This is the fifty-fifth entry in a series on Songs from the Books of the Bible.

Southern Gospel songs focus on many of the highest themes known to mankind—songs of Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and eternity. But critics claim that they focus on these themes to the exclusion of other Biblical themes which are appropriate and perhaps necessary to address in song.

For how many chapters in II Timothy can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• 2 Timothy 1:8: Timothy’s Burden (Martins)
• 2 Timothy 2:3-4: I Am a Soldier Today (McKameys)
• 2 Timothy 2:3-4: Don’t Give Up the Fight (Hoppers)
• 2 Timothy 2:3-4: I Am A Soldier (Kyla/Barry Rowland and Deliverance)
• 2 Timothy 4:2: Preach (Talley Trio)
• 2 Timothy 4:2: Preach the Word (Gold City)
• 2 Timothy 4:5: There is Much to Do (McKameys)
• 2 Timothy 4:6-7: Crown of Bright Glory (Squire Parsons, Greater Vision)
• 2 Timothy 4:7: Finish Well (McKameys)
• 2 Timothy 4:13: Timothy’s Burden (Martins)

What others come to mind?

Southern Gospel finds its roots in Southern shape-note singing. The Sacred Harp singing convention tradition preserves this older stylistic form in a fashion largely unchanged from what our ancestors experienced 150 years ago. Many Southern Gospel fans are aware that the more participatory Sacred Harp tradition still exists, while many Sacred Harp fans are aware of the more performance-oriented genre of Southern Gospel that traces back to the same roots. Yet the two genres rarely cross paths.

Recently, one of the theology blogs I read covered the fact that NPR, in a rare departure from its usual fare, aired a folk group’s rendition of an old Christian hymn, “Babylon is Fallen.” The lyrics intrigued me; as I investigated further, it turns out that the song originated as a Shaker hymn in the 1810s, based on Revelation 18-20. But most of this song’s prominence comes from its position on page 117 of the Sacred Harp hymnal. 

There are quite a few renditions, mostly by singing conventions in the American South, posted on YouTube. Surprisingly, two of the best come from Cork, Ireland:

A couple more renditions come from Texas, Alabama, and Melbourne (Australia).

This particular song didn’t seem to survive the transition into the Southern Gospel genre. Oddly, it seems to be doing just fine in folk music. Three different groups have renditions on YouTube—weird, weirder, and weirdest. Let the viewer beware; the closer you get to the weirdest end of the spectrum, the more it seems that the artists have absolutely no idea of the meaning of the lyrics they sing. But it that any less odd than the fact that the performance genre—ours—that does understand the meaning has forgotten the song?

This is just another case in point demonstrating that groups looking to do a CD of old, public domain Southern Gospel songs don’t have to record the 200 songs everyone else is recording.

In certain other genres of Christian music, a steadily growing stream of songs focus on asking questions of God. Why did God permit a tragedy? Why must we go through a trial? Why hasn’t He come back yet? Why does He allow pain and suffering?

In those circles, artist quotes like these are so commonplace that they are cliché: “These songs come from a painfully honest place, an authentic place. Sometimes I don’t have all the answers.”

There is, of course, an element of truth to this. Sometimes we don’t know why tragedies happen. But we know that God knows. We know that God will still work things out for good. We know that death was conquered at Calvary. We know that every day brings us closer to the Second Coming, when this, the last enemy, shall be destroyed. And we know that in these in-between times, the God of the Mountain is still faithful in the valley.

Southern Gospel doesn’t have an unreasonably optimistic view of the world. Our genre’s songwriters are authentic and painfully honest about the trials and tragedies that shake and shape our faith. Yet they don’t stop with questions. They affirm, with Paul in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Southern Gospel songs view the trials of this life through the contexts through which a Christian ought to understand trials—looking back to the Cross, currently to God’s faithfulness, and forward to Heaven.

Let’s look at two recent examples. Brian Free & Assurance’s “Never Walk Alone,” noting especially verse 2:

(Verse 2)
You came here as a man
I know You understand what it’s like to walk these roads
My problems don’t compare
To that crown You had to wear
Still You take them as Your own
Because of all the blood and tears You shed.
I will never know that kind of loneliness

(Chorus)
Your Spirit never leaves me
Even when I’m hurting
I don’t have to bear that burden on my own
You carried all the pain and buried all the shame
When You made that rugged tree Your righteous throne
Because of You, I’ll never walk alone.

Of all the Southern Gospel artists facing severe trials right now, you would have to put the Perrys at the top of the list. Look at the title track of their latest album, Through the Night:

(Verse 1)
I don’t understand this burden, Lord; how long must it last?
I have prayed and thought that surely, by now, it would have passed
Oh, I know Your joy will come in morning’s light

(Chorus)
Still I will praise You through the night while this trial perseveres
I will raise my hands to Heaven and praise You through my tears
‘Cause You are never less than faithful though Your hand is not in sight
So my broken heart will lift its voice and praise You through the night

…

(Bridge)
I have seen Your hands of mercy move a thousand times before
So I can trust that You are working in this trial, Lord…

These lyrics, and hundreds more, are painfully honest. They are authentic. They don’t sugar-coat trials. But they don’t stop there; they also look to the Cross, to God’s faithfulness, and to the promise of the Second Coming.

