A Weekly Column for Musicians and Song Leaders
MOTHER’S DAY EDITION • MAY 10, 2026
What Mama Hummed, the Choir Stand Must Carry
When a preacher testifies in past tense, the musician answers in present tense — a real-time reflection on Rev. Marcus Davis’s “I Got It From My Momma”
By Robert Wright
Music Minister, Ludden Chapel Baptist Church
Rev. Marcus Davis preached this Mother’s Day at Ludden Chapel from 2 Timothy 1:5 — the faith that dwelt first in Lois, then in Eunice, and is now in Timothy. His title, “I Got It From My Momma,” sounded like a tribute on the front end. By the close, it had become a commissioning. The deposit is in you, he said, because it was in her. Fan the flame.
He moved through mama’s transmitted theology one phrase at a time — “He’s an on-time God” and “Serving the Lord will pay off after while.” Then he quoted the songbook itself: “how to take it to the Lord in prayer,” and “if it was good enough for your mother, it’s good enough for you.” That is Rev. Davis preaching through the hymnal and the folk-canon mama actually sang. The musician’s job in that moment is to recognize the cue and let the room hum what the preacher just quoted.
The turn came when he said, “Church is not the first place I saw a miracle. I saw at home — mama working miracles.” I had been listening for the close, and that line settled it for me. When he said “as I close,” I eased into “I Still Hear Mama Praying” by Chester Baldwin. He had testified in past tense — I saw my mother pray. The song answered in present tense — I still hear her. That is the inheritance the sermon was preaching: not a memory of faith, but an ongoing, audible one.
A word to my fellow musicians and song leaders: you do not have to pre-plan every selection. Listen to the preacher and listen for the people. When the sermon quotes a hymn, the hymn is your cue. When the testimony shifts from past tense to a present need, your song must do the same. The choir stand is not just a place to deliver pieces — it is a place to complete the sentence the pulpit just started.
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