Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas. Some of this information is original; most of it is copied from other websites such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org. It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.
About the Organ Music:
Great is Thy Faithfulness - Douglas Wagner
(c.2019, Lorenz Publishing)
A native of the small Kentucky town of Franklin, Thomas Obediah Chisholm (1866-1960) was born in a log cabin. He lacked formal education. Nevertheless, he became a teacher at age sixteen and the associate editor of his hometown weekly newspaper, the “Franklin Advocate”, at age twenty-one. Though he was ordained a Methodist minister in 1903, he served only a single, brief appointment at Scottsville, Kentucky, due to ill health. He wrote more than 1200 poems, 800 of which were published. They often appeared in religious periodicals such as the “Sunday School Times”, “Moody Monthly”, and “Alliance Weekly”. Many of these were set to music.
Chisholm had sent a number of his poems to the Rev. William H. Runyan (1870-1957), a musician with the Moody Bible Institute and one of the editors of Hope Publishing Company in Chicago. The tune FAITHFULNESS was written in Baldwin, Kansas, in 1923, and was first published in my private song pamphlets." A phrase in Lamentations 3:22-23 provides a basis for the refrain: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Twenty years later Runyan wrote:
Mr. Chisholm and I were devoted co-workers, and I wrote harmonies to some 20 or 25 of his poems. This particular poem held such
an appeal that I prayed most earnestly that my tune might carryover its message in a worthy way, and the subsequent history of its use indicates that God answers prayer.
Showing early musical promise, Runyan was a substitute church organist by the age of twelve. He became a Methodist minister in 1891 and served several churches in Kansas but turned to evangelism in 1903; he worked for the Central Methodist Conference for the next twenty years. Following that service, Runyan became pastor at the Federated Church at John Brown University, Sulphur Springs [sic: Siloam Springs], Arkansas. Editor of Christian Workers Magazine, he also served the Moody Bible Institute and was an editor for Hope Publishing Company until his retirement in 1948. Runyan wrote a number of hymn texts, gospel songs, and hymn tunes. "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" became an unofficial school hymn at Moody Bible Institute.
George Beverly Shea (1909-2013), the famous Canadian-born singer of the Billy Graham Crusades, introduced this hymn to those attending the evangelistic meetings in Great Britain in 1954. It immediately became a favorite. This hymn appeared in many evangelical hymnals and song collections but was not chosen for an official Methodist hymnal until The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), even though the author was a Methodist. It was a very popular hymn of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church and had been included in their hymnals.
According to Carlton Young, "Great is thy faithfulness" was second only to "In the garden" as the most requested hymn for inclusion in The United Methodist Hymnal. A survey conducted in 2000 by Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources, General Board of Discipleship, revealed that "Great is thy faithfulness" remains one of the favorite hymns among United Methodists.
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not.
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow;
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Douglas E. Wagner, a native of Chicago, Illinois, is an international recognized composer and arranger. With thirty years as a high school music educator and administrator behind him, Mr. Wagner now devotes all of his time and energy to writing, editing and their allied activities. He is an A.S.C.A.P. award-winning composer, an editor for a major publishing company, and has served several denominations as a church musician. 2,500 titles by Douglas E. Wagner have been published since 1973, included works for choir (sacred and secular), concert band, orchestra, handbell ensemble, organ, piano, instrumental solo, and voice. Fifteen million copies of his music have been sold to date.
Meditation on "St. Flavian" - Brenda Portman
(c.2019, Lorenz Publishing)
“In Sweet Communion, Lord, with Thee” This text is a paraphrase of the final segment of a wisdom psalm, Psalm 73:23-28. The versification of the text (usually one biblical verse per stanza) is a revision of that found in the 1912 Psalter. "In Sweet Communion" sets forth the joy of walking closely with God, following his directives, shunning earthly distractions, and experiencing his comfort and power. The final stanza proclaims the wisdom theme of the psalm: "To live apart from God is death; 'tis good his face to seek.”
William U. Butcher (1829-1910) wrote this hymn in 1860. Except for the fact that he had some association with the Oliver Ditson Music Company, no information is available about Butcher.
