One Of Three

In my youth, there were three great men, who shaped my views on everything from my own Christianity, to fidelity, to politics. This entry is about one of them, Keith Green. Keith Green was more than an artist to me. Between the ages of 16 and 19, I don't know if I listened to any pastor or evangelist or professor, more than I did Keith. That's an amazing thing for me to grasp, given that during large portion of this time, I was a seminary student, and had already embarked on my own ministerial journey. A journey that would end abruptly, just as I was about to attain my highest goals,,,but that's a story for another day. I was in those days, a connoisseur of great teaching, and had been from the cradle. I would seek out men and women who had something of substance (in my opinion), to say. I especially was drawn to great speakers. I loved preachers, who could hold a congregation on the edges of there seats, for a full hour at a time. Being raised in the Pentecostal tradition, I was use to hellfire and brimstone rants, but never had much use for them. I was a kid who wanted to hear a great sermon. I drank great oratory, like a fine from a skin. This was the result of growing up with a great preacher. My late Father, was number one of the three men heretofore mentioned, He also is a subject I'll not go deeply into here, as he would surely become the focus of the article. Suffice to say, he was my favorite preacher. The first time I remember hearing Keith Green was in the home of two friends of my youth, they were brothers. One would someday replace the third man on my list, as pastor of the church I attended. The second was his younger brother. He would one day stand as Best Man for me. They had a brand new copy of the album, No Compromise. I remember just weeping as I listened to the album, and setting the needle back over and over again, on a song titled, Make My Life A Prayer To You. As I wept, I prayed for God's forgiveness. Though I had been a Christian for some time. The artist was challenging me as I had never been before. I felt like I was not living by any sort of standard. I felt I needed to wake up. I needed to stop as Keith put it, "sleeping in the light".From that day forward, Keith has always been with me. I found out a couple of years later that we had some major differences in our theological mindset, and because of the hardheadedness of my youth, and a overriding sense that I was right about everything, I put Keith on the sidelines for a while, but Keith's main message of Christ's love, forgiveness and commandment to service. never left me. Now, the better part of thirty years later, I never go to long without hearing Keith in my head. Our differences no longer matter to me. My love of Christ has grown through the years, but my relationship with the Church, as I knew it in my youth, is all but dead. What remains from those years, are the lessons, learned from those three men. A loving Father, a no nonsense Pastor, and an artist. What prompted me to write this? I saw a video of Keith on line. I sat and watched, and listened, and after all these years, I cried. I never cry anymore, it's not who I've become. That guy died with his ministry. I'm no longer a "foolish dreamer trying to build a highway to the sky",,,or so I thought. Thanks for challenging me again Keith. I still love you Brother.