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I just finished reading the biography of Keith Green called “No Compromise” as written by his wife Melody Green. In my young ministry years of the 1970s before going off the rails of faith, I was a fan and performed a number of Keith Green’s contemporary Christian songs. He was a radical Christian such as I aspired to be and was in some ways. The book was nostalgic, sometimes sad, and enlightening to read his detailed story over 45 years later.

I relate to many aspects of Keith Green’s character and experiences. At the same time, he didn’t have a full conversion to Christianity until his early 20s and arguably only had eight years to make his impact on the world for his newly found faith. He and his wife both grew up in secular Judaism and came into adulthood during the “Jesus Movement” of the early 1970s in California where it all started. Thus, they did not have the church background or “indoctrination” I had growing up in Christian fundamentalism. While I was heavily involved in Contemporary Christian Music and “Jesus Rock” in the same era, he was more in the middle of the “action” being a new convert musician in California.

Like many of those who came out of secular lives into the Jesus revolution, there was an almost instantaneous turnaround in Keith and Melody’s lives after trying drugs, various mystic religions, and philosophies that emanated from California in those times. This allowed them to almost immediately see the disconnect between the Christian “religion” propagated by the church versus the new fundamentalist revival of simply trusting, believing, and following Jesus in a more radical, uncompromising way. Through their almost childlike adoption of basic Christianity centered on the person of Jesus, they believed in and saw many miracles as they purposely put themselves on the edge of praying for supernatural causes…and seeing many miracles happen.

All of Keith’s life he had pursued being a recognized artist and songwriter…first in the secular industry and then not long after his conversion deciding to ONLY write and perform Christian themed music. He met and performed with many of the early CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) stars of that time that I had met or promoted as well. It was not lost on me that he died in 1982 at 28 years of age about the same time and age that I left the faith and Christian music pursuits. His was a physical death while mine was basically a spiritual one.

The book brought varying emotions and reaction for me. I was sometimes angry, other times sad, and in the end thankful to know “the rest of the story” that came out of his short life, music, and marriage to Melody. She continued the various ministries they had launched via the avenue and revenue from his music…even though ironically his biggest guilt trip was accepting money for his music and ministry. While he struggled with that balance to the very end, it is obvious that it took a lot of money to fund the charitable missions they launched in their 20s.

Keith was a lightning rod for controversy during his ministry as he was constantly challenging or confronting the church establishment and “American style” Christianity with its focus on prosperity, legalism, and authoritarianism. In the early years of his ministry he replaced “church-ianity” with his own brand of legalism and authoritarianism. It appears to me that he created a “cultish” group of followers who he took in off the dark streets of California’s counter-culturalism and basically lived communally with those who would follow his brand of faith. Not long after establishing his music and ministry organization, they developed a compound in the wilds of East Texas primarily with the idea of escaping the secular and church world. From there they published critical books and articles regarding the traditional church without any real experience or knowledge of traditional church experience…in America or elsewhere. I would not say they were wrong in their observations, but they were not connected enough to traditional churches to understand all the “religious” aspects of the American church. If they didn’t understand it, they were against it from my perspective.

While most of his views and messages were in my opinion Biblical and calling for a return to true spirituality while attempting to return the world to the model of the early church of Antioch, Keith mixed in many of his own ideas which were often egotistical, judgmental, or self righteous. He was naive enough to think that his message would bring revival to a church that did not want reviving. I think that continues to happen in most Christian movements of these times/decades. We see big movements or revivals periodically in various places, but do we see any real changes in the long run? It is my observation and belief that spiritual revival or revolution does not and will not come from mass movements influenced by bombastic or popular leaders and figureheads. American Christianity is full of these. When we humans get involved in trying to finesse or continue movements of the Holy Spirit beyond the point where a revival wears off and the spiritual emotion or fervor dies down…religion quickly takes over and manipulates those movements back to the ideas of “bringing God down to our level” which is my definition of “religion”. Many people start imitating the latest leaders or prophets bringing “revival”. This appeals to the fleshly side of “faith” which is primarily about “making ME feel GOOD about my life” and just following the masses in subservience to legalism or emotions instead of seeking the spiritual depths well beyond those factors. These movements tend to manipulate the hopefuls of faith into donating to and following those promising to restore the emotions and passion of their initial faith conversions. When we are limited to organized religion, we are often following mass manipulation and ideologies being forced upon us or telling us how to feel and like trained robots many churches are caught up in this today. When relationships are based on emotions, they often last only as long as those emotions do.

