It was a Wednesday night back in the late 90’s. We wore our baggy clothes to Dr. Sam and Dr. Cathie’s each week to sing, study the Word, and fellowship as a group of Harding students, grateful to be in a real home one evening a week.
There were many occasions for sidesplitting laughter in the midst of Bible discussion. Yet the most infamous material, that has provided much laughter for many years since, was a Wednesday night in which only one of the guys showed up.
We girls begged and begged him to lead some songs for us, but he was hesitant as he himself admitted, “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.”
“That doesn’t matter,” we responded enthusiastically. “Just start the song and we will all jump in immediately. All you have to do is start it.”
The gaggle of girls wore him down and he finally relented, having been assured that all he needed to do was start the song.
“Are y’all ready?”
A chorus of yeses was the quick response.
He took a deep breath and we all waited in anticipation as his deep monotone voice said, “Jesus,” immediately followed by, “You didn’t jump in!”
We stifled laughter as we exclaimed, “But you didn’t tell us which Jesus song!” Every single person in the room proceeded to list a different song that had first come to mind, asking if that was the one he had started.
But his moment of bravery had passed. After the “Jesus” episode, we were never to convince him to lead singing again for the Wednesday night Bible studies…
Nearly twenty years later, the memory of that night still brings tears to my eyes—tears of laughter at the hilarity of the moment, but also now, a tear of joy in recognizing the beauty found in each of us having a different Jesus song that came to mind.
What’s your Jesus song?