The original form of the ST. FLAVIAN was first published in The Whole Booke of Psalmes (London: John Day, 1562), which was the completion of the English psalter by Sternhold & Hopkins and others. The composer of the tune is unknown. The original, full version was intended for Psalm 132, a Common Meter Double text. The paraphraser of Psalm 132, “Remember David’s troubles, Lord,” was John Marckant. The tune was halved to suit Common Meter texts, starting with The Whole Booke of Psalmes (London: W. Barley, ca. 1598), where it was set to Psalm 138, “Thee will I praise with my whole heart,” a paraphrase which had first appeared only six years earlier in Thomas Est’s publication of The Whole Booke of Psalmes. The two-part arrangement (tenor and bass) was by G. Farnaby. The change in the third note of the melody from 5 to 7 can be traced as early as Thomas Ravenscroft’s The Whole Booke of Psalmes (London: Company of Stationers, 1621); Ravenscroft used the full CMD version of the tune for Psalm 132. Many hymnals use a harmonization based on the one by Richard Redhead (1820–1901), from his Church Hymn Tunes Ancient & Modern (London: I. Masters, 1853). Redhead’s arrangement was adopted into the first edition of Hymns Ancient & Modern (1861), with a few harmonic changes and the reduction of most whole notes to halves. The tune was called REDHEAD NO. 29 and set to four different texts. In the revised edition of 1875, the tune was renamed ST. FLAVIAN, probably in recognition of Redhead not being the author; in the index it was credited to “Barber’s Psalm Tunes, 1686,” a reference to Abraham Barber’s A Book of Psalm Tunes in Four Parts. The name is apparently in honor of Flavian of Constantinople (5th century).
In sweet communion, Lord, with you I constantly abide;
my hand you hold within your own to keep me near your side.
Your counsel through my earthly way shall guide me and control,
and then to glory afterward you will receive my soul.
Whom have I, Lord, in heav'n but you, to whom my thoughts aspire?
And, having you, what more on earth is there I can desire?
Though flesh and heart should faint and fail, the Lord will ever be
the strength and portion of my heart, my God eternally.
Originally from Grafton, Wisconsin, Brenda Portman (b. 1980) is the Resident Organist at Hyde Park Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Executive Director of the church’s organ concert series. She is organ instructor at Xavier University and holds a DMA in organ performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Portman is active as a composer of organ and choral music and has won several awards for her compositions.
Postlude on "Grosser Gott" - Edward Landin
(c.2019, Lorenz Publishing)
"Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" (original German: "Großer Gott, wir loben dich") is a hymn with a colored and varied history.
The German Catholic priest Ignaz Franz wrote the original German lyrics in 1771 as a paraphrase of the Te Deum, a Christian hymn in Latin from the 4th century. It became an inherent part of major Christian ceremonial occasions, mainly as a conclusion song. Due to its memorable melody and theme, it is one of the most popular hymns in German-speaking communities. As a result of the German emigration in the 19th century, the song became known in the United States and was translated to English by Clarence A. Walworth in 1858, except verse 7 (translated by Hugh T. Henry), which accounted for its wide spreading around the country.
The first printing of the hymn was made in Vienna 1776, where it became part of the Catholic hymnal (Katholisches Gesangsbuch) upon the order of Her Apostolic Majesty Maria Theresia. Since then, different varieties in the German lyrics were developed, of which two are still in use: Johann Gottfried Schicht's Allgemeines Choralbuch (1819) and Heinrich Bone's Cantate (Mainz 1852).
The lyrics paraphrase the Latin Te Deum. Its original version of 1771, which was later amended by Ignaz Franz, consisted of 12 verses; however, the amendment never gained acceptance and so the first version (altered by consolidating the 5th and 6th verse) persisted. The melody first appears in the Allgemeines Katholisches Gesangbuch (Vienna, c. 1774).
