in on Jesus’ deepest act of love toward him, and reflecting that devotion back to the Lord through a song. So, don’t avoid the cross, nor those words ‘blood’, ‘suffering’, ‘slain’, ‘reproach’, and ‘shame’. Join with the Army of God, and sing Bennard’s reminder that we’ve overcome!

Sources for the song’s history and its composer obtained from the following site: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/r/oruggedc.htm Also see the following books: “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990. “101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth W. 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, Inc., 2006.