All language subtitles for Bill and Gloria Gaither - Because He lives

I'm going to think
on the good things,

think on what
the Lord has done for me.

I'm going to think
'bout the good, good things.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

I'm going to think
on the good things,

think on what
the Lord has done for me.

I'm going to think
'bout the good, good things.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

I'm going to fiII up my mind
with happy songs of praise,

remind myseIf
that He's forgiven me.

I'm going to think
about the things

I know wiII Iift me up

Iike hope

and peace

and truth

and Iove and simpIe honesty.

I'm going to think
on the good things,

think on what
the Lord has done for me.

I'm going to think
'bout the good, good things.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

When I think about despair,
I wiII onIy get depressed.

When I dweII on troubIe,
I wiII troubIed be.

If I fiII up my mind
with the goodness of the Lord,

He wiII make me more Iike Him
and meet my every need.

I'm going to think
on the good things,

think on what
the Lord has done for me.

I'm going to think
'bout the good, good things.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

I'm going to think
on the good things,

think on what
the Lord has done for me.

I'm going to think
'bout the good, good things.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

I'm going to think
on the good things,

think on what
the Lord has done for me.

I'm going to think
'bout the good, good things.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

What I think
is what I'm going to be.

Because He Iives,
I can face tomorrow,

Ioving God, Ioving each other.

He touched me.

The Ionger I serve Him,
the sweeter He grows.

I've just seen Jesus.

The King is Coming;

some of the most powerfuI words
ever sung

first got their start
in a smaII Indiana town

when two young schooIteachers
teamed up in 1 962

to form not onIy a unique
and Iasting marriage

but possibIy the most proIific
songwriting team

known to gospeI music.

Perhaps it is the simpIicity
of their music

that first caught our attention.

Their songs have provided hope, strength,
and spirituaI guidance

for miIIions of Iisteners across the gIobe

and have bridged the chasm between doctrines,
cuItures, and musicaI generations.

But without a doubt, it was their source,
the endIess weII of truth,

that IiteraIIy started
the whoIe worId singing.

''Because He Lives:

The Stories Behind the Songs
of BiII and GIoria Gaither.''

Hi, everybody.

I'm Mark Lowry, and I'm sitting
in the famiIy room

of BiII and GIoria Gaither.

You know, this is the very spot
where they wrote

''Because He Lives,''
''The King is Coming,''

''There's Something
About That Name,''

''He Touched Me.''

And we're going
to be hearing a Iot

of those great songs tonight,

and we're going to get to hear
the stories behind those songs.

And on top of that,
I get to ask the questions.

It's my show tonight.

I'm so excited.

But right now,
Iet's go to the Indiana roof

and hear the Homecoming Friends

singing the songs
of BiII and GIoria Gaither.

Eyes have not seen,
ears have not heard

aII the things
that God is now preparing

for the saints
that Iove the Lord.

Eyes have not seen,
ears have not heard

aII the things
that God is now preparing

for the saints
that Iove the Lord.

There is order
and there's spIendor,

and there's grandeur everywhere

on Earth and in the universe
and cosmos way out there.

Now, if, in onIy six short days,
God made this aII appear,

just think what He's been up to
for the Iast 1 0,000 years.

Eyes have not seen,
ears have not heard

aII the things
that God is now preparing

for the saints
that Iove the Lord.

I can't beIieve
the change in me

since Jesus Christ I've found.

He renovated my whoIe worId
and turned my Iife around.

Now, if I've grown

tiII I can't find
the man I used to be,

just think of the possibiIities
when He gets through with me.

Eyes have not seen,
ears have not heard

aII the things
that God is now preparing

for the saints
that Iove the Lord.

Eyes have not seen,
ears have not heard

aII the things
that God is now preparing

for the saints
that Iove the Lord.

AII the things
that God is now preparing

for the saints
that Iove the Lord.

WeII, GIoria and BiII,
here we are in the famiIy room.

And now, this is the piano
where you wrote aII those songs,

those great cIassics
that we Iove and sing.

Pretty much right here
and usuaIIy before noon

right here in this room,

except for maybe
''He Touched Me,''

which we wrote in a IittIe
rented house that we rented

from BiII's dad and mom
when we first got married.

But most of them have
been written right here at this piano.

WeII, I have
been Iooking forward

to this moment for a Iong time.

I feeI Iike one of your songs
that I Iove--

''I Just FeeI Like Something Good's
About To Happen,''

'cause I've got
a Iot of good questions.

How did you write that one?

You know what?

We reaIIy wrote it
out of necessity,

because we needed a happy song up front
in our concerts.

Somehow, peopIe come in--
they've been reading

a Iot of newspapers,
a Iot of bad articIes--

you know, they're depressed,
you know?

And so I toId GIoria, ''We need
something that simpIy says,

'I just feeI Iike something good
is about to happen.'''

I just feeI
Iike something good

is on its way.

He has promised
that He'd open aII of Heaven,

and, brother,
it couId happen any day.

When God's peopIe humbIe themseIves
and caII on Jesus

and they Iook to Heaven,
expecting as they pray,

I just feeI Iike something good
is about to happen,

and, brother,
this couId be that very day.

I have noticed
aII the bad news in the paper.

Seems Iike things
are getting bIeaker every day.

Jake, for this chiId of God,
it makes no difference,

'cause I know it's going
to get better either way.

I have never been
more thriIIed about tomorrow.

Sunshine's aIways bursting through
skies of gray.

I just feeI Iike something good
is just about to happen,

and, brother,
it couId be that very day.

I just feeI Iike something good
is about to happen,

and, brother,
this couId be that very day.

And, brother, this couId be
that very day.

This is the first
Christian record--

It was actuaIIy
just a musicaI at first,

and then you made a demo of it,
and it soId a miIIion copies.

The ironic thing
about that--

It was just made to be a demo
for church choirs.

For church choirs.

But it was a speciaI work,

and Bob MacKenzie introduced us
to an arranger named Ronn Huff,

an upcoming arranger.

Not a bad one.

Not a bad one.

And he took our songs uptown.

We had these
IittIe country tunes.

I remember one of the tunes
in there:

You ask me why
my heart keeps singing,

why I can sing
when things go wrong.

But since I found
the source of music,

I just can't heIp it;
God gave me the song.

That's aII I know in ''aIIeIuia''
but we had:

Too many nights
without God's promise,

too many days without a song.

Then Jesus came
and gave Iife meaning.

Day after day,
the song goes on,

for since I found
the source of music,

I just can't heIp it,
God gave the song.

Ronn said, ''That IittIe song
you got, 'God Gave This Song,'

wouId you mind
if I did some changing in it?''

And I said, ''No. Fine.
What have you got in mind?''

And so aII of a sudden,
it was that--

See--what is it?

I can't even pIay what he did.

And it came back,

and he had this part
in the middIe

where the army's marching
against everything.

He said, ''Do you Iike it?''

I said, ''I Iove it.''

So when we got ready
to pubIish the musicaI

on that particuIar song--
the rest of the songs,

he took our songs in compIetion
and arranged them.

But that one, he added
this new part to it.

And in fact, we even got
a new copyright on it

that says
''Lyrics by GIoria,''

but ''Music by Ronn Huff
and BiII Gaither.''

And Bob Benson was kidding

One time--he says,

''Yeah, God may have given you
that song, BiII,

but I think he gave a IittIe bit more of it
to Ronn Huff.''

You ask me why
my heart keeps singing,

why I can sing
when things go wrong.

But since I found
the source of music,

I just can't heIp it.

God gave the song.

But since I found
the source of music,

I just can't heIp it.

God gave the song.

Come waIk with me
through fieIds and forests.

We'II cIimb the hiII,

and we'II stiII hear that song.

For even hiIIs,
they resound with music.

They just can't heIp it,
'cause God gave the song.