On the initiative of Johann Gottfried Schicht, the hymn also became part of Protestant hymnals, but was widely neglected for a long time due to its perceived status as a "spiritual folksong" in the Age of Enlightenment. Only in the 20th century was it fully accepted by Protestants, though shorter and altered versions are often sung (occasionally two verses were completely replaced by the New Apostolic Church).
The hymn became also part of military hymnbooks where it was considered as a song of thanksgiving. The military hymnal of the Evangelical Church of 1939 added a verse which praised the Führer Adolf Hitler. The hymnal of the so-called "German Christians" (1941) was named after the song and contained a version which was "purified of Jewish elements" and adjusted to the Nazi ideology.
In the region of Upper Silesia in Poland, this hymn is performed in loose Polish translation ("Ciebie, Boże wielbimy"), replacing "Ciebie Boga wysławiamy" by Franciszek Wesołowski which is officially sanctioned as a Polish version of Te Deum (so called "Millenial Te Deum") by Polish Episcopal Conference, and widespread in other regions of the country.
In Switzerland there also exists a pacifistic version which was composed after World War I by Karl von Greyerz and is destined for the Swiss Day of Repentance and Prayer, an interdenominational church holiday in Switzerland.
Holy God, we praise Thy Name; Lord of all, we bow before Thee!
All on earth Thy scepter claim, All in Heaven above adore Thee;
Infinite Thy vast domain, Everlasting is Thy reign.
Hark! the loud celestial hymn Angel choirs above are raising,
Cherubim and seraphim, In unceasing chorus praising;
Fill the heavens with sweet accord: Holy, holy, holy, Lord.
Lo! the apostolic train Join the sacred Name to hallow;
Prophets swell the loud refrain, And the white robed martyrs follow;
And from morn to set of sun, Through the Church the song goes on.
Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit, Three we name Thee;
While in essence only One, Undivided God we claim Thee;
And adoring bend the knee, While we own the mystery.
Thou art King of glory, Christ: Son of God, yet born of Mary;
For us sinners sacrificed, And to death a tributary:
First to break the bars of death, Thou has opened Heaven to faith.
From Thy high celestial home, Judge of all, again returning,
We believe that Thou shalt come In the dreaded doomsday morning;
When Thy voice shall shake the earth, And the startled dead come forth.
Therefore do we pray Thee, Lord: Help Thy servants whom, redeeming
By Thy precious blood out-poured, Thou hast saved from Satan’s scheming.
Give to them eternal rest In the glory of the blest.
Spare Thy people, Lord, we pray, By a thousand snares surrounded:
Keep us without sin today, Never let us be confounded.
Lo, I put my trust in Thee; Never, Lord, abandon me.
American organist and composer Edward Landin (b. 1988) began his musical education at the St. Thomas Choir School under the direction of Gerre Hancock. He has studied further at the Interlochen Arts Academy, the Eastman School of Music, and Westminster Choir College. Landin has served on the music staff of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. As a recitalist, he has performed in the United States and Europe, including a featured organ recital at the 2010 Beaumaris Arts Festival in North Wales.
About the Vocal Solo Music:
The Gospel of Grace - Mark Hayes
(c.1998, Alfred Publishing)
In this solo, Mark Hayes has set “Amazing Grace” and “I’m New Born Again” in a fun black gospel style.
"Amazing Grace" was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807). With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.
Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was drafted into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.
Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was first printed in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.
The melody sung to John Newton’s 1779 hymn “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” is, without a doubt, America’s best-loved hymn tune. Unlike Lowell Mason’s “Nearer, my God, to thee,” the “Amazing grace” tune is of unknown origin. It first appeared in print in 1829 without any composer attribution, and there were thought to be no earlier surviving instances of the tune. However, an 1828 manuscript by Lucius Chapin (1760-1842), who was famous in his day as a hymn tune writer, raises the possibility that Lucius was its composer.
