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742

Will You Come and Follow Me

Scripture References

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

The Canons of Dort V, 13 explain that our assurance of eternal security and perseverance cannot “produce immorality or lack of concern for godliness in those put back on their feet after a fall, but it produces a much greater concern to observe carefully the way which the Lord prepared in advance” and it is “an incentive to a serious and continuous practice of thanksgiving and good works...” (Canons of Dort V, 12) Therefore, this sub-section contains songs which express both the desire and the commitment of the believer to walk in obedience for holy living. Woven throughout these songs are expressions of fervent desire for holy living, a dedication to follow God’s will, a surrender of one’s will, and prayers for the Holy Spirit to continue his sanctifying work.

742

Will You Come and Follow Me

Additional Prayers

A Prayer to Be Faithful Followers of Jesus
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we want to step forward, but always behind you. We don’t know the way ahead, but you do. You know where we must go, and when, and how fast. We want to step forward, but always behind you. We will come and follow you if you but call our name. Amen.
— Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
742

Will You Come and Follow Me

Tune Information

Name
KELVINGROVE
Key
F Major
Meter
7.6.7.6.7.7.7.6

Recordings

Musical Suggestion

This traditional Scottish folk melody is easily learned. (Only the melody is provided here for reasons of space.) Sing the first four stanzas with intensity, the last with courage, even bordering on boisterousness. Though in triple meter, feel in one beat per measure halfnote= 80. If you can, have a choir hum behind the soloist for the first four stanzas, with accompanying instruments entering on stanza 5. Whatever accompaniment you use, it needs to be simple; supporting, but not overpowering, the melody. A fingerpicked guitar, and organ on flute stops,or a piano with a gentle arpeggio would be appropriate. A flute player might also double the melody in stanzas 1-4, while improvising a descant in the final stanza. A choral version with congregational participation is available in the God Never Sleeps collection from GIA Publications, Inc. (G-4384).
 
Consider using this song:
  • In services of commitment or dedication, especially when the scriptural theme emphasizes the radical demand of the Lord's call.
  • At the close of worship as a "call to services."
  • On the first four stanzas, place four soloists (different ages, gender, race, calling) in four areas of the worship space, to indicate that God's summons comes from various places and in various ways.
(from Reformed Worship, Issue 42)
— David Vroege
This text is striking in its forthrightness and its recollection of the biblical “call” texts. Here the tone seems to suggest Jesus calling disciples (Mark 1:16-20). To highlight the dialogic nature, have a soloist sing the first four stanzas, and have the whole congregation respond with stanza 5. This also supplies a ready-made method for teaching the song. If singing selected stanzas, always include stanza 5.
 
This traditional Scottish folk melody is easily learned. Sing the first four stanzas with intensity, the last with courage, even bordering on boisterousness. Though in triple meter, feel in one beat per measure. If you can, have a choir hum behind the soloist for the first four stanzas, with accompanying instruments entering on stanza 5. Whatever accompaniment you use, it needs to be simple; supporting, but not overpowering, the melody. A finger-picked guitar, an organ on flute stops, or a piano with a gentle arpeggio would be appropriate. A flute player might also double the melody in stanzas 1-4, while improvising a descant in the final stanza. A choral version with congregational participation is available in the God Never Sleeps collection from GIA Publications (G-4384). 
— Sing! A New Creation
742

Will You Come and Follow Me

Hymn Story/Background

John Bell set this hymn to KELVINGROVE, a Scottish traditional tune.
— Sing! A New Creation

Author and Composer Information

John Bell (b. 1949) was born in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, intending to be a music teacher when he felt the call to the ministry. But in frustration with his classes, he did volunteer work in a deprived neighborhood in London for a time and also served for two years as an associate pastor at the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. After graduating he worked for five years as a youth pastor for the Church of Scotland, serving a large region that included about 500 churches. He then took a similar position with the Iona Community, and with his colleague Graham Maule, began to broaden the youth ministry to focus on renewal of the church’s worship. His approach soon turned to composing songs within the identifiable traditions of hymnody that found began to address concerns missing from the current Scottish hymnal:
 
I discovered that seldom did our hymns represent the plight of poor people to God. There was nothing that dealt with unemployment, nothing that dealt with living in a multicultural society and feeling disenfranchised. There was nothing about child abuse…, that reflected concern for the developing world, nothing that helped see ourselves as brothers and sisters to those who are suffering from poverty or persecution. [from an interview in Reformed Worship (March 1993)]
 
That concern not only led to writing many songs, but increasingly to introducing them internationally in many conferences, while also gathering songs from around the world. He was convener for the fourth edition of the Church of Scotland’s Church Hymnary (2005), a very different collection from the previous 1973 edition. His books, The Singing Thing and The Singing Thing Too, as well as the many collections of songs and worship resources produced by John Bell—some together with other members of the Iona Community’s “Wild Goose Resource Group,” are available in North America from GIA Publications. 
— Emily Brink
The Iona Community is an ecumenical Christian group of men and women based on the small island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. The community began in 1938 when he Rev. George MacLeod of the Church of Scotland began a ministry among the unemployed poor who had been neglected by the church. He took a handful of men to the island to rebuild the ruins of a thousand-year-old abbey church. That rebuilding became a metaphor for the rebuilding of the common life, a return to the belief that daily activity is the stuff of godly service—work, and worship.  The Community has since grown to include a group of members, associates, and friends all over the United Kingdom and many other contries. In addition to many conferences that attract people to Iona from around the world, the Community is known for its publishing of new songs and prayers for worship, both developed in community and gathered from around the world. For more information on the Iona Community, check their website: www.iona.org.uk. John Bell is probably the community’s most well-known member, having composed and arranged much of the community’s music.
— Sing! A New Creation
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