If We Never Meet Again

Tonight at church, I asked my wife, Mary, if she would mind singing with me. We sang 2 verses of the old Albert E. Brumley hymn, "If We Never Meet Again." I've always loved that song. It's on page 36 in the red back Church Hymnal. Listen to the words:

If We Never Meet Again
Albert E. Brumley

Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey,
And perhaps we'll never meet anymore,
Till we gather in Heaven's bright city
Far away on that beautiful shore.

O so often we're parted with sorrow,
Benedictions often quicken our pain;
But we never shall sorrow in Heaven,
God be with you till we meet again.

O they say we shall meet by the river
Where no storm-clouds ever darken the sky,
And they say we'll be happy in Heaven,
In the wonderful sweet by and by.

If we never meet again this side of Heaven
As we struggle through this world and its strife,
There's another meeting place somewhere in Heaven
By the side of the river of life;
Where the charming roses bloom forever,
And where separations come no more;
If we never meet again this side of Heaven,
I will meet you on that beautiful shore.

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Jesus Keep Me

I sang this song Wednesday night at church. It's one of my all-time favorite hymns.



Near the Cross
Fanny Crosby 1869 (Public Domain)

Jesus, keep me near the cross, There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream, Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain.

Refrain:
In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever;
Till my raptured soul shall find, rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,love and Mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star, sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God, bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day, with its shadows o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand, just beyond the river.

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A Psalm to share

This is my brother-in-law, Mark Sharpe, singing, Surely Goodness and Mercy, at his church, Emory Pike American Christian. He is the song leader there. I think he does an outstanding job. The words of this song are so great. Of course they are from the 23rd Psalm, where David declares: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

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Ah, the life of a music minister...

As I mentioned in a few posts this week. I've had to select 42 different songs to use during our revival services this week. I've written before about the process of song selection and everything that goes into it. Luckily, it hasn't been too awfully bad this week but rest assured it has taken lots of prayer!

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A little hands on

I attended a Music Minister's Roundtable this evening at Sevier Heights Baptist church. It was hosted by Paul Clark, of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. They had two different sessions today. The early one was from 8:00 - 2:00. I didn't feel that I could miss work all day, so I went to the one for bi-vocational music ministers that was held from 4:00 - 6:00. There was only 7 of us in attendance, plus Paul.

Highlights for Roundtables 2008 – Theme: Do You Hear the People Sing?

A challenge to find out how well your people are singing their worship

Roundtable discussions & resource sharing - helping our people sing in corporate worship

Biblical and Theological foundations – Eight scripture passages to help your people sing

Preview/Overview of LifeWay’s new Baptist Hymnal/Worship Hymnal

Closer Look at LifeWay’s “Worship Project” products and services

Discussion about copyright issues and Worship Music Resources

Fabulous giveaways at each location!

I wish I could have attended the earlier session because I feel they probably hit more on the above subjects than what we were able to do in 2-hours. We mainly focused on Lifeway's new " Worship Project." Of course this centers around the Baptist Hymnal, which Lifeway generously gave each person in attendance a free copy. My church does not use the Baptist Hymnal, although I wish we would consider adding it in to our worship services. I love all types of Christian music and I think the new Baptist Hymnal has an excellent mixture of traditional, contemporary, and gospel tunes. I made a plea to those in attendance for anyone wishing to donate their old Baptist Hymnals to a worthy cause (my choir). I already use several songs from the hymnal in the music that I pick out for the choir. I just don't mention that it's from the Baptist Hymnal. I think if folks would open their mind and give the hymnal a chance, they would really love it. But, like I said, perhaps eventually we can use it along with our current song books.

I've worked in church ministry for most of my adult life. It is something that I love to do and feel led by God to do. Honestly I love doing church work more than anything else in my life. I wish I could be full-time instead of bi-vocational. I feel like I could do so much more and make such a difference in people's lives if I could focus only on that. Maybe one day it will be God's will for me to do just that.

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