The amazing positive towards the end of this book about his life was how quickly he was in the process of evolving from a legalistic, judgmental faith ABOUT Christ to one of mercy and grace found IN Christ just before he died. Only God knows why we have not been privy to the long term possibilities of his message apart from the efforts of his wife to simply maintain his ministry from his legacy. From the human side I totally understand her having done that the past 45+ years in the attempt to validate or maintain his unique vision and message to Christendom.

Perhaps the most controversial and sad part of this story is the tragic ending of Keith’s life along with 11 other people including his two oldest children in an avoidable plane crash. Whole theologies or doctrines are built upon man’s pursuit to understand and know God’s ways or discern His will. Some of us believe that God predestines all things that happen in this life. Others believe man’s will can determine what God does when and why. Some believe God will intervene in certain cases of man’s folly and intercede in our reckless abandonment of reason. Others of us believe “the rain falls upon the just and unjust equally” and that while our outcomes are the same as unbelievers it is how we believed and handled our fates in the midst of doom that determines our eternal prospects of Heaven or Hell.

Regarding Keiths untimely demise, the author Melody Green reasons that God ordained his fate based on John 12:24 that says “… unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single kernel; but if it dies it produces a great harvest.” While I personally interpret that scripture as directed to the life and purpose of Jesus, I would hope that in death every true believer leaves a legacy of devotion and example for future generations to follow. Keith’s is no exception.

It is disturbing to think that God was the author of this tragic ending. We want, and maybe NEED, to believe that all things that happen to Christians are “God’s will”. One of the most quoted scriptures by Christians is Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Does that mean that everything we do or say as believers are truly divine or will lead to the same ends irregardless of our decisions? I don’t think so.

I am of the persuasion that many of the foolish things we humans do are basically tempting God to see if 
he will protect us. Many euphoric people think they are invincible based on THEIR faith and that God will bless everyone financially or with good health no matter what their actions are in this life. If you have enough faith, God will provide money or food without your working for that provision. If you have enough faith, God will heal you of your diseases no matter what diet or lifestyle you maintain in this life. I think the scriptures are clear that we reap based on what we sow. Cause and effect of our actions guarantee certain results regardless of whether we are of the faith or not.

While I admire the faith and zealousness of Keith Green during his short life and Melody’s ability to keep his ministry and music alive, I can’t help but come away shaking my head at the foolishness Keith demonstrated oftentimes based on his imperfect interpretations of what God’s will might be. Did God purposely take him, his children, and eight other precious lives in that crash, OR, was this God’s perfect law of “cause and effect” that changed the trajectory of so many lives as a result of a well meaning Christian’s errant judgment? Does God actually bless our stupidity? Obviously He lets some of us get away with more of it than others.

I come away from this real story believing that while God’s sovereign will is always done throughout this universe, he has put a lot of trust and responsibility on His creation’s shoulders to think and act intelligently with the reasoning mind He has given us. Did Keith and all these people NEED to die in order to fulfill God’s will? Did Keith not have a role in deciding to overfill that plane for a “joyride” and test God’s grace by casting fate to the winds of chance? Are we to defy God’s natural laws and think we will always get away with it? I am not trying to be cruel or judgmental, but I think we must honestly ask the question “was this the PERFECT will of God?”. Does God purposely NOT predestine EVERY outcome of our human lives based on His giving us “free will”? How much of what WE do determines God’s willed outcome in the long run? I would suggest that God does not NEED or rely on us to fulfill His plan for His creation. He simply gives His children the blessing and honor to participate in the ongoing evolution of His will from beginning to the end as the “Alpha and Omega”. We need to stay humble and contrite while in His service as even the greatest among us are but “dust in the wind”.

I hope believers will not idolize this imperfect man simply because of his untimely death. There are attributes of Keith we should all desire to emulate, but at the same time there are many failures of reasoning we should not emulate. God used Keith for His purposes for the time, but it is quite clear in scripture that we are not to idolize or raise any human leader up to a level where they blur the vision of seeing Jesus as HE truly is…THE Lord. We learn from Keith’s life, but we do not idolize or perpetuate an unrealistic view of his life in history.

Would things be different today if Keith had never existed? Probably not. Would God’s plan or will have been better served if Keith had not made the decisions that shortened his life and the others? I don’t think so. If we are to believe God and HIS words, we must always leave what we don’t know or understand to the statement of the prophet Isaiah who wrote , “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord”? (Isaiah 55:8 KJV).

Regardless, there is no need to question or doubt that one day we believers will all meet for eternity. There we will understand all of these perplexities if only because we will then truly have the “mind of Christ” and “know as we are known”. I look forward to that day when the veils in this life will be lifted for all to understand clearly. NO ONE is nonexpendable in this life. God WILL have His way no matter whether we understand it or not. Blessed be the name of the Lord.