History of Hymns: 'People Need the Lord'

Hymnals include only the refrain. Richard Stanislaw notes the connection of the theme with Mark 6:34: “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (NIV). (Stanislaw, 1991, no. 730) The initial stanza is written in the first-person singular as a solo. It acknowledges “empty people. . . [in] private pain. . . [as they are] living fear to fear.” The second stanza shifts to the first-person plural, alluding to Matthew 5:14–16: “We are called to take his light / to a world where wrong seems right.” The message of the refrain written in the third person is clear: “People need the Lord”—six times in five lines. Contemporary Christian artist Steve Green (b. 1956) recorded this song as the signature selection on the album People Need the Lord (1994). [See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU7jSXhVA6U]

Phillip James McHugh, a South Dakota native, is an award-winning writer of contemporary Christian songs. Two of his songs, “Lamb of Glory” and “People Need the Lord,” were nominated for Dove Awards in 1985 and 1986, respectively. Numerous Christian artists have recorded his songs, including Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, Sandi Patti, and Scott Wesley Brown (Music, 1992, p. 404). McHugh has recorded several albums, including All Glory to You (1976), Canvas for the Sun (1977), Reference Point (1980), In Heaven’s Eyes (1986), and Ride the Earth (1998). CCLI’s SongSelect lists forty-six songs, including translated versions, by McHugh. Most are co-written with others. His most frequent collaborator is Greg Nelson, and “People Need the Lord” is their most famous song resulting from their partnership.

Gregory Allen Nelson, a North Dakota native, graduated from Mary College (Bismarck, ND) in 1972 (B.A. in social science and music). After developing a sixteen-track recording studio in his home in the 1970s, he began producing commercials, albums, and theme-songs for films. Nelson founded Spirit Records in 1977. After moving to Los Angeles in 1978, he became director of Sparrow Records in 1979. Moving to Nashville in 1980, he worked for several recording companies before forming Greg Nelson Music. He worked closely with Phil McHugh; numerous Christian artists have recorded their songs, including Sandi Patty, Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, Twila Paris, Michael Crawford, and Richard Smallwood (Music, 1992, pp. 415–16). According to his Wikipedia entry, Nelson has produced thirteen gold and three platinum recordings and has received twenty Dove Awards [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Nelson_(producer)].

Nelson was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2018. As a producer, he has garnered thirteen Grammy nominations and seven Grammy awards. He produced numerous recordings for the Baptist Hymnal (2008) and developed the “SongMap” technology for manipulating songs (https://gospelmusichalloffame.org/greg-nelson/). CCLI’s SongSelect lists 146 songs to his credit, including translations. Of the several collaborating artists, most are cowritten with Phill McHugh.

Sources

Milburn Price, “People need the Lord,” Handbook to The Baptist Hymnal, ed. Jere Hancock (Nashville: Convention Press, 1992), 219.

David Music, “McHugh, Phillip James,” Handbook to The Baptist Hymnal, ed. Jere Hancock (Nashville: Convention Press, 1992), 404.

_____, “Nelson, Gregory Allen,” Handbook to The Baptist Hymnal, ed. Jere Hancock (Nashville: Convention Press, 1992), 415–16.

Richard J. Stanislaw, “People Need the Lord,” The Worshiping Church: A Hymnal—Worship Leaders’ Edition, Donald P. Hustad, ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Company, 1990, 1991), 730.

Verses marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.