Ancient of Days -- Jamie Harvill and Gary Sadler

Maybe the two of them saw this watercolor drawing (a William Blake etching from 1794), or perhaps they had just imagined something similar from the prophet Daniel’s written description. The latter was how Jamie Harvill remembers the gestation inspiration for the “Ancient of Days” that he and his long-time friend Gary Sadler co-wrote in 1991. One might even say that their decision to collaborate had begun years earlier when Jamie was travelling and performing, and also meeting and getting to know Gary while on the road. Could they have known that one day in a small room in Jamie’s house in Mobile, Alabama, the two of them would craft and tape the song on a small four-track recorder? They seemed to know that they would work together on something special; others who heard what they’d done soon thereafter agreed that they were right.

Jamie Harvill and Gary Sadler were in the early stages of their musical careers when they got together to brainstorm “Ancient of Days” in a converted bedroom – a rather inauspicious venue for what they wanted to accomplish. Gary was out of work, but sensed that he wanted to make music work in his life. And Jamie used a gift of $100 to help complete his investment in the equipment that he needed to launch their songwriting and recording venture. So, a son’s bedroom in Jamie’s house became their ad hoc studio, with some key scripture and their own desires creating the foundation for what they’d write. Daniel chapter 7 captured their imagination, as they thought about being around the throne of the One they wished to honor. But, rather than describe Him, Jamie and Gary chose to focus on their response to seeing Him. So many visons inhabit the story of the Ancient of Days and the trappings that Daniel saw --perhaps so breathtaking that Gary and Jamie felt inadequate to further depict Him, either verbally or musically.  His hair is like wool and a flaming throne is nearby, and four bizarre creatures usher in the scenery of this episode about God. How do we and others address Him appropriately? These two 20^th Century songwriters chose to echo the Daniel 7 worshippers – after all, what other method and whose words would be more fitting? Glory, authority, power – they’re all His, Harvill and Sandler remind us. And, every nation, every tongue joins in this unique, never-before-heard chorus. Sounds exciting!

Those who heard the Harvill-Sandler creation saw and heard what the two men must have hoped would translate to worshippers. We who are so far away – in time and distance – from what Daniel saw, may lament our position. That doesn’t have to remain so, however, if I embrace the words and the music that Jamie and Gary provide here. Enter the scenery of Daniel, and be amazed by His wooly hair, the blazing throne, and the fiery river. Join in with the thousands – even more? – that surround you, adoring Him who has always been, and who will always be, too. If everyone is speaking in his or her own language, do you suppose He will make us able to understand each other? Will it be like what He did at Pentecost (Acts 2)? It’ll be amazing to be there to see and hear that! Now do you feel like singing what Jamie and Gary wrote?

A source for the song story is the book “Celebrate Jesus: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003.

See here for information about one of the authors: https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=Jamie+Harvill

Let Us Worship -- Hank Fenn

He was born and reared in the northern panhandle of Amarillo, Texas (see the map here), so that’s where we begin to see the man known as Hank Fenn. It’s certainly not where he was confined, however, especially when considering one of his many songs, “Let Us Worship”. And, he’s traveled even further since 2016 than his song took him. Some might say this last part of his trek has been tragic and premature, although his spiritual family would say his most recent journey’s destination has made it joyous. You see, that’s how a discussion around Hank might sound, as it would for anyone so gifted who dies at the age of 49. If Hank were here, would it be safe to say that he’d want those thinking about him to celebrate the meaning and musical rhythm of the words he wrote as a 28-year old, some 20 years before what he penned came to fruition for himself?

Hank Fenn had musical arms that extended in two directions in his own life, and which then expanded much wider and broader than even he might have imagined by the time he earned his reward. By the 1990s, Hank was deep into a singing group known as Echo Music Ministry that he had formed with three friends in 1989 in the Texas (including Amarillo and Dallas) and the Mobile, Alabama areas. Hank was also writing songs for the Acapella Company, including ‘Let Us Worship’ by 1995; this was, someone might say, his most noteworthy accomplishment, a song that has traveled globally, according to what was written about Hank in the wake of his untimely departure. The same resource shows how another of Hank’s songs (“Lord, We Worship Your Name”) has been adopted in the nation of Ghana by a local singing group. One can imagine that as a 28-year old, Fenn must have been motivated with the same goal when he wrote ‘Let Us Worship’ – to spread the message contained in its few verses as far as possible on this planet. While the specific episode that spurred Hank’s brainchild is unknown, we can deduce something from what he’s left us in his words, notes, and musical beat. It’s an energetic enterprise that Hank invented, one that matches what he evidently felt and wanted those joining in to sense as well. The verbs he chose – ‘worship’, ‘sing’, ‘lift’ (‘your hands’), and ‘glorify’ are not new in the Christian lexicon, but Hank employed a vigorous tempo in his creation that spurs a festive attitude from those who sing it. Its rendering creates a mood, a hand-clapping invitation that calls participants to cast off inhibitions. ‘Are you happy and excited to know Him?’, Hank might have said as he called others to sing ‘Let Us Worship’. Zeal for knowing God and thanking Him for His kingdom are sentiments, in any language, that demand a dynamic response. Hank had figured this out in 1995.     