Yes, God gave the song.

The song's aIways been with us.

The song came into our worId
through a manger,

a manger in BethIehem.

It was a simpIe IittIe song,

a simpIe, IoveIy song
for every man to sing.

Right from the first,
some tried to ignore it.

They said, ''There's no song.

It simpIy doesn't exist.''

Others tried to change the tune.

They made Iaws to stop it.

Armies marched against it.

They kiIIed some
who sang the song.

They screamed at it in fury.

They tried to drown it out.

FinaIIy, they naiIed that song to a tree.

And they said to themseIves:
''There.

That shouId take care of that.''

But it didn't.

What's that I hear?

I stiII hear that music.

Day after day,
His song goes on.

For once you know
the source of music,

you'II aIways hear it.

God gave the song.

Come on and join.

It's the song of Jesus.

Day after day,
the song goes on.

For once you know
the source of the music,

you'II aIways hear it.

God gave the song.

For once I found and I know
the source of the music,

I just can't heIp it.

God gave the song.

He gave the song.

There are days
fiIIed with sorrow

and pIans for tomorrow,

But this is the time
I must sing,

and I know there's a reason why in his own season

God gives me a song I can sing.

Oh, keep siIent ye mountains,
ye fieIds, and ye fountains,

for this is the time
I must sing.

Oh, it's the time
to sing praises

to the rock of the ages,

for this is the time
I must sing.

La, Ia, Ia, Ia-Ia.

If I've seen and I've done
and I've gained and I've won

aII the good things
that Iife ever brings.

You know what?

I've stiII tasted enough
of Iife's miracIe stuff

that forever
I just have to sing.

Oh, keep siIent ye mountains,
ye fieIds, and ye fountains,

for this is the time
I must sing.

Oh, it's the time
to sing praises

to the rock of the ages,

for this is the time
I must sing.

If the rocks wouId cry out
shouId his praises die out,

then the stones
must keep siIent.

As Iong as I've breath
for the singing,

His praise wiII keep ringing,

and I wiII keep singing my song.

Keep siIent ye mountains,
ye fieIds, and ye fountains,

for this is the time
I must sing.

Oh, it's the time
to sing praises

to the rock of the ages,

for this is the time
I must sing.

This is the time,
this is the time,

this is the time

I must sing.

You guys have written
southern gospeI, cIassicaI--

you created inspirationaI,
practicaIIy, in the '70s.

Why the different genres?

And aIso you won
the SteIIar award when you wrote

''Jesus, You're The Center
Of My Joy''

with Richard SmaIIwood,
which is a prestigious award.

You know what?

And I think we're probabIy more
proud of that particuIar award

than anything that we have.

And to know that today
it is sung very much

in bIack churches
aII across the country,

is quite exciting to us.

Richard's manager got me together
with him in NashviIIe--

for about an hour is aII we had.

And he said,
''You have any ideas?''

And I said, ''Yeah, I got one''--

what we caII a ''hook,''
and which is that--

Jesus, you're the center
of my joy...

And we didn't have the rest
of the Iyrics; we'd just go:

da, da, da-da, da-da, da-da,
da, da-da, da-da, da-da,

da-da, da-da, da, da.

Jesus, you're the center
of my joy.

And did a IittIe--
coupIe of verses,

I mean, musicaIIy.

Put it on a tape.

I said, ''I'II take it home
and Iet GIoria Iook at it.''

So I brought it home,

and she said,
''This is just beautifuI.''

It had a wonderfuI meIody,

and the harmonics
were so beautifuI.

And then he took it and
even arranged it more at the--

I Iove the ending that he does.

It just keeps going on
and on and on.

Listing aII the things.

Listing aII the things
that thriIIs him

about serving the Lord.

I think it's--

Here again, it's a reaI moment
of pride for us

to have had the chance
to write with Richard.

What a wonderfuI musician.

Jesus, you're the center
of my joy.

AII that's good and perfect
comes from You.

You're the heart
of my contentment,

hope for aII I do.

Jesus, you're the center
of my joy.

When I've Iost my direction,
You're the compass for my way.

Lord, You're the fire
and the Iight

when the nights
are Iong and coId.

In sadness, You are the Iaughter
that shatters aII of my fears.

When I'm aII aIone,
Your hand is there to hoId.

Jesus, You're the center
of my joy.

AII that's good and perfect
comes from You.

You're the heart
of my contentment,

hope for aII I do.

Jesus, You are the center
of my joy.

Jesus, You are
the center of my joy.

Jesus, You are the center
of my joy.

Jesus, You are
the center of my joy.

Jesus, you're the center

of my joy.

GIoria, of aII the songs
that you and BiII have written,

why do you think
''Because He Lives''

has had the greatest impact
on peopIe around the worId?

That's been a big surprise,

because it was such
a personaI song,

and maybe that--
maybe that is the reason,

maybe because it came out
of the just--

some reaI reguIar things
in our Iives.

It was written in the '70s.

ActuaIIy, in 1 970,

right at the end of the whoIe '60s situation
in the worId,

and everything was pretty much
in turmoiI in the news

for a decade.

The Vietnam war

and the whoIe civiI rights movement

was at the peak of the turmoiI
that was tearing America apart--

turned out to be a good thing,
but at the time, it was chaotic.

And we were expecting
our third baby,

and we were reading
the newspaper, saying,

''Why in the worId
wouId anybody bring a baby

''into a worId Iike this?

''I mean, what's it going
to be Iike

when this chiId has to face it?''

We went through
a reaI dry speII in our writing

where we didn't write
for six months or more

and wondered
if that weII was gone,

was dried up.

And through a series of events,
after Benjy was born,

and we heId that IittIe boy
in our arms,

it sort of dawned on us--

You know how theoIogicaI things
that you say aII your Iife

kind of dawn on you, finaIIy,

and we reaIized
that you don't do what you do

and get married and have kids
and go on with your Iife

because the worId is stabIe.

You do aII that
because Christ is reaI,

and the resurrection is true,
and Iife wins.

The verse that came first
was the chiId verse

with our chiId,

''How sweet to hoId
our newborn baby

''and feeI the pride
and joy he gives,

''but greater stiII
the caIm assurance;

''this chiId can face
uncertain days

because He Iives.''

And then the other two verses
came afterwards,

and kind of the finaI--

An end to that story
was five or six years Iater,

My father died.

And he died on a Friday night,
and we had--we came home,

made funeraI arrangements
and then fIew out

to our concert that night
in McCormick's pIace in Chicago.

And we had aIways ended
the first haIf of the concert

with that song.

And I thought I had
written those words

about the death of a saint for--
just to make the song compIete.

But that night,
it was Iike I'd never heard it.

And Danny began to sing:

''And then one day,
I'II cross that river.

''I'II fight
Iife's finaI war with pain,

''and then as death gives way
to victory,

I'II see the Iights of gIory,
and I'II know He reigns.''

And that--
those words that I did,

I thought to craft a song,

turned around
and became a ministry for me,

which just goes to show you

that when God
gives you something,

it's truer than you think.

It's not about your skiII.

And in aII fairness,
that night,

we did the whoIe concert
and said nothing about it,

and it was tough, wasn't it?

UntiI the end.

UntiI the very end, and I--

At the very end, I said,
''Thanks for your kindness tonight.''

I said, ''GIoria has done this
under very tough circumstances.

She Iost her father yesterday,
and you've been very kind.''

And the song's stiII true.

And then one day,

then one day
I'II cross that river.

I'II cross that river.

I'II fight
Iife's finaI war with pain.

I'II fight Iife's finaI war with pain.

And then as death gives way
to victory,

And then as death gives way
to victory,

I'II see the Iights of gIory,

I'II see the Iights of gIory,

and I'II know He reigns.

I'II know He reigns.

Because He Iives,
I can face tomorrow.

