Years later, McKinney stood in front of 10,000 Baptists to lead them in singing
“Wherever He Leads I’ll Go,” one of the many songs he had penned.
As the singing ended, McKinney leaned toward the microphone and whispered the
lesson he had learned well.
“Be sure that you mean the words you sing,” he reminded Baptists.
Years later, McKinney stood in front of 10,000 Baptists to lead them in singing
“Wherever He Leads I’ll Go,” one of the many songs he had penned.
As the singing ended, McKinney leaned toward the microphone and whispered the
lesson he had learned well.
“Be sure that you mean the words you sing,” he reminded Baptists.
Tim Boyet recounted the instance in a 1962 article in Home Life Magazine.
“That is a presence that has got to be awesome – just to stand in front
of 10,000 people and speak softly,” says Boyet, who serves as minister
of music at Bistineau Baptist Church in Heflin.
Boyet recently joined McKinney’s family and friends in honoring the famed
Southern Baptist musician at the annual B.B. McKinney hymn sing on July 22 at
Bistineau Baptist Church. McKinney was a Louisiana native who became a prominent
Southern Baptist leader in church music. He died in a 1952 car accident.
Bistineau was the childhood church home to McKinney, who had a hand in writing
more than 500 hymns and gospel songs, many familiar to Southern Baptists.
“If you’re a Southern Baptist and you love the Lord, you know who
B.B. McKinney is,” Bistineau pastor Everett Geis notes. Geis sang McKinney’s
“I Am Satisfied With Jesus” at the recent sing.
Several of the 10 family members present sang their favorite hymns as well,
in addition to the congregational singing of many McKinney favorites.
Mark Smith, McKinney’s great-nephew, sang “Wayfaring Stranger,”
a favorite of the man known to his family as “Uncle Ben.”
“B.B. liked to sing it when he was at a gathering,” says Smith, who
never had the opportunity to meet his great-uncle.
McKinney’s nephew, J.C. Davis, sang “When the Morning Comes,”
a family favorite. Davis previously served as music minister at Bistineau for
24 years.
“I’m sure the Lord was speaking to B.B. McKinney when he wrote the
song,” Davis says of the selected tune.
Guests at the annual hymn sing used the Broadman Hymnal that McKinney edited
while working for the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board. McKinney served
as the board’s first secretary of the Department of Church Music.
During McKinney’s tenure, the board started an annual Church Music Week
at Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center, established the position of secretary
of music in each state Baptist convention, developed the church music training
course and started publishing the Church Musician magazine.
Baylus Benjamin McKinney was born on July 22, 1886 in Heflin, and attended
Mount Lebanon Academy and Louisiana College in Pineville. He also attended Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, the Siegel-Myers School of
Music and the Bush Conservatory of Music, both in Chicago, Ill.
McKinney also served as music editor for Robert Henry Coleman, a songbook publisher
of Dallas, Texas, for several years. During that time he taught at Southwestern
Baptist Seminary and served as assistant pastor of a local church.
He died in 1952 after suffering injuries in a car accident – but his legacy
remains in more than 500 compositions he wrote, edited or adapted. These include
such tunes as “The Nail Scarred Hand,” “Let Others See Jesus
in You,” “Satisfied With Jesus,” Speak to My Heart,” “Breathe
On Me” and
” ’Neath the Old Olive Trees.”
The group that gathered for the recent annual hymn sing sang many of these
and other favorites in McKinney’s honor.
And in fitting fashion, before leading the group in “Wherever He Leads
I’ll Go,” Boyet emphasized to them what McKinney learned well from
his mother.
“Let’s mean these words,” he said.
B.B. McKinney (1886-1952) made large contributions to Southern Baptist music. The Louisiana native wrote, composed, edited or arranged more than 500 songs. The Baptist Hymnal contains 16 of his works. |
||
Glorious is Thy Name | words and tune1942 | |
For Me * | tune | |
Breathe On Me | adapted words; tune1937 | |
Spirit of the Living God | arranged,1937 | |
The Nail-Scarred Hand | words and tune1924 | |
Send a Great Revival | words and tune1925 | |
Lord, Send a Revival | words and tune1927 | |
Let Others See Jesus in You | words and tune1922, 1924 | |
Lord, Lay Some Soul upon My Heart | words (stanzas 2,3) with Mack Weaver; and tune1939 | |
Speak to My Heart | words and tune, 1927 | |
Wherever He Leads Ill Go | words and tune1936 | |
Have Faith in God | words and tune1934 | |
God, Give Us Christian Homes | words and tune1949 | |
Serve the Lord with Gladness | words and tune1930 | |
Satisfied with Jesus | words and tune1926 | |
When the Morning Comes | arranged1937 | |
All on the Altar ** | words and music1936 |