Mature Living
March 2009
"A Visit With George Beverly Shea"
by: Ernie Couch
Growing up in Kansas, I would watch on our snowy-screened, black-and-white television, as George Beverly Shea stepped to the platform to sing at one of the great Billy Graham crusades. The walls of our modest house would reverberate with such perennial selections as "How Great Thou Art," "How Big Is God?," and my personal favorite, "I'd Rather Have Jesus." I never dreamed that someday I would have the opportunity to record with Mr. Shea. Yet, half a century later I found myself pulling into a driveway just outside of Asheville, N.C., and being greeted by a gracious Bev Shea and his delightful wife, Karlene. How did this meeting come about? Well, as for "the rest of the story," I head up a Nashville-based, gospel music group called Ernie Couch & Revival. For several years we had contemplated recording an all-hymns project.
A major hurdle was in selecting material. Hymns of the church have been accumulating for 2,000 years. To help narrow the choices, we decided to limit the project to hymns composed during the 1800s. We settled on the title "Pioneer Hymns" for the proposed CD.
Each major project produced by our group always features a special guest. Many great musicians, from country music legend George Jones to the Christian rock group Petra, have shared in our recordings. For this new project, we could think of no one who better exemplified the world of traditional hymns than George Beverly Shea.
Contacts were made, recording time scheduled, and we soon found ourselves standing at Mr. Shea's front door.
I can only compare the experience of being welcomed into the Shea's home to that of going to visit a favorite great-aunt and great-uncle. Karlene had baked brownies, and Bev busied himself with making us feel comfortable. The hospitality was simply overwhelming. Bev had selected the classic hymn "The Haven of Rest," for the "Pioneer Hymns" project. During the recording session we marveled as his strong, vibrant voice filled the room, a voice that brought a flood of memories and carried me back to my childhood.
With the session finished, the balance of the afternoon and evening were spent in food and fellowship. During that time we sat and listened as Bev shared with us highlights of his lengthy ministry. Those reminiscings reflected to us the heart of a humble man, a man who had not grown weary in sharing about God's grace and love.
There were stories like the 1957 16-week New York City crusade at Madison Square Garden, when on the first of September, Times Square became the pulpit to the masses of the Big Apple. He spoke with passion of the throngs clogging the streets for blocks in all directions, and then he softly speculated, almost inwardly, as to whether that great city would ever again see such a moving of God. He commented about the colossal 1973 crusade in Seoul, Korea, where he found himself standing before an audience of over a million people. And there were reflections of quiet moments in prayer with five or six believers huddled on a street corner in Eastern Europe. It was obvious that his memories of all of the events were of equal value to Bev.
My son, Jason, spent much of the time quizzing Mr. Shea about his music, of how he came to compose "I'd Rather Have Jesus," and of his first encounter with "How Great Thou Art." While fielding questions, Bev shared one of his earliest musical memories. He related that as a very small child, two visiting music evangelists had been guests in his parents' home. He recalled that the singers were excited about a new song they wanted to teach to the Sheas. That "new" song was "The Old Rugged Cross." I later looked up the publication date of the song. It was 1913! We forget that even the venerable "The Old Rugged Cross," was at one point in time the latest in contemporary Christian music.
I was personally interested in Bev's roots. I knew he was Canadian by birth and his father had served as a Wesleyan minister. In reply to my inquiries about his father, Bev shared a phrase that spoke volumes to me and served as a reminder to the importance of being faithful in sharing the gospel. When his father was a young man, someone came, and as Bev put it, "gently shared the gospel with him."
The words "gently shared," stuck in my mind. We need to be willing to go and "gently share" the Good News of Jesus with those around us. We sometimes think that our individual presentation of the gospel in our daily lives is of little importance in the bigger picture of God's Kingdom. Yet, here was a great example of the impact one witness can have. One individual, whose name has been forgotten, was willing to go and gently share the gospel. As a result, Bev's father came to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior. In turn, Bev was raised in a Christian home where he came to faith in Christ at an early age. God then used Bev to spread the gospel to millions around the world. Never underestimate the importance of gently sharing the Good News to those around you. Each changed life has a far-reaching impact in God's Kingdom.
I returned to Nashville a richer man, blessed by having spent time with Mr. Shea. On February 1, 2008 we officially released the "Pioneer Hymns" project. That date was chosen because it was a special day for Bev - his 99th birthday! (Editors note: Mr. Shea of course turned 100 in February of 2009)
He called me a few days after our visit, and in mid-conversation he suddenly said, "I've got to hang up. I'm looking for a parking place." It made me smile to think that at 99, Bev Shea was out driving in some North Carolina town, looking for a place to park his vehicle, all the while talking on his cell phone. What an inspiration!
After almost a century, George Beverly Shea continues to share the gospel through his music. "It is better to wear out than to rust out" in the Kingdom. May God continue to bless him, and may we remember that as long as we are on the planet, God has a purpose for our lives. |
