Behind the Songs
01 Jan 2008
Almost Thrown Away
Song: Redemption Draweth Nigh
Luke 21:20-28
And when these things begin to come to pass,
then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
“Gordon Jensen stands out as a writer and singer that God has anointed to minister to the hearts of people everywhere. His songs address themselves to the deepest part of the spiritual man, and his unflamboyant but Christ-exhalting delivery make him a genuine blessing.” That was an assessment of Jensen offered by Jim Cymbala, Pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, New York. Cliff Barrows, long-time music director of the Billy Graham Crusades says of Gordon’s songwriting, “A beautiful gift to use for His (God’s) glory.”
Gordon Jensen was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1951, the son of Frank and Marion Jensen. His appreciation for Christian music started early on. He said, “At age five I heard a choir singing Norman Clayton’s Now I Belong to Jesus, and I was moved.” He continued, “A year or so later, while at home one day with my mother, I sensed my need for Christ, and told her of my desire to be saved. She, then and there, led me to Christ. During those years my family attended Bethel Pentecostal Church in Windsor.”
“Although I had some early interest in music, it did not catch fire with me in a total way until I was eleven or twelve years of age. I remember that we moved to Mesa, Arizona when I was eight, where my parents found a piano teacher for me. Although I did learn some things, I wasn’t altogether excited about the experience. Three years later my dad went to a concert in Phoenix to hear the Blackwood Brothers and the Statemen Quartet, and he came home with an arm load of records. When I heard those Southern Gospel songs my imagination was captured -- there was something bright and alive about it.”
“I had three cousins in Mesa whose dad had taught them to sing in harmony, and they persuaded me to join them as a quartet. I was a very high bass singer. We didn’t have a pianist so I increased my interest in the keyboard and became our accompanist.
When I was fifteen our family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where we attended Brightmoor Tabernacle, a very large church with a tremendous music program. There I met Larry Orrell, who invited me to join his singing group, the Orrells. We had a measure of success, even recording four albums with Zondervan’s Singcord Label.”
“Larry’s dad was a successful promoter of Southern Gospel concerts, booking many of the popular touring groups such as the Speer Family, the Blackwood Brothers, and the LeFevre Trio. They filled auditoriums up to 5,000 in attendance. Larry’s dad scheduled us to sing first on each program -- to warm up the crowd. The audiences weren’t too thrilled about that, but Mr. Orrell was the promoter.”
“At age seventeen I became much more interested in songwriting and began those ventures in earnest . About that time the Orrells signed a recording contract with the Benson Company on their Heartwarming Label. I wrote all of the songs for our records. And because we were singing in concerts with more popular quartets, those groups naturally heard my songs, and some of them began to record them. I was then offered a contract with Benson Company as a staff writer.”
“During my eighteenth year there was an extensive amount of emphasis on escatology -- the rapture of the church in particular. It was a subject that was very meaningful to me, and a thrilling prospect. During those days, while hearing a lot of sermons, discussions, and songs about the coming of Christ and the signs of his return, I wrote Redemption Draweth Nigh. Because the process took a very short span of time, I did not have a huge regard for the song. It was hard for me to show it to others.”
“Shortly thereafter, while in a concert with the Orrells and a famous quartet, I “pitched” my song to that popular group. They at first turned it down with the explanation, ‘Nobody wants to hear about war and strife,’ which was a part of the second verse. I experienced a sense of rejection and defeat. I almost threw the song away, and could hardly bring myself to show it to anyone else.”
“Shortly thereafter I mustered up enough courage to allow Redemption Draweth Nigh to be recorded by the Orrells. Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys just happened to be in the studio during our session and heard two of my songs, Redemption Draweth Night and The Coming of the Lord. Immediately he said, ‘I will publish both of those songs.’ He then added, ‘The Coming of the Lord will be a big hit, very quickly, but it will then die out, and Redemption Draweth Nigh will start slowly, in my opinion, and will be around for a long time.’ His predictions were very accurate. People began to record Redemption Draweth Nigh and today hundreds have done so -- and it still continues. The famed quartet that turned it down in the beginning later recorded it, also.”
“The Downings, the Sammy Hall Singers, and the Galileans were greatly responsible for getting the song out to the masses of the Southern Gospel fans, while Doug Oldham carried it to another genre of Christian music. Ron Huff’s choral arrangement lifted it into yet another realm. It is wonderful to hear my song done by a large choir and orchestra!”
Jensen’s song speaks to all of us as he reminds us in a very explicit, biblical fashion that we are not to lose hope, but instead lift up our heads and keep our eyes toward the eastern sky, remembering that our redemption, the coming of Christ, draws nigh. It is a musical reminder of those truths spoken of in Luke, chapter 21.
Gordon, his wife, Marsha, and their four children, Kellie, Hollie, Gordon II, and Michael, live near Nashville, Tennessee. He averages approximately 150 personal appearances each year, throughout the United States, Canada, the West Indies, and into Europe and Africa. More information is given about the ministry of Gordon Jensen in another story appearing in this volume.
Reflection:
Many of us can identify with Gorden Jensen in that we, too, have heard for many years that Jesus would come again some day. By faith in God’s Word we keep the promise real in our lives. Continue looking for and expecting our Lord to return! It may be today!
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Written: 01/01/2008 
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Behind the Songs
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