Songs of the Saints: Ellis J. Crum
by Wayne S. Walker
Ellis J. Crum was born on April 11, 1928, in Bloomington, Indiana, the son of Ellis J. and Marion Lucille Rice Crum. Even at the age of five, he was telling Bible stories to large crowds. From the ages of eight to twelve, he spoke on subjects such as "Fighting the Good Fight of Faith" and "What Boys Can Do," often standing before audiences of 800 or more. His first sermon took place at the age of sixteen in Bloomfield, Indiana. Additionally, he attended the Stamps-Baxter School of Music in 1944, where he first began working on his dream of publishing a hymnbook.
Graduating from Linton Stockton High School in Linton, Indiana, Crum married Norma Nell Owens of Lyons, Indiana, on August 25, 1946, in Vincennes, Indiana, and enrolled at Indiana University in Bloomington. After two years of college, he moved to work in preaching with the church of Christ at Bridgeport, Connecticut. His evangelistic labors in North America took him from Connecticut to California, and from Canada to Mexico. The Crums had five children, two of whom were born when he was working with the church in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Beginning in 1958, for many years the Crums made their home in Kendallville, Indiana, and his work often involved home Bible studies, personal work training classes, camp directing, song instruction, and speaking at workshops, in addition to visiting over thirty countries, including several tours of the Bible lands and five preaching trips to Ghana in Africa.
In 1956, Crum published his first hymnbook, Sacred Selections for the Church. In 1977, Crum published Special Sacred Selections. Additionally, he acquired the R. E. Winsett Music Co. and merged it with Sacred Selections to form the Sacred Music Trust. Among the over 150 hymns which Crum has written, composed, or arranged, are some extra stanzas, found in Special Sacred Selections, for "Lead Me to Some Soul Today" with original single stanza by Will H. Houghton and tune by Wendell P. Loveless. Also, he provided the lyrics for the communion hymn “The Breaking of Bread,” which he set to the tune of “Break Thou the Bread of Life,” composed by William M. Sherwin. Brother Crum died at the age of 83 on Monday, October 17, 2011, in Lutheran Life Villages, Kendallville.
