Thanks Keith Green, Rich Mullins and Jack Frost

Hey!

Today, July 28, 25 years ago a young man named Keith Gordon Green died in a plane crash along with two of his small children and some of their friends. Keith Green was only 29 when he died. He was only a Christian for nine years, and he only released five Christian albums, but yet I challenge anyone to find anybody who has made a stronger impact on the Christian music scene. I came in contact with Keith Green's music when I was 14-15 years of age, and I was hooked immediately. Sure the style of some of his music was a bit out-of-date already in the mid-90's, but you couldn't help but being touched by the passion of his piano playing and the intensity in his voice. Keith challenged the Church to be real. To start practising what we preach. To obey God when he calls. Sure some of what Keith said were over-statements (God doesn't say to his children "If you can't come to me every day then don't bother coming at all"), but Keith was so passionate to show that being a child of God was and is serious business. God is not a happy Teddy Bear or a Santa Claus figure. God is living and alive and God loves passionately and desires passionately to know us and spend time with us. Keith understood this and spend every moment he was awake eating the Word of God and telling others about Christ.

But make no mistake, Keith knew the love of God. Keith was a man that made mistakes and stood on people's feet from time to time (don't we all?), but he had an all-or-nothing, no compromises-faith that shook the world and still does. I warmly recommend "No Compromise" - the story of Keith Green and the two double albums "The Ministry Years" volume 1 and 2. You will never be the same again, if you listen to the message of these songs and of Keith's writings! Wikipedia has made this article about Keith: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Green

Keith, I'm very much looking forward to meeting you in person and attend one of your concerts on the new earth! See you:-)



RICH MULLINS - an honest ragamuffin

Another one of my musical heroes (I basically have three: Keith Green, Rich Mullins and Casting Crowns) is also dead. His name was Rich Mullins. I don't know the story of Rich Mullins as well as I know Keith's. And I don't like as many as his songs as much. But I absolutely love The Jesus Record. A little album which contains two CD's. The first CD is a recording made in a small church with just Rich, a guitar and an old tape recorder, where he recorded the songs that were gonna be made into the album The Jesus Record. He never finished the project since he died in a car crash in 1997 at the age of 42. But his band, the Ragamuffins, alongside a group of Rich's Christian singers' friends decided to sing the songs and make it into an album as a tribute to Rich and to God! A wonderful, honest collection of songs. Rich was honest to the core. No pretending. I love the story of how the song "Hold me Jesus" came about. Rich and a friend were in a motel room during a tour around the States, and Rich was tempted to watch pornography on the cable tv. He was waiting for his friend to fall asleep so he himself could give into this temptation, but his friend kept waking up. After a while Rich sat down and wrote this song instead of watching pornography - praise God:

Well, sometimes my life
Just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small

CHORUS:
So hold me Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It's so hot inside my soul
I swear there must be blisters on my heart

CHORUS

Surrender don't come natural to me
I'd rather fight You for something
I don't really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
Now I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees

And this Salvation Army band
Is playing this hymn
And Your grace rings out so deep
It makes my resistance seem so thin

CHORUS

You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace

Much more about Rich Mullins here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Mullins




JACK FROST - living in the Father's Embrace

Just a little while ago the father of three children and the husband of Trisha Frost died battling cancer. Jack Frost was the man behind Shiloh Place (www.shilohplace.org) and the author of the wonderful book "Experiencing the Father's Embrace". I came in contact with Jack Frost's teaching while in Malaysia doing a three month Bible School with Youth With A Mission. I was part of a small mens' group and we watched some of Jack Frost's teaching about living in the light and experiencing the Father's embrace on DVD. The teaching about living in the light (based on 1. John chapter 1) challenged me in deep and meaningful ways and helped me come to the point where I decided to tell Jeannette (my wife whom I was engaged to back then) EVERYTHING there was to know about me, the good, the bad and the really ugly..! It was hard and painful, but it was worth it. It set our marriage of to a wonderful start and we have continued walking in the light ever since. We have chosen to be painfully honest with each other and truly know each other and forgive and love each other.

I'm eternally grateful to Jack Frost and God for helping me see these truths.


So....this was a little blog about some men who have inspired, challenged and blessed me. I hope and pray that I will continue to encounter men and women like these. They are beacons of hope, love and peace in a troublesome world.


God bless!

Torben - what type of people, living or dead, have inspired you dear readers in your Christian walk??