My parents were saved at the tail end of the Jesus Movement, and I was born the year that Kieth Green died. Having heard his music my whole life I was curious about who he actually was. I always considered him as a mix of eccentric, passionate, and annoying. 😆 I suppose that's how prophets often are!
As a fairly conservative baptist, Kieth's charismatic eccentricities prickled. There as a time when I would have quickly written him off as a nut. Melody's explanations throughout this book were helpful, admitting that his emotional hype and fixations on some of the sign gifts were often immature. At the same time, Kieth's willingness to step away from some of what he considered good things, if it meant avoiding confusion for the sake of the gospel, was surprising and refreshing.
His passion is legendary. For a man who died before he turned thirty, his life is as full as someone with a "complete" life. It didn't seem to be a legalistic drive to "do more" but to point people to Jesus no matter what. He had the means to just up and do things, take in strangers, give away his music, fund a ministry, it's wild!
And yes, his choices are annoying. So are mine sometimes I guess. This isn't a story of someone who did a bunch of stuff to gain attention. His prophetic voice came at a perfect time when the passion of the Jesus Movement needed some grounding.
Relatively speaking, Keith Green sort of came and went. Aside from a couple of songs, the current generation knows very little about him. He was known world-wide, and as far as I can tell, none of my Goodreads friends have read his story. It's interesting, because that's often how prophets work.
This is a great peek at a life developed, lived, and finished, in a unique way, to the glory of God.
Audiobook is on Spotify premium.