Glory in the Cross: Higher Ground!

11/13/2018

Song In My Head this morning was a great hymn with a great story. “Jesus keep me near the cross, there’s a precious fountain free to all, a healing stream flows from Calvary’s mountain. In the Cross, In the Cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.” What a hope, what a song! and it brings to my mind another “Mo” story. (By the way, Fanny Crosby wrote this hymn in 1869. Do you think she knew what she was talking about? You bet!)

Once, when Bro. E.C. Moore was gong to begin a week of Bible studies at our church in Texas (we called it the Academy of Bible Doctrine), he was going to start on Wednesday night and go through Sunday. Mo asked me if he could bring a few friends over and do a special arrangement song at that service. Of course he could. A few days before, he stopped by and said he thought it was all going to be ok, he had sent the various parts out and hoped for a good turnout. I asked did they know the song. He said, “oh, yes, well if they didn’t before they do by now.” I guess I looked puzzled, because he went on: “You see, if you ask barber shoppers to sing, they just go sing, wherever, whatever. And they will all know their part, I sent it to them.” I said ok, hoping he knew what he was doing.

You see, what he would do is sing the 4 or 5 parts himself into audio tapes, then copy it and send it to as many barber shoppers he knew who sang that part. When I asked Mo how many were coming he said, “Oh, you never know.” I said what if only the guys singing one part show up? He said, “Oh, they’ll just split up the parts and “woodshed” it!”…..ok

Our little building at that time only had 65 seats in it and no real pulpit stage area. When the night came many friends came because of Bro. Moore’s teaching and the seats all filled up. I ask Mo if the men came would they just stand. He said most of them won’t come in anyway. About 3 minutes before we started the service, they began to come, hang around outside, a few came in. and there were about 30 altogether. I said, “Mo, how many tapes did you send out?” He said 80! I said what if they all show up. He looked around at them and said, “No, this is about it.” And it was, no more came.

I turned the service over to Mo and on his signal, all 30 of them came in and just filled up the wall in SRO fashion. He then asked our group if they wanted to come up and stand in front of the pulpit as the first Berean Bible Church choir. About 14 did. He stood in front, got there attention, and began.

Bro.Moore and I had made our way to the back, and were side by side when that beautiful first 5 part note was sang. Both of us nearly lost our breath, it was so especially beautiful—“Jesus keep me near the cross…’ and on through all the verses. What clear, resounding voices they had, how magnificent the crescendo! when the chorus rang out “In The Cross, In the Cross, be my glory ever!” The Berean bible Church choir never sang that good again. Mo Rector: he was a true treasure.

We’re having a lot of rain this week, so we have to work at not being in poor spirits. I recommend singing, it’s fun to sing alone, it’s fun to sing with someone. But, if you’re shy about your singing do it alone! It will lift your spirits.

I left home one morning on the last day of the month to work at my commission only sales job. The number I needed for the month was waaay out there. In truth, I had little hope. As I drove away, I began to sing “Higher Ground”—you know, “I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day..” That song. Remarkably, I remembered all the words. It changed my outlook. By 3 o’clock that day, I had set a personal sales record and the commissions were about twice what I had thought I needed! Singing did that? Yes, it did. The first sales call I made was a bust. I could have gone home, moping. Instead, I sang my way over to the next appointment…..and so it goes.

Thanks for reading, the Elder