Lucius and his brother Amzi (1768-1835) were among the first and most influential composers to harmonize American folk hymns, using principles they had absorbed from New England and English church music, and perhaps from the oral tradition as well. They also composed hymns in a similar style. The brothers came from a large, musical Massachusetts family. Their mother was an exceptional singer, though she did not read music, and two of their brothers also became singing masters. Lucius and Amzi moved south and west as young men and taught singing schools throughout their lives. In 1828, Lucius was living in central Kentucky and Amzi in western Pennsylvania. The 1828 manuscript was mentioned in passing in James Scholten’s 1972 dissertation on Lucius and Amzi Chapin. On July 25, 1828, Lusius’ son Cephas died from typhus in Oxford, Ohio en route home to visit his parents. There are three tender expressions of paternal love and grief on the back of Cephas’ last letter penned there by Lucius, the tunes AMAZING GRACE and BRAINARD and a brief poem.
The familiar melody had a number of titles in its early publications: ST. MARY’S, GALLAHER, HARMONY GROVE (Shenandoah Harmony), NEW BRITAIN (Sacred Harp), and more. The one title it did not have was AMAZING GRACE, though that title was used for at least two other melodies. The tune wasn’t paired with Newton’s text until 1835. The great nineteenth-century scholar W.E. Chute (1832-1900) attributed the melody to the Chapins.
It is possible that NEW BRITAIN was added to the manuscript after 1828, or copied from a source that does not survive. However, the version here doesn’t exactly match any tune found, either published or in manuscript, in Nikos Pappas’ exhaustive index of over 60,000 early American hymn tunes (1700-1870). It is closest to the tune ST. MARY’S found in Shaw and Spilman’s Columbian Harmony (1829) [4]. Like Lucius, Shaw and Spilman lived in central Kentucky.
Even if Lucius were the first to notate the tune, the concept of “authorship” in this repertoire is difficult. Composers felt free to write arrangements of popular sacred or secular melodies in oral tradition and publish them, either as unattributed tunes or with their own names attached. They also made their own versions of tunes in books or manuscripts, appropriated and rearranged European classical music, and composed music from scratch in a folk idiom.
If Lucius didn’t compose NEW BRITAIN, then who did? The basic structure of the tune is ancient. NEW BRITAIN is a folk hymn—a sacred melody that existed, in some form, in oral tradition prior to being notated. It belongs to a recognized “tune family,” or group of tunes, sacred or secular, that share enough structure and melodic phrases that they seem to be descended from a common root. Other related tunes include Amzi Chapin’s TWENTY-FOURTH (written in the 1790s) and, more distantly, the African-American spiritual “Swing low, sweet chariot” (published in 1873, but definitely older). The folk hymn CONSOLATION (attributed to the Chapins when first published in 1812) has the same contour, but is in the minor mode. However, just because a tune is a folk hymn doesn’t mean that there wasn’t an originator for a particular variant of the tune family. There were at least ten slightly different versions of NEW BRITAIN written down from 1828 to 1840 in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Three of these were from central Kentucky. This argues for oral transmission, but the fact that each version differs from the others only in the amount of ornamentation notated suggests that one person, perhaps an itinerant preacher or singing master, was the “vector” that spread the tune through this area in the late 1820s to 1830s.
Another interesting story, though tangential, is the Chapin family’s connection to the antislavery movement. If you’ve read the story of John Newton (the author of the words to “Amazing Grace”), you know that he was the captain of a slave ship who later rejected his past and advocated against slavery. The Chapin family lived in central Kentucky and some of their neighbors owned slaves, though there weren’t large plantations in the area. However, the diary of Cephas’ sister Harriet survives, and she was profoundly antislavery, though as a woman she didn’t have power to make decisions about her household. She thanks God that her father is “an Emancipator.” I don’t know if that means that he had slaves and set them free or if he didn’t believe in slavery and never owned slaves. Harriet considered it her duty to educate the two young African-Americans who worked for the family, an act that would have been illegal in many states. Harriet died in 1827, just a year before Cephas.
In general, the early revivals in Kentucky were far more democratic than were churches later in the 19th century. Both white women and African-Americans—even slaves—were called on to testify and even preach, and everyone participated in group singing, which was one of the hallmarks of these revivals. So the fact that this particular tune, whoever wrote it, is often associated with black spirituals and related to “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” is not surprising, as it was first popular in a mixed environment.