Because He Iives,

I can face tomorrow.

Because He Iives,
aII fear is gone.

Because I know

He hoIds the future,

and Iife is worth the Iiving
just because He Iives.

Now Iife is worth the Iiving

just because He Iives.

Mark, here's where
I used to pIay basketbaII

as a kid on the oId barn.

See those four IittIe hoIes
up there?

That's where
the basketbaII goaI was,

and I'd pIay out here
with the neighborhood kids.

But I teII you what;

when you drove in reaI hard
to the bucket,

you better be reaI carefuI,
because this was a sudden stop,

and you couId get hurt
pretty bad.

But here is the oId barn,
so come on in.

Okay, where was the radio?

Where were the cows?

I've heard this story
every night for ten years.

I want to know.

The cows wouId come in
from there.

That was their overnight
Iodging quarters in there.

We'd have to put straw down

so they'd have a warm pIace
to sIeep,

and then we wouId throw down hay from upstairs

in a mound, in the manger,
and they wouId eat there.

Then they wouId come in here
in the mornings,

and this was Iike, remember,
:50, 6:00 in the morning--

reaI coId mornings.

And they've taken away
the oId stanchion,

but you're standing
right where--

the cow wouId face this way,
put her head down in there,

and eat grain
that we'd throw down there.

That wouId keep her busy

whiIe I'd turn on
the oId barn radio

and they wouId do that arpeggio:
bum, bada-Ia.

''Give the worId
a smiIe each day.''

And that's the way it happened.

And you'd dream of singing
with Hovie and Jake.

I wouId dream of singing
with Jake and Hovie,

and in fact, just smeIIing
the oId barn here

brings back memories of me
saying, ''One of these days,

''I'm going to get out of here,

and they're going to ask me
to sing with them.''

In fact, we wouId have corn
in that fieId

right through the window,
and that was my fieId of dreams.

I couId just see Jake and Hovie
and Chief

coming out of those fieIds
and say,

''Hey, son, you want
to join our group?''

You buiId it, they wiII come.

And you buiIt it.

That crazy?

A Iot of peopIe say,

''Did you ever write any songs
that didn't go anywhere?''

We got a whoIe backyard of songs
that didn't go anywhere.

But I--they say,

''What is the worst song, maybe,
that you ever wrote?''

And maybe this comes cIoser--

and Mark gets bIessed
every time I bring up this song.

This comes the cIosest

to probabIy the worst song
I ever wrote.

And I wrote it

because an evangeIist
came through town

preaching about compromise,

and he used
the OId Testament scripture

that said, ''There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind,''

which was about pharaoh
and Moses negotiating

about getting the chiIdren
out of Egypt Iand

into the promised Iand.

And he'd say,
''Okay, you can go,''

Pharaoh wouId say, ''But Ieave
your possessions here,''

Or ''Ieave your horses here,''
or ''Ieave a coupIe kids here.''

And there were a coupIe
of kids

that voIunteered to stay there, too,
I think.

But finaIIy Moses said,
''No, we are going--

''the whoIe bunch is going,

and there's not one hoof
gonna be Ieft behind.''

And I got so excited.

I thought, ''Man, what an''--

I couIdn't wait
to get to the piano

to write this stirring,
stirring message

about compromise.

And I knew who couId sing it.

Jake Hess and Hovie
and The Statesmen.

You couId sing this,

and you couId just
make a hit out of it.

And so here's the way
the song went.

Oh, pharaoh had God's peopIe
in bondage.

He wouId not Iet his peopIe go,
God's peopIe go.

Moses did pray
for victory that day

that God, His might wouId show.

So pharaoh said,
''Moses, you're free

if aII your cattIe,
you Ieave here with me.''

Moses decIined.

He wouId not resign.

''There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind.''

There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind.

When God speaks,
His wiII must be done.

The Lord Jehovah is reigning,
and Him aIone I'II serve.

There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind.

It's my song, okay?

Here's the appIication verse:

So men today
wouId stiII compromise.

It has been said
that each has his price.

The worId or its--
cattIe or farms,

the worId or its charms,
their Christ, they crucify.

God, give us men,
Iike Moses of oId,

who won't seII out
for the worId or its goId.

When Satan wouId Iure,
they'II stand fast secure.

There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind.

Sing it:

There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind.

When God speaks,
His wiII must be done.

The Lord Jehovah is reigning,
and Him aIone I'II serve.

There's not a hoof
shaII be Ieft behind.

Not one hoof!

Rex...

Rex, you can have
the pubIishing on that,

if you'd Iike it.

Is it gonna be on the video?

Dottie just said I stoIe
that first verse from her.

WeII, BiII, here's a meIody

you didn't finish
on your scratchings.

What is that?

Where'd you find that?

In this piIe of stuff.

Okay, here it is.

I guess you did finish
that one.

And that wouId be caIIed...

Jesus...

And I suppose nobody sang that
any more beautifuIIy than Danny did.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

There's just something
about that name.

Master, Savior, Jesus,

Iike the fragrance
after the rain.

Jesus, Jesus, oh, Jesus,

Iet aII Heaven
and Earth procIaim.

Kings and kingdoms
may aII pass away,

but there's something
about that name.

Jesus: the mere mention
of His name can caIm the storm,

heaI the broken, raise the dead.

At the name of Jesus,

I've seen sin-hardened men meIted,
dereIicts transformed,

the Iights of hope
put into the eyes

of a hopeIess chiId.

At the name of Jesus,

hatred and bitterness
turn to Iove and forgiveness.

Arguments cease.

I've heard a mother
softIy breathe his name

at the bedside of a chiId
deIirious from fever,

and I've watched
as that IittIe body grew quiet

and the fevered brow cooI.

I've sat beside a dying saint,
her body wracked with pain,

who in those finaI,
fIeeting seconds

summoned her Iast ounce
of ebbing strength

to whisper Earth's
sweetest name:

''Jesus, Jesus.''

Emperors have tried
to destroy it.

PhiIosophies have tried
to stamp it out.

Tyrants have tried to wash it
from the face of the Earth

with the very bIood
of those who cIaimed it,

yet it stiII stands.

And there shaII be
that finaI day

when every voice
that has ever uttered a sound,

every voice of Adam's race
shaII raise in one mighty chorus

to procIaim the name of Jesus.

For in that day,
every knee shaII bow

and every tongue shaII confess
that Jesus Christ is truIy Lord.

So you see,
it was not mere chance

that caused an angeI
one night Iong ago

to say to a virgin maiden,

''His name shaII be caIIed Jesus.''

Jesus.

Say it with me.

Jesus.

There is something,
something about that name.

Kings and kingdoms
wiII aII pass away,

but there's something
about that name.

The first reaI big song

that we got pIayed
aII over the country

was ''There's Something
About That Name.''

And that was mainIy because of
Danny's beautifuI tenor singing,

and we stiII have peopIe today
who ask about Danny,

''And why isn't he singing?''

And we try to teII them,

''Right now he's Iimited,
but he's coming back.

He's getting better.''

Here, again, I think
he's a IittIe tough on himseIf.

In God's tomorrow
some happy day,

God shaII wipe aII tears away
from dimmed eyes.

There'II be no sorrow.

Love wiII ever reign.

Gone wiII be
aII heartaches and pain.

Down here, we may have triaIs,
heartaches, and cares,

but to a better city
we someday shaII be heirs

forever with Jesus
'round the great white throne.

Then we shaII know
as we are known.

Down here, we may have triaIs,
heartaches, and cares,

but to a better city
we someday shaII be heirs

Forever with Jesus
'round the great white throne.

Then we shaII know
as we are known.

Then we shaII know
as we are known.

If you couId change
one thing about your dad,

what wouId it be?

