OJ let me have a nap today, and so I’m up late.  So I thought I would relieve some of you who still have “What’s the Name of that Song?” stuck in your head by replacing it with something better.  I started looking at some videos of a hero of ours, Keith Green.  Here’s one that I loved.

Themes in the videos?

1.  Crowds of young people with joy on their faces.

2.  An artist at the piano.

3.  An artless preacher.

4.  Power.

5.  Did I mention the crowds of young people?

I was watching, nearly druelling…how, how, how can we reach thousands of young people?  How can we reach them?  How do we get them rushing to worship together in every city in America?  How can the gospel go out like that?

I had to laugh at this interview.  The poor host…he can’t seem to engage in what KG actually says.  He seems to want to talk about everything but what Keith keeps talking about–the Gospel and obedience to Jesus Christ.  It’s funny, but also not.  (poor paraphrase follows)

KG:  “I preach the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  People are going to church not even realizing they’re not saved.”

Host: “I just love that you’re back in town!  It sure is fun how you communicate!”

KG:  “So we’re supposed to little Christs…the show is easy.  But whether I preach Jesus on streets and live it out at home is the bottom line.”

Host:  “So…you’re Jewish, eh?”

It struck me while watching these videos (as someone who longs for a radical revival among youth in America and around the world) how simple it was.  I was only just born for most of Keith’s ministry, so these videos are precious windows into that time.  With all our crazy efforts, here’s what struck me about Keith from these videos.  He was dead long before his plane went down.  Dead to himself.  The music was an extension of a pure life laid down for Jesus.  The power flowed and the young people came.

When Keith died, he was on the verge of doing a tour around the West coast, recruiting for world missions.  He had personally asked the Lord for 100,000 missionaries to go into all the world.  He died right before the tour started, but Loren Cunningham and Keith’s wife Melody decided to go ahead with it, playing a video of Keith’s last concert, in which he called the missionaries to go.  I once heard Loren say that many more than 100,000 ended up going.

Lord Jesus, where’s the Keith of our generation???  Final thought: