By Catherine Ulrich Brakefield
God gives us each a special talent. “To
each one according to his own ability” (Matthew 25:15 NKJV). It is how we
utilize that special gift that matters to God—and humanity.
You may have the gift of mothering,
farming, teaching, or perhaps you have entrepreneur talents. You could have the gift of speaking, singing—or
composing songs.
Mr. Ira F. Stanphill (1914–1993) was gifted with such a talent. He was an amazing songwriter who wrote six hundred gospel songs, which include: "Suppertime," "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow," “Room at the Cross,” Happiness Is the Lord,” and “Mansion Over the Hilltop.”
A popular Assemblies of God gospel singer and songwriter of the 20th century, he wrote many of his songs during a period of deep personal turmoil. Still, he brought joy and hope to countless people throughout the world.
He was five years old, living with his parents in Mound Valley, Kansas when young Ira heard Claude Gilson, a blind pianist, playing for their prayer meeting. He came to their home to play classical pieces for the family after the church service. Little Ira listened mesmerized for hours. Gilson’s evident joy in playing through his blindness evidently impressed on young Ira how happiness could be found in sharing. Claude had overcome his handicaps, sharing his God-given gift with others.
Ira became a willing student, studying piano and performing his voice lessons. He learned to play the ukulele. He entered a contest with the hopes of performing on the radio. It wasn’t long before the station manager saw Ira’s talent. He was soon conducting 15-minute radio programs where he’d take requests for songs and play them on his ukulele!
Now a fourth grader, he mastered piano, organ, ukulele and accordion. But that wasn’t enough for Ira, he learned to play the xylophone, guitar, saxophone and clarinet.
But he still didn’t have what he’d seen in Claude. At age twelve, he had a born-again experience. He now understood his purpose. At age fifteen, he composed his first chorus, “Move Forward,” for a Christ’s Ambassadors (AG youth ministry) group. Amidst the chaos and hopelessness of the Great Depression, and at the impressive age of seventeen years old, Ira graduated from high school in 1932.
He responded to the mayhem by singing gospel songs in jails, on street corners, on the radio and participated in revival crusades, and tent campaigns.
He left for Chillicothe (Missouri) Junior College at twenty-two years old. Then, afterward, he served as youth and music director for J. M. Cockerell’s church in Breckenridge, Texas. During that time, he published his first song, “Afterwhile,” in 1935. “After the Showers” and “There’s a Savior Who Cares”.
It was in the following year, when Ira was to preach in Arcadia, Kansas; Pawhuska, Oklahoma; and Springfield, Missouri, that while in Springfield he would meet his future bride.
The musical family of K. H. Lawson was part of the Southern Missouri District, when Ira noticed one of his daughters. Zelma played the piano by ear and accompanied her parents on a local radio program.
Soon, Ira and Zelma went to church together, attending rallies and other events. Both held a common interest—music. On April 23, 1939, they were married in Central Assembly Church.
With Hitler marching across Europe, and America entering World War II, people needed hope and encouragement, and gospel music was the solace Americans needed to hear! Ira joined the team of evangelist Raymond T. Richey in 1941 to tour and sing during those crucial war years.
One very popular song, “Room At the Cross,” written in 1946 became one of Ira’s best loved hymns. However, it wasn’t easy for him to write. Perhaps because of the time restriction he’d placed upon himself.
During a meeting at Riverside Church in Kansas City, Missouri, and given some possible titles for a song, it was his objective to write the song before the service. So, he wrote this song between Sunday School and church. Completed, he sang the song to himself, and decided it wasn’t ready.
So, he asked the congregation for another chance and more time! He felt confident he’d have a song for the evening service. He told them of the ideas he had for a title, and then prayerfully chose “Room At the Cross.” This was such a success that in the coming years, “Room At the Cross” became the closing song for each alter call of the Revivaltime radio broadcast.
Then, sadly, it happened. After nine long years of trying to make his stormy marriage work, Ira and Zelma were divorced in 1948.
This was an extremely hard time for Ira, because Zelma took his five-year-old son with her, they never reconciled. During this very dark period of Ira’s life, he wrote a hundred and fifty songs, including “I’ll Trust in Him Though I don’t Understand,” We’ll Talk it Over,” “I Don’t Know About Tomorrow,” and “Mansion Over the Hilltop.”
Ira is the first to say, he could not have written “Mansion Over the Hilltop” without a businessman’s disillusionment, and a little girl’s faith.
See next month’s blog for the exciting conclusion of “Utilizing your God-given talents!”
WALTZ WITH DESTINY: Waltz into the Big Band Era and the splendors of Detroit's ballrooms with Esther (McConnell) Meir as a story-book romance swirls into a battle for survival. Guys like Eric Erhardt remembers those days vividly: "The outside world all thought Americans were too soft, and not much more than playboys, and we wouldn't be able to fight—man, did we show them!
Catherine is the award-winning author of Wilted Dandelions, Swept into Destiny, Destiny’s Whirlwind, Destiny of Heart, Waltz with Destiny and Love's Final Sunrise. She has written two pictorial history books, The Lapeer Area and Eastern Lapeer, and short stories for Guideposts Books, CrossRiver Media Group, Revell Books, Bethany House Publishers. Catherine and her husband of fifty-three years live on a ranch in Michigan, has two adult children, five grandchildren, four Arabian horses, three dogs, two cats, one bunny, and six chickens. See CatherineUlrichBrakefield.com.
https://news.ag.org/en/articles/news/2025/05/this-week-in-ag-history-may-25-1952
No comments:
Post a Comment