Keith Green.

Every time I get in my car I am faced with a decision. Listen to John Piper, Mark Driscoll, or Way of the Master Radio or listen to music.

Sometimes I side on music which opens my iPod up to a whole smorgasbord of Christian artist. If I need a good laugh and am feeling satirical I listen to BarlowGirl. If I am feeling punk I turn it to Reliant K, if I want to be preached at better then 99% of churches in America I listen to Lecrae.

However, I am never able to act on any of those moods because I can never fight off the temptation to listen to Keith Green.
After thirty years, I guess now going on forty. There is not a single Christian artist that has ever rivaled him. I doubt there will ever be.

Keith Green was only a Christian for seven years. During that time he made some of the best christian music since Amazing Grace, and the best part was that a lot of the music was not geared towards worship, some of it was geared towards rebuking those in the Church.

In today's Christian music atmosphere of corporate labels we are forced to listen to "Positive Hits" that make me seem to think I got my satellite radio turned to the Disney or Oprah station.

BarlowGirl talks about puny feel good ideals, while worship music seems to be water down the love of God to that of a emo girl/boyfriend.

So it makes me wonder.

What if Keith Green was not taken away so abruptly, what if he never died in the plane crash with his kids after being saved for only seven years. How would Christian music be different?

This is an artist who yelled at his listeners. An artist who wrote songs attacking the church.

In asleep in the light Keith Green says the following...

How can you be so numb
Not to care if they come
You close your eyes
And pretend the job's done

"Oh bless me Lord, bless me Lord"
You know it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts
No one even sheds one tear

But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in,
Oh, can't you see it's such a sin?

Isn't that so much better then this...

How long will my prayers seem unanswered?
Is there still faith in me to reach the end?
I'm feeling doubt I'm losing faith
But giving up would cost me everything
So I'll stand in the pain and silence
And I'll speak to the dark night

I believe in the sun even when it's not shining
I believe in love even when I don't feel it
And I believe in God even when He is silent
And I, I believe

I mean those BarlowGirl lyrics really make me sick. Feelings, Love, Silence. It does not sound very Christian. It hint's at Christianity. But is mainly about feeling good.

The truth is I think I know why God took Keith Green so early. He was getting to popular, he was being worshiped and not God. Despite his lyrics that said so. Me and my friend the other day were talking about how awesome his music was when we realized that we were worshiping the creation and not the Creator, which Keith Green often ridiculed his audience for doing the same exact thing. Even to the point of tears threatening to go home if the audience did not stop worshiping him.

I encourage every aspiring Christian musician to watch his documentary "The Keith Green Story" it really is amazing.