Making Each Other Better

Tony Cooke

I was recently privileged to visit the Lawrence County Historical Center in New Castle, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Ira D Sankey. Sankey was the song leader for D. L. Moody, the great evangelist. On one of my bookcases at home, I have commemorative ceramic statues of Moody and Sankey (pictured) that were produced during their powerful meetings in the 1870’s throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. In the other picture below, I’m standing next to Sankey’s portable organ that he played in Moody’s evangelistic meetings all across the United States. The following article explores the synergy created by their partnership in ministry.

   

When relationships operate as God intended, they are mutually beneficial — they are win-win situations. Each person benefits, and each person provides benefits to the other. This principle is expressed in Paul’s statement to the church at Rome: “I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you — that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:11-12 ESV).

A basic question that arises from this is, “Who do you make better, and who makes you better?” If you are looking for an example of this, look no further than the nineteenth-century evangelistic team of Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey. Many reading this will immediately recognize the name of Moody, but not that of Sankey. Moody, though, considered him a great friend and an indispensable part of what God had called him to do.

When Moody first heard Sankey sing “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood” at a YMCA convention in 1870, Moody immediately recognized that Sankey’s gift could powerfully complement and enhance his own. He approached him, asked him some questions, and even though he was meeting him for the first time, said, “You must join me. I have been looking for you for the last eight years.” That began a thirty-year partnership in which they made Heaven smile and made each other better. 

Sankey joined Moody in Chicago, and six months later, the great Chicago fire of 1871 destroyed the church and their homes. Moody then invited Sankey to go with him to Europe, but Sankey had received a lucrative offer to go West with a guaranteed salary. Moody did not have a set itinerary for Europe, and told Sankey they would be trusting God for their financial needs to be met. Even though the other offer was “secure” and made more sense in the natural, Sankey chose to go on an adventure with Moody. Working together — Moody preaching the gospel, and Sankey singing the gospel — they dramatically impacted nations.

One British newspaper wrote of Sankey: “Mr. Moody is very fortunate in having such a colleague as Mr. Sankey. He has enriched evangelistic work by something approaching the discovery of a new power. He spoils the Egyptians of their finest music, and consecrates it to the service of the tabernacle. Music in his hands is more than it has yet been… We have seen many stirred and melted by his singing before a word had been spoken. Indeed, his singing is just a powerful, distinct, and heart-toned way of speaking, that seems often to reach the heart by a short cut, when mere speaking might lose the road.”

 A lady in Chicago spoke of Sankey’s ministry in song, saying, “Mr. Sankey sings with the conviction that souls are receiving Jesus between one note and the next… When you hear him you know of a truth that down in this corner, up in the gallery, behind that pillar which hides the singer’s face from the listener, the hand of Jesus has been finding this and that and yonder one, to place them in the fold.”

Sankey often stated, “This is music that is calculated to awaken the careless, to melt the hardened, and to guide inquiring souls to Jesus Christ.” Having heard Sankey sing in Scotland, a famed preacher said, “Well, Mr. Sankey, you sang the gospel tonight.” Moody and Sankey fulfilled Paul’s heartfelt desire as they stood “fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27). 

Moody’s name is better known and remembered than Sankey’s, but Moody would be the first one to say that Sankey helped him be more effective. It was a win-win relationship. Moody preached the gospel and Sankey sang the gospel. Moody also helped Sankey by giving him exposure he might not have otherwise had. 

Keep in mind, you don’t have to share the platform with someone to have a mutually beneficial relationship. As church members are faithful in any capacity — faithfully attending, serving, giving, praying, etc., they are helping their pastor be more effective, and as pastors lovingly minister the word of God, they are helping the flock of God benefit. And beyond that, all believers can mutually encourage and lift one another as they care for and encourage one another.

A Few Pictures from the Sankey Collection in New Castle, PA