I Believe in Jesus -- Alton Howard

Entrepreneur. That’s the word someone might use to describe Alton Howard. How about in 1977, when he wrote the song “I Believe in Jesus”; was he out of character, or was he saying what he lived then? Was song-writing the same thing for Alton Howard as opening a new store, or taking an idea and turning it into reality?  What moved this West Monroe, Louisiana (see map) resident to express something in words that some of his peers in the various business fields he pursued might have ignored or considered too risky? Meet Alton Howard.

Alton Howard had been up and down many avenues in life by the time he composed a song about his deepest, fundamental beliefs in his early 50’s. He’d served in the Air Force in World War II, flying many times over Germany as part of his duty. Perhaps his war experience was a motivator, for over the next 60 years Howard seemed unafraid to take risk, to reach for something different in a variety of business ventures. He must have had a good sense of what would work too, for if he hadn’t he might have eventually collapsed permanently. From various retail stores, to restaurants, to insurance companies, and then publishing, Alton Howard must have been like a blur to those who know him. An idea man, who knew how to turn them (ideas) into action…that was Alton Howard. And, that didn’t stop with his faith, either. He wrote relatively few songs, but was a leader for over four decades in the church he attended, and started a church youth camp and helped begin a radio ministry. One might say he really believed, and knew how to turn his own belief into something that others soon believed also. Perhaps that’s the basic life message he communicated with his song words in “I Believe in Jesus”. He didn’t think his own belief was sufficient, or was something he could just keep to himself.

Alton Howard lived a message, and wrote about the fundamentals of this message in his composition. We don’t know the precise circumstances in 1977 as he penned the words to “I Believe in Jesus”, but they appear to be consistent with what we know of his lifestyle. From what he wrote, Alton was moved by the miracles of Jesus’ ministry, such that he felt the key to life’s answers were embodied in Him. Jesus wasn’t just fascinating and fantastic. He was a reasonable alternative, perhaps in part for Howard because he’d been a onetime-wartime flyboy who’d faced death and survived. It’s as if Alton had placed himself at the disposal of God, the preserver and sustainer of life. ‘Use me’, Howard might have thought, and so the 60-plus years of his life after the war’s conclusion say something. Has God been my protector at some point? How about you? What – or in whom – do you believe?      

See following links for information on the composer:

http://www.christianchronicle.org/article512~Songbook_publisher,_entrepreneur_Howard_dies_at_age_81

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