My mother was a wonderful singer. Every Sunday, she sang in the church choir. Unfortunately, I was not as gifted as her. One Christmas Eve during Silent Night, my choir teacher, Sister Annette, took me and Jerry Hahn aside and asked us to sit quietly. All I knew after that when it came to singing, I needed something simple and repetitious. My best choice, for obvious reasons, was a good, old-fashioned, singalong. My wife is also a wonderful singer, and there was no way that I could compete with her as well. So, when it came time to putting the kids to bed, they always wanted a lullaby—so I had to be creative.
As a child, I remembered singing “When the Saints Go Marching In.“ The lyrics themselves, their very simplicity, made it easy to remember and sing. Of course, my favorite version of the song was Louie Armstrong--simple and to the point.
Oh when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
Yes, I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
As I looked into the origin of the song, the earliest known versions are from a black spiritual hymn that came out of slavery just like the song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands” that I just painted. Here is one of the longer versions of the song that I love and used for my painting:
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, when the drums begin to bang
Oh, when the drums begin to bang
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, when the stars fall from the sky
Oh, when the stars fall from the sky
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, when the moon turns red with blood
Oh, when the moon turns red with blood
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call
Oh, when the trumpet sounds its call
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, when the horsemen begin to ride
Oh, when the horsemen begin to ride
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, brother Paul, you are my friend
Oh, brother Paul, you are my friend
Yea, you gonna be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh, when the saints go marching in
Oh Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in.
Scripture-Based Songs
After discovering the song was a spiritual hymn, I wanted to look up in the Bible what it would mean to me. I found myself lead to the following four verses which spoke of saints, joy, and the love of God which is the essence of the saints go marching in.
Matthew 27:51-53 (NKJV)
“Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”
Corinthians 1:1-3 (NKJV)
“Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Psalm 86:10-12(NKJV)
"For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."
Psalm 16:11 (NKJV) “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Saints?
Matthew says that dead saints like David, Noah, Joseph and even Jonah from the Old Testament are raised out of their graves the moment Jesus died, and they went to the holy city to appear to many. The song's title and lyrics lead me to question who a saint is since my childhood church believes that to be a saint, one must have the pope canonize you. Not only did the church select who was a saint, but I also found out firsthand that they chose who would become an altar server, and one might say, I was no choir boy!
Thank God for the Apostle Paul where he tells us in scripture that we are all called to be the saints of Jesus, and all we need to do is call on His name wherever we go, whatever we do, revering and loving God with our whole undivided heart. And the last and most important thing is God is the source of pleasure that creates our joy now and forever--what one would call spiritual happiness.
Marching in?
In the song, I started to question where did the saints go marching into? Was it a church, heaven or is it the kingdom of God? If it was church, I am now starting to realize that man’s idea of church is far different than what God lays out in scripture. Jesus teaches us it is about His Kingdom, not a building that is built.
The Gospel biographies are filled with evocative, vivid parables, all about the Kingdom of God. They were Jesus’ central teaching. But this kingdom He speaks about is not a where but a what and how. It is the state of mind in the world when people acknowledge God--when God is honored, worshipped, and respected—the Kingdom is present. The Kingdom is not a physical place that exists to make us happy but a community of people who do not discriminate when it comes to His love and blessings.
As Christians, we need to understand what the church really is, a community of disciples building His kingdom here on earth as we show others His never-ending love. Throughout the Gospels, you can find Jesus' teaching on the characteristics of His Kingdom people as they reflect His character in the world. The Church was never about brick and mortar. It was always greater than that. It was about a way of being in the world. Jesus tells Peter he is the rock of the Church. He affirms His disciple Peter’s faith and character and says that he will be the foundation of the Kingdom community as it grows.
Jesus is not hiring Peter—a fisherman by trade—as a subcontractor to erect a building with a steeple. He only notes Peter’s devotion and tells him to continue the Kingdom work he had already begun. He is to steward the people of God: no building campaign, no band, no weekly services, or even service projects. The truth is, Jesus was teaching something vastly different from what the word “church” means to us today. It was about a community of believers who gathered, worshiped, and helped each other out, showing others, the love of God.