It is authentic to ask questions. It is not authentic to ignore the answers and the promises Scripture gives.

That is why I love Southern Gospel music.

This is the fifty-fourth entry in a series on Songs from the Books of the Bible.

Southern Gospel songs focus on many of the highest themes known to mankind—songs of Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and eternity. But critics claim that they focus on these themes to the exclusion of other Biblical themes which are appropriate and perhaps necessary to address in song.

For how many chapters in I Timothy can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• I Timothy 2:6: See Matthew 20:28
• I Timothy 2:8: Lift Up Your Hands (Nelons)
• I Timothy 6:12: Fight the Good Fight (Nelons)
• I Timothy 6:12: Fight the Good Fight (Lewis Family) (second song)
• I Timothy 6:12: Fight the Good Fight (Hoppers) (third song)
• I Timothy 6:12: Fight the Good Fight (Chuck Wagon Gang) (fourth song)
• I Timothy 6:12: Fight to the Finish (Kingsmen, Dills)
• I Timothy 6:12: Timothy’s Burden (Martins)

What others come to mind?

When we see a great emcee at work—a Jim Hamill, George Younce, Roger Bennett, or Gerald Wolfe—we tend to assume that they must have been born with special talents.

But it is easy to forget the number of years each of the four spent in as a non-emceeing quartet member. Roger Bennett spent almost twenty years with the Cathedrals. Gerald Wolfe spent five years with the Dumplin Valley Boys and a year and a half more with the Cathedrals. Both had the opportunity to study the man who may have been the single most effective emcee of his generation, George Younce, at work every weekend.

But consider Younce, who spent around twenty years watching other emcees at work before stepping up himself. If I’m not mistaken, Danny Koker—not George Younce—was the original Cathedrals emcee, so Younce didn’t even start emceeing until four years into the Cathedrals run.

Hamill, also, spent twenty years on the road before becoming an emcee. Younce and Hamill were both Weatherfords and Blue Ridge Quartet members and heard emcees Earl Weatherford and (as I understand) Elmo Fagg, respectively, hone their craft in front of diverse audiences. Hamill also performed with the Oak Ridge Boys and with the Rebels, among others, prior to his Kingsmen years.

Undoubtedly, great emcees are born with some skills that translate well to effective on-stage communication. But the greatest, it seems, put in years of observing other effective emcees at work before reaching the level of greatness that inspires a new generation.

Are there exceptions? There may be a few. Michael Booth wasn’t the original Booth Brothers emcee. (That would have been, as I understand, his father, Ron Booth Sr.) But he didn’t spend that many years observing before taking the reins. There are undoubtedly others. Yet it seems that many of the greatest spend years observing other great emcees before diving in for themselves.

This raises another interesting question: Which great emcees of the next generation are currently paying their dues, quietly watching a master at work? Pat Barker? (He’s probably cut out to be an emcee.) Doug Anderson? Scotty Inman? Josh Singletary? 

This is the fifty-third entry in a series on Songs from the Books of the Bible.

Southern Gospel songs focus on many of the highest themes known to mankind—songs of Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and eternity. But critics claim that they focus on these themes to the exclusion of other Biblical themes which are appropriate and perhaps necessary to address in song.

For how many chapters in II Thessalonians can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• II Thes. 3:13: Cheer the Weary Traveler (Cathedrals, Kingsmen, Rebels Quartet) (allusion)
• II Thes. 3:13: Hold On, Weary Pilgrim (Melody Boys Quartet) (allusion)

What others come to mind?

This is the fifty-second entry in a series on Songs from the Books of the Bible.

Southern Gospel songs focus on many of the highest themes known to mankind—songs of Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and eternity. But critics claim that they focus on these themes to the exclusion of other Biblical themes which are appropriate and perhaps necessary to address in song.

For how many chapters in I Thessalonians can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• I Thes. 4:13: Sorrow Not (Blackwood Brothers)
• I Thes. 4:16: I’m Gonna Leave Here Shoutin’ (Rambos)
• I Thes. 4:16: It’ll All Be Over But the Shoutin’ (Happy Goodmans)
• I Thes. 4:16: Some Morning I Shall Stand (McKameys)
• I Thes. 4:16: I Can Almost Hear the Trumpet (McKameys)
• I Thes. 4:16: When the Trumpet Sounds (Triumphant Quartet)
• I Thes. 4:16: Only the Sound of His Trumpet (Happy Goodmans)
• I Thes. 4:17: We Shall Be Caught Up (Cathedrals)
• I Thes. 4:17: Caught Up Together (Happy Goodmans)
• I Thes. 4:17: Caught Up (Kingsmen)
• I Thes. 4:17: One of These Mornings (Perrys)
• I Thes. 5:16-18: One Of Those Days (McKameys)
• I Thes. 5:18: In Everything Give Him Thanks (Collingsworth Family)
• I Thes. 5:18: In Everything Give Thanks (Charlotte Ritchie, Jeff & Sheri Easter)
• I Thes. 5:18: In Everything Give Thanks (Lanny Wolfe Trio, Henry & Hazel Slaughter) (second song)

What others come to mind?