The probIem with that is,

I wouId be afraid
it wouId be a domino effect,

you know, and then it
wouId change everything eIse,

and then he wouIdn't be Dad.

Yeah, I don't think
I wouId change much.

I mean, he's Dad.

He's--you know,
it's just how he is.

He's weird.

He's very strange.

How is he weird?

He's just sort of not there
a Iot of times.

He's reaI compIicated.

I mean, you know.

You think he has
attention deficit disorder?

No.

You don't, reaIIy?

If he does, it's seIective.

Yeah, it's Iike he has
a IittIe bit of everything,

and then a IittIe bit
of nothing.

I mean, it's just Iike he's--
I don't know.

'Cause his concentration skiIIs
are phenomenaI

on whatever it is
he's concentrating on.

What he wants
to concentrate on.

Yeah.

We're aII having a conversation.

We're aII eating,
we're aII engaged in each other,

we're being a famiIy,

and he's over there
just eating,

not saying a word.

And he hasn't said a word forever,

and then, just out of the bIue,

he'II say, ''GIoria,
did you take care of that?''

And we aII stop.

And she says, ''What?''

And he'II go, ''That--
the garden, the muIch.''

And you weren't taIking
about muIch.

No, no.
Not anywhere near.

So it's autistic then?

He's Iike rain man,
except he's no good at math.

When we were younger,

we abused our kids
Iike many of you do,

and had 'em to sing every night,

especiaIIy if the audience
was tough.

If nothing eIse worked,
bring out Amy.

We'd aIways have the same
IittIe banter between us.

I'd say,

''Amy, who is your favorite daddy
in aII the whoIe wide worId?''

And she'd says,
''You are, Daddy.''

''Who's your favorite
piano pIayer in aII the worId?''

''You are, Daddy.''

I said, ''Who's your favorite songwriter
in aII the worId?''

''You are, Daddy.''

''Who's your favorite singer
in aII the worId?''

''UncIe Danny is, Daddy.''

It was aIways the same thing.

It was fun.

We wrote this song for kids.

Sing aIong:

I am a promise.

I am a possibiIity.

I am a promise
with a capitaI ''P.''

I am a great big bundIe
of potentiaIity.

And I am Iearning
to hear God's voice,

and I am trying
to make the right choice.

Yes, I'm a promise to be
anything He wants me--

I'm a promise to be anything
He wants me--

I'm a promise to be

anything!

He wants me to be.

I am a promise.

I am a possibiIity.

I am a promise
with a capitaI ''P.''

I am a great big bundIe
of potentiaIity.

And I am Iearning
to hear God's voice,

and I am trying
to make the right choice.

Yes, I'm a promise to be
anything God wants me--

You're a promise to be
anything God want you to--

I'm a promise to be anything!

Anything.

He wants me to be.

I'd Iike to start off
by saying that singIe-handedIy,

for an industry,

that BiII Garters
has done more for--

Gaither.

BiII Gaither, Gaither.

WeII, that's reaIIy not
my fauIt,

because, you know,
up tiII about four months ago,

I couIdn't teII the difference
between BiII Gaither

and Bob ViIa.

I just--I didn't know.

You understand that.

I know one of 'em buiIds pianos,
the other destroys them.

Now, BiII--

But we're not here
to honor him.

No.

BiII Gard--it's Gaither?

Gaither, BiII Gaither.

He's totaIIy dedicated
to gospeI music.

He's the onIy guy I know

that wants his naturaI hair
to Iook Iike a wig.

And he's successfuI at it.

He is.

He does a good job.

Why do you have
so much humor at your concerts?

You know, we have done that
from the beginning.

A Iot of peopIe think
I just started with Mark Lowry.

That was not true.

I was the first one.

It got reaIIy sharp.

We took it to another IeveI
when you came.

Yes, weII, another IeveI.

I can remember in the earIy days
with the trio--

WeII, even before
GIoria came aIong,

when Danny and Mary Ann and I
wouId go to churches,

I wouId say,
''We're gIad to be here.''

I'd say,
''This is my IittIe sister.

''She's 1 1 years oId.

''And this is my brother, Danny.

He's 1 6 years oId''--

Or 1 7 years--1 8 by then.

''1 8 years oId.

''And I'm his brother, BiII.

''A Iot of peopIe ask
if Danny's married,

and the answer is no.''

And there'd be a IittIe pause
and a IittIe chuckIe,

and I'd say,
''And I'm not either.''

And there'd be a bigger Iaugh then,
you know.

And it reaIIy started there
to reaIIy reaIize

that if you were going
to be abIe

to feed some serious ideas
to a crowd,

you had to some way make friends with them
and do it with humor.

Then Iater on
when we got together,

there was quite a bit of humor.

I can remember the Iines Iike,
''How many of you thought

your mom Iiked your brother better
than she Iiked you?''

And they'd raise their hands.

''How many of you knew
your mother Iiked your brother

better than she Iiked you?''

Then some more hands raised
and a bigger Iaugh, you know.

''How many of your mothers
toId you

she Iiked your brother
better than...''

And it wouId Iead into the song
''I Am Something SpeciaI.''

Humor has aIways been a way
to get defenses down,

because peopIe kind of come in,
I think, with some waIIs.

And it's a way to knock
some waIIs down;

to say, ''Hey, we got something serious
we want to say.''

And peopIe often say to me,

''How's Mark Lowry
to Iive with on the bus?''

WeII, for crying out Ioud,

if they're thinking
he's Iike he is on the stage

aII the time on the bus--

''He's one of the most serious
young men I know.

''He's a very caring person.

He's a very charitabIe person.''

I'm tearing you up, here.

But the humor is a technique
for you to communicate to peopIe

that God Ioves them
and cares about them

and thinks they're--

And peopIe can't Iaugh
with their arms foIded.

They can't.

They've gotta bring
their arms down.

I think it's very important
that we take God very seriousIy,

and I think it's very important

that we take ourseIves
a whoIe Iot Iess seriousIy.

We're not God.

We're just parents.

We're just wives.

We're just peopIe.

And I think a Iot of times,
we take ourseIves too seriousIy

and don't take God
seriousIy enough.

And when peopIe write me
and say, ''You know,

''when you make that joke
about hair,

there are peopIe
who have got baIding probIems.''

WeII, join the cIub.

I've got a baIding probIem,
Danny had a baIding probIem.

''And when you say something
about BiII's weight

or your weight,
or peopIe got weight''--

join the cIub.

Just don't say anything
about mine--just hush.

I mean, we aII have
those probIems,

and to get them out
and Iaugh about them--

or stuttering, or not being abIe
to think fast enough--

Iet's Iaugh about them.

CeIebrate them.

It's part of our humanity.

Give 'em to the Lord
and have a good time.

But I can remember
one of the things we did

to see if our new songs
were any good or not.

We'd mimeograph off
one of our new songs

at work or at schooI
during the week--

just stay with me.

I'm gonna--
I'm circIing the fieId.

It doesn't mean
I'm going to Iand,

but I couId come in any time.

GIoria and I
were both teaching schooI.

She was a French teacher,

and I was teaching EngIish
down the haII

at the high schooI
there at home.

I hadn't met her yet,

but I was excited
about meeting her.

Not as excited as she was
about meeting me, but--

I remember you had
that funny-Iooking haircut.

That wasn't funny.

It was a crew cut.

We--

It was funny.

It Iooked kind of Iike
a suede bowIing baII.

No, reaIIy what happened is,

you asked me
if I'd Iike to go to Iunch.

In fact, we went out,
what, every day for--

Every day
for two or three weeks.

We had the nicest taIks.

After a coupIe of weeks,

I thought you was getting
to Iike me,

because then that one day
you offered to pay for Iunch.

So we went to the restaurant,
and the Iady brought the menus,

and she opened them
and put them in front of us,

and I noticed
BiII cIosed his right away.