Hank Fenn must have had his moments when things weren’t going well, inducing some blasé or depression. Hank had a family, including four children, and they’d probably share that their dad wasn’t 100% upbeat in every waking moment. Name one father of four that’s always ‘on’! We can safely assume that Hank went to his bible at times for answers, perhaps including Psalm 95, which is sometimes used as a scriptural reference for Hank’s ‘Let Us Worship’. The psalmist had a formula for getting outta the dumps: singing, especially for joy (v. 1). This concept must have stuck with Hank, too, and he’d probably still be urging you and me to adopt this approach. You think he’s doing this even now as he looks down at us who today sing his creation?

See the following obituary article about the author: https://christianchronicle.org/voices-only-wednesday-in-memory-of-hank-fenn/

See also here: https://www.facebook.com/echomusicministry/photos/a.10155016739461164/10155229319951164/?type=3&theater

You're Worthy of My Praise -- David Ruis

He’s a Canadian, and was in British Columbia (see its flag here) when he penned some words and fused them with some music in 1991. David Ruis proclaimed that “You’re Worthy of My Praise” to the church where he was working, in order to bring disciples into the Christian fellowship, the calling that David believed was his. Music had been ingrained in his life from a young age, so because he was engaged primarily in planting a church, the music he loved was a part of the natural repertoire he used to season that effort. The freshness of faith that he wanted to inspire was also something that he’d learned as a youngster. As a classically-trained musician, David has the wherewithal to focus on the musically complex; yet he doesn’t, a disposition reflected in the words he’d write around 1991. Bow, worship, serve. Meet David Ruis.

David Ruis was just 5 years old when a pair of young newly-minted Christian parents made a decision to make David’s education a well-rounded one, rich in music. Piano and voice lessons, especially in the classics, were standard fare for young David, perhaps not unlike another young David many centuries earlier. He sang in a choir in Calgary, besides playing piano at a high level in the Royal Conservatory. So, David was well on his way to writing and performing music as a collegian, and then at age 21 when he was involved in a planting a church, an effort that would influence how he would come to write ‘You’re Worthy…’ several years later. He says that the focus on starting a new church drew him into the type of songs he would write through 1991, including in British Columbia, where he wrote ‘You’re Worthy…’ as one of his first efforts. Twenty-eight-year old David’s musical DNA would continue to animate his being for some time. The particular circumstances of the genesis of ‘You’re Worthy…’ include songwriting times with just a piano and his two-year old daughter, who sang the echo parts to help David craft the tune, a process that brought to fruition this song-gift over time. He says the church’s very affecting worship experiences also played an important role in his songwriting. Ruis was ultimately doing what church planters do: drawing new Christians into devotion with uncomplicated concepts that children could even understand – with submissive words like ‘praise’, ‘follow’, ‘bow’, ‘hail’, and of course ‘worship’. Ruis and his family have evidently engaged in this church planting lifestyle in several places in Canada and the United States, including in the American states of Missouri and California, and in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and British Columbia.

Given the upbringing and the lifestyle of the Ruis family (David and his wife Anita, and at least four children), what are the odds that more songs like what David wrote in 1991 will emerge? It’s almost a rhetorical question, isn’t it? The Ruises are part of what’s known as Impactnations and the Vineyard churches, which are focused on spreading Christian fellowship churches across the globe. Besides Canada and the United States, they have reportedly been involved in efforts far from what they might call home base – in Nepal and India. If they haven’t already been translated, one can imagine that David’s songs will soon be in other tongues besides English. That’s just the way praise travels – across the planet, and eventually into the heavens too. You think it’s already up there? Let’s go see!           

See the story in the book “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever”, by Lindsay Terry, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2008.

          

See this link for a brief biography of the Ruis family: http://www.impactnations.org/FAQRetrieve.aspx?ID=56971

Also, see here: https://www.last.fm/music/David+Ruis/+wiki
 

Read an interview in 2012 with the author here: https://frankviola.org/2012/05/31/davidruis/