Hymn History: The Wonder of it All
Throughout the 1950’s, Billy Graham and his team had a profound impact in shaping and showcasing the Christian music of the day. Songs such as “To God Be the Glory” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” were popularized for the first time. George Beverly Shea, by a wide margin, became America’s best loved and most recorded gospel singer. And with the success of “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” he kept on writing more songs.
In 1955, when the crusades and... the Hour of Decision radio outreach were at their height, Shea boarded the ocean liner S.S. United States en route to meetings in Scotland. A fellow passenger struck up a conversation and asked Shea about the typical program sequence at a Billy Graham crusade. Shea described how the meetings were conducted, but then, as he recalled, “I found myself at a loss for words when I tried to describe the responses that usually accompanied Mr. Graham’s invitations to become a Christian.” Turning to the other passenger, he exclaimed, “What happens then never becomes commonplace, watching people by the hundreds come forward. Oh, if you could just see the wonder of it all!”
Throughout the 1950’s, Billy Graham and his team had a profound impact in shaping and showcasing the Christian music of the day. Songs such as “To God Be the Glory” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” were popularized for the first time. George Beverly Shea, by a wide margin, became America’s best loved and most recorded gospel singer. And with the success of “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” he kept on writing more songs.
In 1955, when the crusades and... the Hour of Decision radio outreach were at their height, Shea boarded the ocean liner S.S. United States en route to meetings in Scotland. A fellow passenger struck up a conversation and asked Shea about the typical program sequence at a Billy Graham crusade. Shea described how the meetings were conducted, but then, as he recalled, “I found myself at a loss for words when I tried to describe the responses that usually accompanied Mr. Graham’s invitations to become a Christian.” Turning to the other passenger, he exclaimed, “What happens then never becomes commonplace, watching people by the hundreds come forward. Oh, if you could just see the wonder of it all!”
As he mused over that thought later in the evening, Shea was inspired to rough out a melody and to write down the words of a song. In eight years traveling with Billy Graham, he had truly seen amazing things. Yet to Shea the most remarkable was not the adulation, the fame, or the immense public and media interest. Seeing men and women come to Christ was “The Wonder Of It All".
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