****THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

Al Smith was often called “Mr. Singspiration” and the “Dean of Gospel Music.” He was a composer, Gospel soloist, song leader, lecturer, and an authority on church music, recording artist, and music publisher.

One night, in the 1940s, He was singing at the Mel Trotter Mission in Grand Rapids. At the close of the evening meeting, he wandered over to Walgreen's drugstore to get a sandwich.  As he was placing his order, an old man with long snow-white hair and thick glasses approached him and asked, "Are you, Al Smith?"

When Al replied, that he was, the old man introduced himself; "I'm George Bennard."

Al Smith had often hoped to someday meet the writer of the hymn, THE OLD RUGGED CROSS, and now, here he was at the food counter in a Walgreen’s drug store.  And, had this encounter never happened, we would not know this story about how George Bennard came to write the hymn. 

Dr. Bennard was an ordained minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church and he was active in the Salvation Army.

As they chatted, George told Al Smith that John 3:16 had always been a favorite verse of his.  The phrase, “He Gave His only begotten Son,” conveyed a sense of great sacrifice. The more he quoted it, the more meaningful it became and always, there was with it a vision of a cross--not a beautiful gold-colored one, but a rough and rugged one--a crude Roman instrument of death- a cross of shame stained with the blood of God's only begotten Son.  And George understood that his Savior's blood was shed for him.

One day as he was imagining that scene, he began to compose the song.  The complete melody came in a matter of minutes, but he stalled on the lyrics; all he could get was, `I'll cherish the Old Rugged Cross.'"  So, he set it aside unfinished.

Sometime later, when he accepted a call to speak at some evangelistic meetings in New York, he felt led to emphasize the theme of the cross.   

At each service, many were coming to Christ, trusting in His finished work at Calvary. More and more the Lord began to reveal to him, the true meaning of His love at Calvary. The meetings so overwhelmed him with the importance of the cross that when he returned to Michigan, he sat down at his desk and immediately began to write the stanzas of the song without hesitation.

When he had finished, he took up his guitar, called to his wife, and sang the completed song to her.  She was thrilled!

Then he sent the manuscript to Charles Gabriel and asked him to harmonize it so that he could have it published.  When Mr. Gabriel returned the finished manuscript, he enclosed a note saying, “You will hear from this song.  When I played and sang it for some friends they said, `God has given you a song that will never die; it has moved our hearts as no other song ever has.'”

With that note, George was humbled as he felt that he could take no credit for writing the song; he was merely an instrument that God used for His glory."

At the end of their visit, that night, at Walgreen’s, the 75-year-old Dr. George Bennard excused himself saying, "I must get back to Albion tonight, for it isn't good for a young fellow like me to be out too late after dark.”

****HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD

Adelaide A. Pollard was a sincere Christian lady who, from all indications, was fully dedicated to the work of the ministry.  She spent most of her life serving her Lord.  She was convinced that God was calling her to be a missionary.

Following her education in elocution and native cultures, she moved to Chicago and for several years she worked in a variety of Christian ministries while trying to raise funds and support for her desired missionary work in Africa.

She worked as a teacher in two different schools for girls and she was also engaged as an itinerant Bible study teacher.  She aided in the teaching and preaching circuits of two evangelists and later, she taught at a missionary training school.  Though she spent most of her life in ministry work, she was frustrated; the dream of a calling to Africa was fading.

At the age of 45, while attending a prayer meeting one night, an elderly woman was praying.  As she began her prayer, the woman omitted the usual kinds of requests for God to give them health and shower them with physical blessings.  Instead, she simply uttered the words, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord -- just have your way with our lives . . .."

On her way home that night, that old woman’s prayer reminded Adelaide of a passage in Jer. 18:3-6, “So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel.  And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.  Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?’ declares the LORD. ‘Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.’”

Adelaide began to form the lyrics in her mind, and before going to bed, she had written the lyrics on paper.  That night in 1907, was a turning point in her life as she realized that God is in control; He directs us and uses us in His service for His good pleasure.  Nevertheless, she continued to hold out hope that God would lead her to Africa.

At the age of 60, she finally made a trip to a mission work in Africa but, shortly after her arrival, World War I interrupted her plans and she spent the war years in Scotland.  After the war, she returned to the United States in poor health but continued to work in Christian ministries until she died at the age of 72 in 1934.

Some have speculated that this hymn's third stanza is an autobiographical statement of her personal struggles to discern and submit to God's will fo her life.

In 1989, the scourge of Political Correctness brought about two changes in this hymn.  Before it was acceptable for the new United Methodist Hymnal, it was scrubbed of any perceived inferences to racism or slavery.  

In stanza two, the word, "Master," was changed to "Savior."  But that doesn't really make sense in the context of the song; God as our Savior is already presumed but as the Potter, the Lord IS our Master and He has the right to mold us and use us as He sees fit.

The second alteration they made was to the phrase, "whiter than snow."  It was changed to "wash me just now," which was a pointless redundancy as the very next phrase was a repeat of that phrase.

Those who favored the changes argued that one doesn't have to be white to be perceived as spiritually pure and socially acceptable.  An African American member of the committee said, "You can wash me as much as you wish, but after you've finished, I'll be just as black, which is beautiful." 

But the argument was foolish.  This hymn is not about being socially acceptable; it's about our sanctification and our humble submission to our Lord and Master.

To be fair, there were some, on the committee, who wanted to retain the original text.  They rightly reasoned that the biblical reference, in the text, was about our spiritual cleansing as in Psalm 51:7, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow," or in Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Most other conservative denominations did not allow Political Correctness to redefine the biblical teachings of this hymn, but retained the rich text in verse two, as it was intentionally written:

Have Thine Own Way, Lord!  Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today.

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence, humbly I bow.