FAMOUS PASTORS & EVANGELISTS. Pt. 1 of 14

I sing. I sing solos. I sing solos in church.

And when I sing, I tend to preface my vocal selection with a 2-3 minute introduction; which in some way alludes to the message of the song. And more often, than not, I tend to share a bit of the history of how the song came to be written. Of course, there have been plenty of books which contain such information as this, and there are several internet sites which contain similar stories of the great hymns of the Church.

This past Sunday the pastor’s wife texted me a couple of hours before church, and asked if I would sing something of my own choosing; as her daughter had developed a physical malady, and wasn’t able to sing that day.

Before I left the house, I grabbed my sheet music binder, and decided on the notes and lyrics of one of my three or four favorite songs in all the world.

“I’d Rather Have Jesus”

And as I sat in the choir loft, preparing to step up to the microphone, something occurred to me that I’d never thought of before. And as I stood behind the podium, I said,

“The poem which is the basis for this hymn was written by Rhea Miller, and the melody is by a man named ‘George.’ When George was a young adult, it seems his mother left the poem on the piano, hoping he would set it to music. She would not be disappointed.”

But to return to my original consideration; which I proceeded to share with our parishioners.

“I have never, ‘til now, thought all that much about the large number of famous contemporary Christians with whom I have been in close proximity during my lifetime, and in some cases with whom I have briefly interacted.

(to be continued)


by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary, Vol. 71. Copyright Pending.

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