Since most people were illiterate at the time when the walls of the first church buildings were built, the mosaics and statues communicated stories of the Old Testament, and the Word was handed down through stories or prayers like, the Our Father. Since then, we have grown up in buildings and a system and a tradition that man has created, so we believe that this is the Church. Is the Church a place you visit for an hour on Sunday where God shows up, or where a community can solely be found? This “obligation” simply is not Biblical.
After Googling “what is the number of Christian denominations?,” there are over 45,000 denominations of churches in the world today, each with its own view of Jesus with man-created Kings who rule, and pious judges making judgements without consulting God’s Word. As disciples of Jesus, He wants us to join Him in building His Kingdom through building His character--not through our own need for power and popularity. His Kingdom can only come by getting to know Jesus and His Word--following Him no matter where He goes because after everything else is gone, His Kingdom will march on.
In scripture, it tells us church is a place where people shared the love of God and whatever they had to help others in need no matter who they were. So why do we as Christians make church more about a place to go on Sunday than about an ongoing relationship with Jesus? Are our churches becoming theaters of entertainment where one day the buildings themselves will be used to watch movies? Is the new church any different than the church that stoned Stephen the first martyr? Are we like Saul/Paul watching the stoning and feel no remorse? Or does it make us want to do something about the injustice we see. Paul eventually did feel remorse, but it took Jesus knocking him off his horse and blinding him. What is your horse? And when it happens, what will you do?
Creating the painting “His Kingdom Marches On!
After all my research on the roots of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” I was inspired to name my blog and painting “His Kingdom Marches On,” and here is why. Lead by the Holy Spirit, I used a version of the lyrics of the song that included – Saints marching in with banging drums, trumpets sounding their call, stars falling from the sky, a blood red moon, and a riding horseman.
For my backdrop, New Orleans was my logical choice with its historic graveyards and amazing tombs. Also, the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans and is the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. It depicts a crumbling church that is burning out of control lead by elite theologists and Saul/Paul standing at the entrance.
Jonah and the whale foretell the coming of Jesus. The multi-colored tree with its deep roots is where the fruit of the spirit grows. Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to save us as He holds His Word in His hand.
The stairs to heaven are a six-step process to spiritual maturity that I found in an article by Avery Rimiller with scripture to support each step. Discipleship is teaching and modeling what it looks like to follow Jesus and lead people into a relationship with Him. While there is no absolute formula for making perfect disciples, it is good to be intentional and seek God’s will for how He would like to guide us in this process.
What is a discipleship process? A discipleship process is a journey someone goes through to become more like Jesus. At each step we learn more about God, His Word, and grow in spiritual maturity to shape us as His disciples. It is how He saves people with an undivided heart. If you want to disciple someone, know that this is an amazing desire, and Jesus will be with you the whole way. In fact, Jesus modeled not only for us how to be a disciple but also how to disciple others and lead them into a relationship with the Father.
1. LOVE - 1 John 4:19 and Ezekiel 11:19
2. SHOW - 1 Corinthians 11:1 and John 14:9-10
3. TEACH - Matthew 13:52
4. CORRECT - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Matthew 16:23
5. EQUIP - Ephesians 4:11-13 6. SEND - Matthew 28:18-20
2. SEND - Matthew 28:18-20
God calls us to be intentional in all that we do, especially when making disciples. We can follow His lead, imitating Jesus as we point others to Him--teaching, correcting, equipping, and sending them so that everyone may know the love of the Father. This is the goal, to see ourselves and others grow in spiritual maturity and lead them into a relationship with Jesus, knowing that His love will multiply and transform the lives of people all over the world through an intentional discipleship process. “It is God molding our heart and soul into that of His own son Jesus Christ!”
So, for me, the song that I sang to my children at bedtime takes on real meaning. The church is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), a community of believers, disciples of Jesus, saints building His Kingdom here on earth ready to enter the Kingdom of Heaven where we see God as He truly is—an endless reservoir of fascination and love and a place where we will receive our own crowns that can include glory, righteousness, rejoicing, life, and the imperishable crown.
As in my painting, when I die, I want to see my family, friends, and church community singing and dancing down the streets of Oconomowoc into LaBelle Cemetery rejoicing as a friend of Jesus--a disciple, not a slave of society. My only request that day will be as my Uncle Randy would say, we just need to just be kind to one another. Start with your family, friends, neighbors and even your enemies. That will be the day when His Kingdom Marches On. Where kindness begets kindness. What a wonderful day that will be.
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