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Dear Grandkids,
As a teenager growing up in the ’70s (way back in the last century), music was a big part of my life – as it was for most people my age. I was a fan of some of the greats of the Rock and Roll era. But my very favorites included The Doobie Brothers, Chicago, The Eagles, and The Marshall Tucker Band as well as solo artists like Elton John, Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor.
But the artist that had the most influence on my life was not a part of the secular music scene. I had become a believer in Jesus in 1974. Christian music was still in it’s infancy when Keith Green began his ministry as a young man of 22. He and his wife Melody, as very new believers living in the Los Angeles area, began taking people in need into their home and discipling them. Many of them were drug addicts, prostitutes, and homeless. They bought several more properties in their neighborhood as their ministry grew and as more and more people found out about their ministry. Their home was dubbed “The Greenhouse” – a place where people grow. In 1977, the Greens outreach became a non-profit ministry they called Last Days Ministries and in 1979 they relocated from the The San Fernando Valley to northeast Texas near Lindale.
Meanwhile he was writing music and performing concerts. His music called people to follow Jesus in a way that was at the same time encouraging and prophetic. People were drawn to his message because he radically lived out everything that he was singing about. (Don’t miss the lesson there). Not only was his music really good but it pierced people’s hearts like few artists were able to do. This was definitely true for me. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that you are alive because of the influence Keith Green’s music had on my life. (Read THIS and you will understand what I mean).
Tragically, at the age of 28, he was killed in a plane crash along with two of his children. But he left a legacy that many people, like myself, still tell as a part of their story.
He crafted a lot of memorable songs such as O Lord You’re Beautiful, Your love Broke Through, and You Put This Love in My Heart. But one of my favorites was actually a cover that he did of another artist. I think about and find myself singing it at this time of year. It’s called The Easter Song. It was written by Annie Herring of a group called 2nd Chapter of Acts.
The lyrics go like this:
Hear the bells ringing, they’re singing
That You can be born again
Here the bells ringing, they’re singing
Christ is risen from the deadThe angel up on the tombstone
Said, He has risen, just as He said
Quickly now, go tell His disciples
That Jesus Christ is no longer deadJoy to the world
He has risen, Hallelujah
He’s risen, Hallelujah
He’s risen, Hallelujah, HallelujahHear the bells ringing, they’re singing
That You can be healed right now
Hear the bells ringing, they’re singing
Christ, He will reveal it nowThe angels, they all surround us
And they are ministering Jesus’s power
Quickly now, reach out and receive it
For this could be your glorious hour
I had a chance to see Keith in concert in Dorton Arena in Raleigh not too long before he died. Check out his music when you get a chance. I think you will find that it nourishes and challenges your soul.
Never forget that you are very loved!
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