I’m Not Ashamed
Composer: arr. Dan Forrest
Text: Romans 1:16
Season: Sung September 15, 2024, Beverly Heights Men’s Chorale
Each September the men of the choir open the season on their own before the full choir returns, and in 2024 they sang Paul’s sentence from the opening of Romans: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Paul wrote it to a church in the capital of an empire that had every reason to find the gospel embarrassing: a crucified man, a provincial religion, a message for slaves and senators alike. He was not apologizing for it. He was announcing that it works.
A men’s chorus suits the text. The sound is plain, the words carry, and there is nothing decorative to hide behind. This recording has been the most watched of the Men’s Chorale’s anthems, and it is easy to hear why.
Scripture: Romans 1:16 and 17; 2 Timothy 1:12