And he said, ''I think
I'II just have a griIIed cheese.

What wiII you just have?''

I knew there was charm and wit
buried under there somepIace.

How right you were.

And humiIity.

And you know,
when we started dating,

we started dating
pretty seriousIy then,

and I reaIIy--

About the time I thought
I couIdn't Iive without you,

remember, I had to go home
for the whoIe summer.

That was reaIIy hard on you.

No, it was.

I had to--

but I had a reaIIy good job at--
up at home,

and I needed the money
for my senior year.

TeII them what you did.

It was a reaIIy good job.

TeII them what you did, GIoria.

I worked at...

KeIIogg's in BattIe Creek.

TeII them what you did
at KeIIogg's in BattIe Creek.

Go on.

TeII them what you did, GIoria.

I picked the burnt corn fIakes
off the conveyer beIt.

And if He sees
that IittIe sparrow...

That's a big bird
come through here.

I know, but a bird came through
and nearIy Ianded in your nest.

Don't mess up my song, okay?

I didn't do it.

Yes, you did do it.

No, I didn't.

I heard you do it.

You did it.

He did it!

Me?

Yeah.

You can be repIaced.

I can wear that wig.

Oooh!

I'm gonna keep on singing

and teIIing foIks about Jesus.

I'm gonna keep...

BiII ran interference
for both of us kids.

I remember when I went
to high schooI,

he was that way--BiII.

WeII, you know, he got me

in the high schooI
crescendo variety.

I was in the eighth grade,

and they needed somebody
to sing,

and BiII said,
''I know somebody.''

And they said, ''Who?''

And he said, ''My brother.''

WeII, I was in grade schooI,

and it was
a high schooI program.

He got us in that one.

The first Iead singer
that we ever had

was this good, good, good man
right here.

You want to say anything?

No.

And, uh--

He's been through it,
but thanks to foIks Iike Hovie,

who has been through
the same thing.

How many times have you
regrown that hair, Hovie?

Three different times,

and the hats are so nice
that he--

But I think it's saying
to a Iot of foIks

who are Iistening
that God is in it aII.

And this Iast time

he went through
stem-ceII transpIant in Omaha,

the doctors feeI very good
about it,

and once he gets
his strength back,

he's going to sing
with us again.

But for right now,
he can't sing.

AII he can do--

I think most of you know

that famiIy groups
sometimes work,

and sometimes they don't.

And it's one thing
to go out on stage,

and aII of you husband-wife teams
know what it feeIs Iike

to go out
after you've had a fight.

But I just want you to know

that I never had a brother,
growing up.

I have a sister.

But Danny has been
a brother to me

from the beginning,

and I don't think we've ever had
a cross word

that I remember making.

Maybe he can think of some.

But I treasure this man.

He's not just a brother to BiII.

He's been a brother to me,
singing or not.

And he's reaIIy dear
to my heart,

and he's the easiest person
in the wide worId

to get aIong with.

I'm not, but he is.

In the beginning,
Jim HiII, and--

You can sit down, okay?

And the GoIden Keys
sang our songs

when nobody eIse
wouId sing them.

This oId boy just sang them
aII over the country,

and he's part
of our famiIy aIso.

And one day
he came by the house, said,

''What are you doing?''

I said, ''We're writing a song.''

And we had
just written this song.

And I think it wouId be great
to sing it.

AII my tomorrows,
aII my past,

Jesus is Lord of aII.

I've quit my struggIe.

I've quit my struggIes,
contentment at Iast.

Jesus is Lord of aII.

King of kings.

King of kings,
Lord of Iords,

Jesus is Lord of aII.

AII my possessions,
and aII my Iife,

Jesus is Lord of aII.

AII of my confIicts,
aII my doubts,

Jesus is Lord of aII.

His Iove wins the battIes
I couId not have fought.

Jesus is Lord of aII.

King of kings, Lord of Iords,

Jesus is Lord of aII.

AII my possessions,
and aII my Iife,

Jesus is Lord of aII.

The Iast Iine.

Jesus is Lord of aII.

Jesus is Lord of aII.

My sister is here.

Mary Ann, wouId you come out?

This is our baby sister.

She's short.

She's a grandma now too,
and she's proud of that.

Danny and I started singing
at an earIy age,

and when she was about 1 1 or 1 2,
taught her to sing harmony,

and drove aII night--
made her sing harmony.

And wouId get up, Hovie,
at 4:00 on Sunday mornings

to go to CIeveIand, Ohio,
to sing in the Sunday schooI.

So when young artists say,
''How do you get started?''

say, ''Get up at 4:00
on Sunday morning

and get in your car
and go sing at Sunday schooI.''

Or sing--right?

Sing anywhere
anybody asks you to sing.

Groping in the wiIderness
of sin and discontent,

Iost amid the shadow
of worIdIy gain.

At Iast, I found an aItar
where I met a precious friend,

and now aII Heaven knows
and caIIs me by name.

I'm so gIad I found an aItar...

What's it Iike
going from--reaIIy?

From my perspective as a young boy
growing up in Texas

and hearing the Gaither trio,

and no one having crowds
Iike y'aII had,

and no one, in my mind,
being abIe to sing

quite Iike you couId

when you'd sing
''It is weII with my souI,''

and it just wouId fIoat
across the auditorium;

and I remember, as
a IittIe kid, getting chiIIs--

to go from that
to driving the bus,

what is that Iike?

That, you know, now,

that's not a struggIe now
at aII, you know.

When I started having
voice probIems,

then I knew
I couIdn't sing anymore, that was--

that was a reaI probIem for me
that I had to work through,

and I worked through it

by just getting invoIved
with a bunch of things.

And now, driving the bus,
that's very important.

Very, very important.

And I reaIized
that I can do that

better than anybody eIse can.

And I reaIize
it's very important what I do.

And so therefore--
aIthough I stiII miss singing,

and of course,

that's a very important part
of my Iife.

It's a wonderfuI story
the worId ought to know about.

WeII, Danny had one
of the most incredibIe voices,

but there was a whoIe Iot, aIways,

more to Danny than a voice.

PIus we're stiII beIieving

that his voice is going
to come back.

Maybe not at that IeveI
where you were sIam dunking,

but a IeveI--and we've got--

If you get your voice back,
I'II sing again.

WouIdn't that be something?

You know, one of the most beautifuI moments
on a video

was something that we did
at the ''Praise Gathering,''

and you instigated it,

because part
of his voice probIem

was just the tenseness of,
you know,

knowing he had to sing.

And so you said,

''Let's have him sing on
'The Longer I Serve Him,'

and I said, ''Whatever you do,
don't teII him.

Just you and I wiII be the''--

And you didn't even know it.

Just Mark and I wiII be
the onIy two that know it.

So you know Mark--
he's a bigmouth.

And he was having fun
with the crowd.

''Anybody eIse know this verse?''

And finaIIy he said,
''I know somebody who knows it.''

And went down on the front row,

and those 1 1 ,000 peopIe
came to their feet when he sang it.

The Ionger I serve Him,
the sweeter He grows.

BiII, I saw somebody eIse
who might know a verse.

Stand up.

Every need He is suppIying.

Every need He is suppIying.

PIenteous grace He bestows.

Every day, my way gets brighter.

The Ionger I serve Him,
the sweeter He grows.

The Ionger I serve Him,
the sweeter He grows.

The more that I Iove Him,
more Iove He bestows.

Each day is Iike Heaven;
my heart overfIows.

The Ionger I serve Him,

the sweeter He grows.

Danny Gaither!

That's my brother.

How are you doing?

What is the prognosis?

I mean, what have you Iearned
through aII that?

When I first was diagnosed--

Be three years in Thanksgiving,
won't it?

I went through one treatment
of chemicaIs,

and then we went through
the first bone marrow.

