Aubrey Lee Butler (b. Noble, OK, 1933) composed MADILL to accompany Milburn Price's text "Stir Thy Church, 0 God, Our Father." Butler named the tune after Madill, Oklahoma, where he served as a minister of music at the First Baptist Church. MADILL first appeared in a pamphlet, New Hymns for This Day (1971). This unison tune requires clear articulation of the repeated notes in the melody and a rather forceful (or even strident) performance of stanzas 1 and 2, with a more stately performance for stanza 3. The accompaniment establishes the half note as the primary beat.

Butler, known as "Pete" by his friends, began his music career as minister of music in several Baptist congregations in Madill and Ada, Oklahoma. He was educated at Oklahoma Baptist University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. Since 1983 he has been a member of the faculty of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri. He also established that school's church music program. Butler has composed hymn tunes, cantatas, and numerous anthems, and served on the editorial committee for The Baptist Hymnal (1991).

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook