Asleep in the Light

Last week, Shaun Groves posted about Larry Norman's death, wondering if the Christian music community would really miss him. He noted that other conviction-filled Christian musicians, such as Rich Mullins and Keith Green, are rarely referenced well these days.

Now, I don't know much about Larry Norman. My knowledge is limited to a song that dc talk covered with end times theology that I don't agree with, but Rich Mullins has been a favorite of mine for years. I remember seeing him in concert when I was a wee lass in junior high. I thought he was weird for performing barefoot. I would pay lots of money today to see him perform barefoot. Since he's dead, that won't be happening. But fortunately, I have a DVD of one of his last concerts that I can play over and over.

Anyway, Keith Green is one that I haven't listened to in a long, but I got out my Keith Green: The Early Years CD today, and jammed to the first few songs on the way home from the gym.

Man! This guy has some hard-hitting lyrics. The CD opens up with "Asleep in the Light." This song is one where he chastises Christians for not caring that others around us are dying.

But it's easy to rip on the church, right?

What I liked was that Green also isn't scared to offend non-believers. It seems to me like young, hip, emerging Christians of today hold un-believers up as the idol du jour. There are calls to make things relevant for the un-believer (read: cater to them). We consult non-Christians on how they would like to be reached for Christ, and then we sell books on the topic.

But the 2nd song of Green's album is called "Soften Your Heart," and it comes with lines such as,

"You're so proud of saying you're a seeker
But why are you searching in the dark
You won't find a thing
Until you soften your heart"

So, what I appreciate so much about Keith Green -- okay there are TONS of things I appreciate, and I learned most of them in the biography of him that his wife Melody wrote -- is that he's able to call a spade a spade whether he was in Christian circles or with non-Christians.

Cause after all, we all need the same thing: Truth.