This morning
Joyce and I joined
New York Media Initiative for breakfast with
Keith and Kristyn Getty. What a joy to hear their passion for the Lord and for honoring the many biblical mandates to sing unto the Lord. Keith said it doesn't matter how well you sing, just so long as you honor the Lord's commands to sing praises to His name. During the Q/A someone asked them where they get their inspiration for writing songs. He said it's a lot of hard work. Hymnals used to only select songs the publishers thought would still be sung 25 years into the future, and that's what they strive to do. She added that Keith is a collaborator, and is quick to draw others into the process of taking their hymns to the next level.
My question during Q/A was what they've picked for next year's global hymn sing. Last year I put together a short film of Olympic champion, Eric Liddell, reflecting on how he led the crowd at Waverly Station in singing "Jesus Shall Reign" before he left fame and fortune behind to serve China as a track coach, science teacher and missionary. I tell the rest of his
Chariots of Fire story in my one-man play about Liddell,
Beyond the Chariots. I was glad that, after their talk, I got to tell Keith and Kristyn about the short film and give them the link (
www.RichDrama.com/EricLiddellHymnSing). Keith is a huge Eric Liddell fan, and that may be why he chose "Jesus Shall Reign," since he immediately acknowledged that he knew about Eric leading the crowd in that great hymn.
The Gettys are performing at Carnegie Hall tomorrow night (12/13), and they'll be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the writing of "Silent Night" by having
Phil Keaggy (who you can see
in my Compassion video) play it on guitar. It was the first hymn ever played on a guitar, because the church's pipe organ broke down. They'll be inviting the audience to sing along, which is how you can perform at Carnegie Hall. Hope you can join us!
See the rest of Olympic champion Eric Liddell's
Chariots of Fire story in Beyond the Chariots.
Watch it online and
book a live performance.