God is always present when His people meet. As Jesus promised in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (KJV). But once in a while, He chooses to stir hearts with a particularly strong sense of blessing or conviction.

I occasionally notice promotional materials for Southern Gospel groups that promise to bring God’s presence, in this second sense, to services where they are invited to perform. (I can’t recall ever seeing a top-tier group do this; a claim to this effect is a pretty sure sign that I’m reading the promotional materials for a local or regional group.)

In that light, a recent series of columns from Bob Kauflin, a church musician and modern hymnwriter, is worth reading. In the first post, he states:

Good intentions notwithstanding, no one can consistently and meaningfully “bring God’s manifest presence” to a group of people. No musician, no pastor, no singer, no preacher, no leader – nobody. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit and he functions on his own terms, not ours (John 3:8; 1 Cor. 12:11).

He adds:

I’ve been invited to attend conferences, download songs, attend concerts, buy books, and listen to preachers who all claim they will bring me into God’s presence – for a price. But we can’t buy the presence of God. Simon the Magician realized that when he saw the disciples laying their hands on people with dramatic effect. He offered them cold cash, saying, “Give me this power.” Peter rebuked him.

God’s power, like God’s presence, can’t be bought or sold. God doesn’t call us so much to be facilitators of his glory as faithful to the gospel. Our job isn’t to create an “environment of excitement” but an environment of response to the true God through the gospel in the power of the Spirit.

Check out the three-part series here, here, and here. Don’t be dissuaded from completing the series by the corrective tone of the first post; the second post provides a necessary positive balance—we also aren’t to minimize the fact that sometimes God does choose to move in these powerful ways, and we need to be open and receptive when these times come.

In the concluding third post, he gets to the heart of the matter: “Don’t let the pursuit of experience replace a pursuit of faithfulness to Scripture and the gospel.”

It seems every generation is tempted to value and pursue experience over faithfulness. The perils are numerous. It can lead to equating elevated passions to encountering God, feeling disappointed if we’re not emotionally or physically affected, making secondary means (technical skill, lights, videos, arrangements) primary in engaging people’s minds and hearts, and being overimpressed with unusual manifestations. If the people I lead get more excited about the latest “move of God” than the fact that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins and rise from the dead to reconcile us to God (the gospel), then we’re responsible to lead them back to what is of first importance (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Likewise, if my congregation thinks “hearing from God” only means prophetic or spontaneous events, I need to help them treasure God’s sufficient and authoritative Word more than gold (Ps. 19:10-11).

This is the fifty-first entry in a series on Songs from the Books of the Bible.

Southern Gospel songs focus on many of the highest themes known to mankind—songs of Salvation, the Cross, the Resurrection, and eternity. But critics claim that they focus on these themes to the exclusion of other Biblical themes which are appropriate and perhaps necessary to address in song.

For how many chapters in Colossians can we find Southern Gospel songs addressing their themes?

• Colossians 1:5: When I Think About Heaven (McKameys)
• Colossians 1:9-14: I Keep Praying (McKameys)
• Colossians 1:28: Christ In Me (Couriers)
• Colossians 2:14: Nail it to the Cross (Kitsons, Whisnants)
• Colossians 2:14: Nailing My Sins to His Cross (Downings, Speers)
• Colossians 3:1-3: I’ve Made Up My Mind (McKameys)
• Colossians 3:2: God Doesn’t Think Like Me (McKameys)
• Colossians 3:3: Hid in Christ (Browns, Greenes)
• Colossians 3:11: You Are My All in All (Gaither Vocal Band)
• Colossians 3:16: A Sermon in Song (McKameys)

What others come to mind?

In Legacy Five’s latest blog post, Gus Gaches observes something we have discussed many times on this site: Twenty-five years ago, the Cathedrals would do a live concert with mostly piano and bass guitar, and just two songs with soundtracks. But today, the situation is reversed, and most groups, including Legacy Five, only do one or two songs without pre-recorded soundtracks. Then, he asks a question that I had started to fear I would never see a group of this caliber ask:

It is extremely expensive to be on the road these days and the budget for a group is unbelievable. So to add extra pieces to the budget for a band is very hard, thus we all use tracks. But let me pose this question. If you bought a ticket to see Legacy Five and we sang most of the concert without tracks would you leave disappointed? No strings, no brass, no rhythm section. Just simply piano and vocals.

I think we have gotten used to hearing all of the huge arrangements and would feel like we were missing something if it wasn’t that way. That is my opinion, but I would really like to hear yours! What would you think of fewer tracks and more with just piano? Or would you be interested in a special evening once or twice a year that would feature a live band? Please give us your opinion or idea on the matter.

So, fans of fully live music, share your feedback with Legacy Five here!

Maybe, just maybe, there is still hope that fully live music in this genre isn’t on its way to becoming a thing of the past.