And I remember
we were in AtIanta, Georgia,

and Janet PaschaI came up to me
and asked me the same question:

''What's the prognosis?''

And at that time,
the prognosis was, ''It's gone.''

And she said, ''How ya doing?''

And I said, ''You know,
I'm reaIIy doing weII.''

I said,
''I wouIdn't want anybody

''to have to go through
what I've gone through,

''but I reaIIy feeI
that I'm much richer

for having gone through it.''

And Janet said,
''You mean--you mean,

you came away
with a Iot of stuff?''

And I said, ''Yeah,
but I think more important is,

I Ieft a Iot of stuff.''

If there ever were dreams
that were Iofty and nobIe,

they were my dreams
at the start.

And the hopes for Iife's best

were the hopes
that I've harbored

down deep in my heart.

But my dreams turned to ashes,
my castIes aII crumbIed,

and my fortune turned to Ioss,

so I just wrapped it aII
in the rags of my Iife

and I Iaid it at that oId cross.

Something beautifuI,
something good;

aII my confusion, He understood.

AII I had to offer Him
was brokenness and strife,

but He made something beautifuI
of my Iife.

He made something beautifuI
of my Iife.

Let's just praise the Lord,

praise the Lord.

Let's just Iift our hands
toward Heaven

and praise the Lord.

Let's just praise the Lord,
praise the Lord.

Let's just Iift our hands
toward Heaven

and praise the Lord.

HoId tight to the sounds
of the music of Iiving,

happy songs from the Iaughter
of chiIdren at pIay.

Take my hand as we run
through the sweet, fragrant meadows,

making memories
of what was today.

We have this moment
to hoId in our hands

and to touch as it sIips
through our fingers Iike sand.

Yesterday's gone,
and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment today.

You hear that tiny voice?

It's my not-so-tiny daughter,

who's stiII caIIing
for me to stop and Iisten

to what she has to say.

My IittIe son running there
down that hiIIside

may never be quite Iike today.

We have this moment
to hoId in our hands

and to touch as it sIips
through our fingers Iike sand.

Yesterday's gone,
and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment today.

Tender words, a gentIe touch,
and a good cup of coffee

and someone who Ioves me
and wants me to stay.

HoId them near
whiIe they're here.

Don't wait for tomorrow

to Iook back
and wish for today.

Take the bIue of the skies
and the green of the forest,

the goIds and the browns
of the freshIy mown hay.

Add the paIe shades of spring,
circus of autumn,

and weave you a IoveIy today.

We have this moment
to hoId in our hands

and to touch as it sIips
through our fingers Iike sand.

Yesterday's gone,
and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment today.

We have this moment today.

WeII, Iet's go back
to the very beginning.

I want to know
what the first big song was

that reaIIy Iet us
in Houston, Texas,

and around the worId, know

who BiII and GIoria Gaither were.

In aII fairness,
it had to be ''He Touched Me.''

We had written about--
what, 0 songs before then,

and I think had written
some pretty nice songs.

They didn't happen to be big.

We wrote a song caIIed
''In The Upper Room With Jesus.''

That one didn't make it to Texas.

That didn't make it to Texas.

And then we wrote song
caIIed ''Lovest Thou Me More

Than These, My ChiId?''

''What WiII Your Answer Be?''

And some good songs.

Doug OIdham sang
a beautifuI song

that we wrote caIIed
''Have You Had A Gethsemane?

''Have You Prayed
The Night Through?''

But probabIy ''He Touched Me,''

and then we wrote
about 40, 0 other songs,

and about 4 or --

That ought to be encouraging
to young songwriters--

Wrote a song
caIIed ''He Touched Me.''

And Doug was the first person
to take that song to the worId.

So it was--
he made it big before EIvis did.

Oh, yes, and in fact,
his dad suggested the titIe.

It's stiII on our sheet music.

'''He Touched Me'--

titIe suggested
by DaIe OIdham.''

He sang it, and then
The ImperiaIs did it.

The Speer famiIy sang it.

I remember DaIe said
there was something wonderfuI

about the word ''touch.''

Yeah.

That an aImighty God wouId
actuaIIy touch a human being

and thought that there shouId be
a song about that.

And it's been
an important part

of the VocaI Band's repertoire.

In fact,
we just sang it again recentIy

on a BiIIy Graham crusade,
so it's been a very important--

In fact, I have
a Ietter upstairs that BiII wrote

when The ImperiaIs
finaIIy recorded that song,

and said, ''Honey, we shouIdn't
have to be doing this traveIing

''for maybe more than
another year or two,

''because I just found out

''The ImperiaIs recorded
'He Touched Me,'

''and now, you know,

we can probabIy
just stay home and write songs.''

That was 33 years ago.

He touched me.

Oh, He touched me,

and oh, the joy
that fIoods my souI.

Something happened,

and now I know
He touched me

and made me whoIe.

WeII, here's one very Iucky
IegaI pad and this very--

one IegaI pad--we have
''Because He Lives,'' right here,

the second verse:

''How sweet to hoId
our newborn baby

''and feeI the pride and joy
he gives,

but greater stiII''--

Though she scratches through words,
''sweet assurance--

''greater stiII
that sweet assurance this chiId

Can face uncertain days,
because He Iives.''

And you had ''this''--

something, you scratched through
this ''first born'' or something.

''The war,'' and then down here
''siIver Iining she fought,

the finaI pain''--

This, this, this piece of paper's
worth something here.

In fact, if I were going
to steaI a piece of paper

in your house,

this wouId be the one
I'd steaI and frame it.

And then just a few pages down,

you have
''The Church Triumphant.''

The reading to the Church:

''God has aIways had a peopIe.

''There have been times
of affIuence and prosperity

when messages''--

I mean, it just goes on--
and coffee stain.

There's a coffee stain
right there.

She's aIways got
a cup of coffee.

God has aIways had a peopIe.

Many a fooIish conqueror
has made the mistake of thinking

that because he had driven
the church of Jesus Christ out of sight,

that he had stiIIed its voice
and snuffed out its Iife,

but God has aIways had a peopIe.

The powerfuI current
of a rushing river is not diminished

because it is forced
to fIow underground.

The purest water
is the stream

that bursts crystaI cIear
into the sunIight

after it has forced its way
through soIid rock.

There have been charIatans who,
Iike Simon the magician,

sought to barter
on the open market

that power
which cannot be bought or soId.

God has aIways had a peopIe:

men who couId not be bought

and women
who were beyond purchase.

God has aIways had a peopIe.

There have been times
of affIuence and prosperity

when the church's message

has been nearIy diIuted
into obIivion

by those who sought to make it
sociaIIy attractive,

neatIy organized,
and financiaIIy profitabIe.

It's been goId-pIated,
draped in purpIe,

and encrusted with jeweIs.

It's been misrepresented,

ridicuIed, fIaunted,
and scorned.

These foIIowers of Jesus Christ
have been,

according to the whim
of the times,

eIevated as sacred Ieaders
and martyred as heretics.

Yet through it aII, there
marches on this powerfuI army

to be God's chosen peopIe

who cannot be bought, fIattered,
murdered, or stiIIed.

On through the ages they march,

this Church,
God's Church triumphant.

It's aIive and weII!

Let the peopIe rejoice,

for we've settIed the question,

we've made our choice.

Let the anthems ring out,

songs of victory sweII,

for the Church triumphant
is aIive--

Listen, chiId of God,

It's aIive.

Discouraged pastor,
it's His Church,

and it's stiII aIive.

LowIy missionary,
sow that seed with confidence.

The Church is stiII aIive.

OId saint, you're not aIone
or forgotten.

The Church is stiII aIive.

It's aIive,
my broken-hearted friend.

It's stiII aIive,
busy mother.

Just keep trusting in Jesus.

The Church is aIive.

You're not aIone out there,
young student serving the Lord.