“I found free grace and dying love (‘New-Born Again’)” is an African American spiritual of unknown origin. IIt was printed in Folk Songs of the American Negro No. 1 (Nashville, TN, 1907), edited by Frederick Jerome Work*, with an introduction by John Wesley Work (II)*. Its heading was ‘New-Born Again’, often used as the title of this hymn.
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.
I found free grace and dying love, I’m new born again,
been a long time a-talkin’ ‘bout my trials here below.
Free grace, free grace, free grace, sinner.
Free grace, free grace, I’m new born again.
So glad, so glad, I’m new born again,
been a long time a-talkin’ ‘bout my trials here below.
My Savior died for you and me, I’m new born again,
been a long time a-talkin’ ‘bout my trials here below.
I know my Lord has set me free, I’m new born again,
been a long time a-talkin’ ‘bout my trials here below.
Free grace, free grace, free grace, sinner.
Free grace, free grace, I’m new born again.
So glad, so glad, I’m new born again,
been a long time a-talkin’ ‘bout my trials here below.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun.
I’m new born again. I’m new born again!
Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds. Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013. Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world".
About the Hymns:
Are Ye Able
Earl Bowman Marlatt (1892–1976) was an American theologian and poet. He graduated from DePauw University and Boston University School of Theology. In 1923, he began teaching in the Boston University. From 1945 to 1957, he taught at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology. He wrote many hymns, one of the best known being “Are Ye Able”. He also collected church hymns, with the intent to establish a museum. Many of his papers are held at DePauw University. A signed manuscript of his hymn“Are Ye Able” actually written Feb. 23, 1926, is included in the Bridwell Library Manuscript and Documents Collection. The text is based on Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.”
The tune BEACON HILL was written by Harry Silvernale Mason in 1924. Mason graduated from Syracuse University, New York. He served at Auburn Theological Seminary, New York City, as organist, instructor of music, and assistant professor of fine arts and religion. While at Auburn, he did graduate work at Boston University, and played the organ at the First Presbyterian Church. He later served as organist at the Second Presbyterian Church of Auburn for 27 years.
"Are ye able," said the Master, "To be crucified with me?"
"Yea," the sturdy dreamers answered, "To the death we follow Thee."
Are ye able to remember, When a thief lifts up his eyes,
That his pardoned soul is worthy Of a place in paradise?
Are ye able when the shadows Close around you with the sod,
To believe that spirit triumphs, To commend your soul to God?
"Are ye able?" Still the Master Whispers down eternity,
And heroic spirits answer Now, as then, in Galilee.
Lord, we are able. Our spirits are Thine.
Remold them, make us, Like Thee, divine.
Thy guiding radiance Above us shall be
A beacon to God, To love, and loyalty.
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" is a Christian hymn originating from India. The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Assam, north-east India, who along with his family was converted to Christianity in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of a Welsh missionary. The story, as related by Dr. P.P. Job, an Indian preacher, in His book “Why God Why” is as follows:
At the time, north-east India was not divided into many states as it is today. The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes. The tribal communities were quite primitive and aggressive by nature. The tribals were also called head-hunters because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible. A man’s strength and ability to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected. Into this hostile and aggressive community, came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the message of love, peace and hope of Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. One Welsh missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity. Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man instantly composed a song which became famous down the years. He sang: "I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back."
Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.” But the man sang these words in reply: "Though no one joins me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back."
The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.” In the face of death the man sang the final memorable lines: "The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back, no turning back."
He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some supernatural power behind the family, and I too want that supernatural power.” In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The formation of these words into a hymn is attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh. The melody is also Indian, and entitled "Assam" after the region where the text originated. An American hymn editor, William Jensen Reynolds, composed an arrangement which was included in the 1959 Assembly Songbook. His version became a regular feature of Billy Graham's evangelistic meetings in America and elsewhere, spreading its popularity.
I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back.
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow, Tho' none go with me I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow; No turning back, no turning back.
My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus; My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus,
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus; No turning back, No turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me, The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me; No turning back, no turning back.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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