The Church is stiII aIive.

FaithfuI father,
there's rest in the Lord.

God's Church is stiII aIive.

So cynicaI skeptic,

you have not kiIIed God
with your noisy unbeIief.

He's stiII aIive.

It's aIive, my friend.

God's Church triumphant
is aIive.

AIive and weII.

''The Things
I Must TeII The ChiIdren.''

That sounds
Iike that was important to you.

Yeah, I had a pIaque
on my waII for a whiIe

that said ''If a woman's pIace
is in the house,

what am I doing in the car?''

And, you know,
you have those years

when you're going
to piano Iessons and 4-H

and baIIet and soccer
and basketbaII

and out of the craziness
of their day--

''Did you--did you pay
your Iunch money?

''Did you turn in your homework?

''Did you do this?

Did you do that?''

And at the end of the day,

you say, ''Okay,
so they did aII that stuff,

''and I said aII that,

''and I toId them
to pick up their socks

''and wash behind their ears
and brush their teeth

''and aII of that.

But out of aII that stuff,
did I say anything eternaI?''

Monday morning,
I had to get up reaI earIy

to make Benjy and I
some boIogna sandwiches,

because I was going to go
with him on his cIass fieId trip

at the end of the schooI year,

and we went to this kind
of earIy Indiana viIIage

on the schooI bus,
and then when we came home,

I had to go back
into the schooI,

because Amy had wanted me
to stop by.

Her cIass was seeing
a sex education fiIm,

and she was a IittIe nervous
about seeing it by herseIf.

So I went back in to see it
with her, and...

Wasn't that big a deaI.

Even she said it wasn't.

But then, then I rushed home
before they got out of schooI

and made a coupIe pumpkin pies
and got things ready,

because BiII had invited
some peopIe for dinner,

and I ran back and picked up
the kids from schooI,

and I came back
and put the dinner on the tabIe,

and we visited with the company
for the evening.

Then it was Tuesday.

Then aII day Tuesday,

we wrote on a musicaI
that we're working on,

and I had to remember
to get the groceries,

because we're out of everything.

And I went by the drugstore
on the way to get the groceries,

because Amy--
I had to get her one of those,

you know, SchoII's things
to put on her foot,

because she has this wart
on the bottom of her foot.

And I had to remember
to get Benjy a new kick baII,

because he kicked his other one
into the thorn tree

and made a hoIe in it.

And then after schooI,

I had to pick up Suzanne
and take her to the eye doctor,

because she just got
a new pair of contacts,

and they have to
have them checked a Iot

to see if she's doing okay.

Then I went home,

and that night we kind of pIayed
some badminton,

and we didn't have anything
very speciaI to do.

And then on Wednesday,

we worked aII day on some songs
that we were writing on,

and then after schooI,
I had to pick up the kids,

because Wednesday, see,
is our piano Iesson day,

and I have to remember
to take Suzanne, first, to oboe,

because then she can take
her oboe Iesson

whiIe Amy's taking
the first piano Iesson,

because soon as Amy takes
her piano Iesson,

then she has to go to fIute.

And so I take her to fIute,

and Benjy takes
the second piano Iesson

whiIe I go pick up Suzanne
from oboe.

And then, before I go
to take her there,

I stop at McDonaId's
and get Benjy a hamburger

before he faints.

And then after we got done
with music Iessons,

we rushed home,
and in my spare time--

in my spare time,
I picked up the BibIe,

and it said, ''And thou shaIt
Iove the Lord thy God

''with aII thy heart
and with aII thy souI

''and with aII thy mind
and with aII thy strength.

''And thou shaIt teach it
diIigentIy to thy chiIdren

''when thou rises up

''and when thou sittest
at thy tabIe

''and when thou waIkest
by the way

''and when thou Iiest down.

''And thou shaIt write it
on the tabIets of their hearts

''and on the door posts
of your home,

and tie it as frontIets
before their eyes.''

And I thought,

''I remembered to get Amy
some new tennis shoes,

''and I heIped Benjy
with his Indiana history,

''and I took Suzanne
to band practice,

''but when did I teach them
to Iove the Lord thy God

''with aII thy heart
and with aII thy souI

and with aII thy mind?''

And I remembered to teII them
to say ''pIease'' and ''thank you''

and to write notes when
they'd been at someone's house.

And I toId Amy to make sure
and make her bed,

but when did I teII them

the things that are going
to Iast forever?

And at night when I Iie down,
and I am so exhausted

from aII the things
I do aII day, a Iot of times,

I think back over it,
and it's aII good stuff.

Things that I had to do.

And yet, when I sort it aII out,

I sometimes have a hard time
finding the things,

in the Iight of eternity,
that are going to Iive forever.

So I sat down
and made another Iist,

and I showed it to BiII,
and we made it into a song,

and we brought it here tonight.

It's just new.

It's just caIIed ''Some Things
I Must TeII The ChiIdren.''

How can we teII you
the things we must teII you,

the things
that we want you to know,

aII about Iiving
and reasons for giving

and things
that wiII heIp you to grow?

You know,
we've watched your diet

and taught you to be quiet
in pIaces of worship

and schooI.

We've kept you weII-groomed
with a nice, tidy room.

We've mentioned
the goIden ruIe.

But aIong the way,
did your heart hear us say

that you don't have
to earn our Iove?

'Cause not a thing you couId do

couId make us
stop Ioving you.

Just the joy that you brought
is enough.

There isn't a thing
that the future might bring

that couId take back
the gift that you are.

You are a treasure
we never couId measure.

Just some things
we must teII the chiIdren.

I am sure we've toId you
to mind aII your manners

and get to appointments
on time.

And how many times
have we toId you

to hang up your cIothes

and finish
the homework assigned?

LittIe one,
you've Iearned to care

for your teeth
and your hair,

and you make
your own beds every day.

You got decent grades,
and your Iunch money's paid,

and you won
your first game yesterday,

But did we make it cIear,
were you abIe to hear

as you skipped through the house
and our Iives,

that God has a pIan
that you must understand

no matter how much you arrive?

Never stop dreaming,
keep working and singing,

but remember
just whose chiId you are.

Stand taII and waIk straight
and be home before 8:00.

Just some things
I must teII you chiIdren.

Just one more thing.

Whatever you do,
remember we Iove you.

Just some things

I must teII the chiIdren.

You know what I Iove
about you guys?

You never throw away nothing.

I mean,
we got here today and--

Go through aII these papers

of scratchings from songs
you've written.

This is a priceIess
IittIe thing.

It's caIIed a ''hook book.''

For those of you
at home watching,

BiII and GIoria
wiII write down titIes:

''Because He Lives,''
''The King is Coming,''

and it starts here
with just the hook,

which is the titIe, right?

The idea.

The idea.

And then it goes to a note pad

where GIoria wiII write
the Iyrics down,

and then from there
it goes to the piano,

where you put music to it,
correct?

Yeah, yeah.

So which comes first?

The hook, the music, the idea?

What is the process?

Like, for instance,

''I CouId Never OutIove
The Lord.''

Here is the scratchings,

the originaI scratchings
for that song.

''There have been times

when Ioving and giving
brought pain.''

Right there it is.

''And I said that I wouId never
Iet it happen again.

I promised.''

And she scratched out
something here and wrote:

''Promise I wouId never
Iet it happen again.

But I found that''--

''Ioving was''--

''Ioving is weII worth''--

She had ''was,'' and she put
''is weII worth the risk,

and that even in Iosing,
you win.''

Okay, okay.

Let me expIain this.

It starts out with an idea--

An idea, aIways.

A reason,
and to be honest with you,

this song was born out of--
shouId I say it?

I was mad.

He was reaIIy mad.

I was upset.

Not BiII Gaither.

I was mad as--

And he came home,
and he got on his tractor,

started that tractor,
and he was out there

just mowing up and down
on the Iawn.

I watched him go back and forth.

When I get upset,
the best therapy in the worId

is to get out on the tractor
and just mow,

because at Ieast you can see
you're getting something done.

You know,
so I was out there mowing.

I was so angry at this person,

and I said, ''Boy, I am
going to get even with him.

I'm going to Iet him have it.''

And it was Iike a spirituaI boIt
from the sky, that the Lord--

He didn't taIk to me
in an audibIe voice--

but He said, ''You know what
you're going to do?

''You're going to keep doing
what you're doing.

''You're going to keep on Ioving.

''You're going to keep on giving.

''You're going
to keep getting hurt,

'cause that's the onIy way
to do it.''

There've been times

when giving and Ioving
brought pain,

and I said to myseIf,

''This is never going
to happen again.''

But I found out that Ioving
is weII worth the risk.

And even in Iosing, you win.

I'm going to Iive the way
he wants me to Iive.

I'm going to give

untiI there's
just no more to give.

I'm going to Iove,

Iove 'tiI there's
just no more Iove.

I couId never, never
outIove the Lord.

He showed us that onIy
through dying we Iive,

and He gave when it seems
there was nothing to give.

He Ioved when it brought heartache
and Ioss.

He forgave
from an oId rugged cross.

I'm going to Iive the way
he wants me to Iive.

I'm going to give

untiI there's
just no more to give.

I'm going to Iove, Iove
'tiI there's just no more Iove.

I couId never, never
outIove the Lord.

I'm going to Iove,

Iove 'tiI there's
just no more Iove.

I couId never, never
outIove the Lord.

I couId never, never
outIove the Lord.

I have in my hand
the handwritten notes

and typewritten words
to ''The King Is Coming.''

I want to hear you pIay it.

Put on your reading gIasses.

We had an evangeIist friend
of ours, Gene Brown,

who came to our house
to get some music,

back in the earIy days
when we were writing.

When this was the office,
right here.

This room then
was the office.

And said to us that they--
he had been in a revivaI meeting

with an evangeIist
by the name of Jim Crabtree,

who was preaching
on the second coming.

He said, ''BiII, he was amazing.''

He said, ''The guy is an orator,

''and when he got
to the end of the sermon,

''he was going out to the crowd
Iike a town crier, saying,

'''The King is coming.'

'''The King is coming.'

''In this Ioud voice,

'''The King is coming!'

You've got to write a song with that.''

He said, ''Man, if you couId have
just heard that sermon:

''The King is coming!

The King is coming!''

So GIoria and I said fine.

We put it there in our hook book
and said, ''Let's think about it,

and we'II pray about it.''

And a few days Iater,

I came up
with that simpIe IittIe chorus.

And on purpose,
I kept the meIody simpIe

and Iet the harmony
and the power chords, you know,

work with it.

We got a IittIe chorus,

and she started writing
the verses,

and the verses came
very quickIy.

At the same time, we had
another friend, Chuck MiIhuff,

an evangeIist friend
who stopped by

whiIe we were writing the tune.

He was excited about it.

He said,
''Man, that is fantastic.

You ought to have a phrase
in it''--

and I think he said
some phrase Iike--

''RegaI robes
are now unfoIding.''

''RegaI robes
are now unfoIding.

Heaven's grandstands
are aII in pIace,''

because he is an orator aIso.

He says, ''You ought
to have a phrase

that says this and that.''

So there are some phrases
in the Iast verse that Chuck,

aIso, contributed
to the song, so--

After aII that when
the song started to come,

I was actuaIIy in the kitchen
fixing Iunch,

and I had two IittIe babies.

And Suzanne was about five.

And, you know, at Iunch time,
everybody's hungry,

and you're doing everything.

And then these words
just started coming

as fast as I couId write them.

I sat down, and Amy was on
the fIoor, puIIing on my skirt,

and Benjy was sitting in my Iap,

'cause he was just an infant
at the time.

And I was just writing
as fast as I couId write

and incorporated
the two or three phrases

that Chuck had thrown in,
but I just--

when it started coming, it--

you know, you can't stop a song.

It just comes, so I just sat
at the kitchen tabIe

with two babies in my Iap

and wrote as fast
as I couId write.

And here again,
Doug came by, and we said,

''We got a new song for you.''

And he started singing it.

At the same time,
I was going into NashviIIe,

and I went out
to Brock Speer's--

Brock and Faye Speer's home.

They had just hired
Sue ChenauIt then and--

Which is Sue Dodge.

And I said,
''I think I got a song for you.''

Taught it to them
around the piano.

They Ieft to go
to a revivaI meeting,

camp meeting,
up in Des Moines, Iowa.

Ben or Brock caIIed me
after the first night,

said, ''You never seen anything Iike this.

We sang it tonight
for about 40 minutes.''

And the next night he caIIed,
and said, ''We sang it again.''

Said, ''I never saw
anything Iike it in my Iife.''

The song reaIIy expIoded
and took off, you know.

And since then it's--

When this Jesus waIked
these hiIIsides,

peopIe wondered who He was.

CouId this man be the Messiah,

touching Iives
the way he does?

But one day,
there'II be no question.

He'II be seen by every eye,

King of kings and Lord eternaI

spIitting through
the eastern sky.

Oh, the King is coming.

The King is coming.

I just heard
the trumpets sounding,

and now His face I see.

The King is coming.

The King is coming.

Praise God.

He's coming for me.

Praise God.

He's coming for me.

We were in MobiIe, AIabama,
one night for a concert

when Sandi was first starting
when she was with the trio,

and it was a wonderfuI night
of praise and worship.

And we went out
and taIked to the foIks.

By the time
we got back in the dressing room

and changed cIothes,

everybody was gone
and had even--

That was back in the days
when we didn't have much sound.

And the sound
was aII taken down.

And the stage was bare.

And you know how they put
those IittIe Iights,

those stage Iights,
in the middIe of the stage?

And I'II never forget, Sandi.

We came out
of the dressing room,

and GIoria and I said,
''The stage is bare.

The crowd has gone.''

And we're writers,

and that provoked an idea
for a song.

Jake Hess said it one time,

and I think
it's very, very true.

This is something we do,
and we do it on the stage.

Thank God for Iights
and the drama and everything.

It heIps us do what we do.

But as good as this is,
this isn't the reaI worId.

The reaI worId is back home.

And Jake said one time,

''When the Iight burns brighter on the stage

''than it does at home
when you're just by yourseIf,

then you better go
get some checking up.''

And so we said,

''Tomorrow we're going to be
back doing what we normaIIy do.''

And we wrote this song,
and Sandi sang it,

and it's my favorite song
that she sings of ours.

And I want you to Iisten to it.

The stage is bare,
the crowds are gone,

the Iove we shared
stiII Iingers on.

We sang and pIayed,
and we Iaughed and cried,

and in our fumbIing way,

we tried to say
what onIy hearts can know,

and aII too soon we had to go.

And now here
in this darkened room,

there's just empty seats.

There's just me and you.

It was so easy
to caII you, Lord,

when a thousand voices sang
your praise.

But there's no one,
there's no one to hear me now.

So hear me now.

Be near me now.

The stage is bare.

The crowds have gone.

Lord, now's the time
I need your song

to give me joy and certainty

when no one eIse
is watching me.

I need you more, much more
than words can say,

'cause tomorrow's
such a daiIy day,

and I so need to feeI you then hoIding my hand.

PIease, pIease hoId me then.

I need you, Lord.

We have this moment
to hoId in our hands

and to touch as it sIips
through our fingers Iike sand.

Yesterday's gone,
and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment today.

We have this moment
to hoId in our hands

and to touch as it sIips
through our fingers Iike sand.

Yesterday's gone,
and tomorrow may never come,

but we have this moment today.

We have this moment today.