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About the Book
"Am I Good Enough" by Andy Stanley explores the struggle of feeling inadequate and unworthy, offering readers a fresh perspective on their self-worth. Stanley challenges the idea that we have to earn our worth, reminding readers that they are already loved and accepted by a higher power. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, he encourages readers to embrace their own uniqueness and find confidence in their true identity. Ultimately, Stanley's book empowers readers to let go of self-doubt and embrace a life filled with purpose and fulfillment.
Keith Green
Born on October 21, 1953, in Sheepshead Bay, NY; died on July 28, 1982, in Lindale, TX; married Melody Steiner, 1973; children: Josiah (deceased), Keith, Bethany (deceased), Rebekah. Addresses: Record company--Sparrow Records, P.O. Box 5085, Brentwood, TN 37024. Website--Keith Green Official Website: http://www.lastdaysministries.org.
Known for his uncompromising approach to both his faith and his music, Keith Green has become a legendary figure in Contemporary Christian music since his death in 1982. Taking on the role of a modern-day prophet, he earned a fervent following thanks to his explicit evangelical message and buoyant brand of pop-rock. Green was a critic both of secular society and of commercial tendencies within the Christian community. Since his passing, he has been the subject of several tribute albums and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001.
From early childhood onward, it seemed certain that Green would become a musician. Born in New York, he relocated to the San Fernando Valley area of California with his family not long after. At age eight, he began to perform in stage musicals, appearing in such notable roles as Kurt Von Trapp in a local production of The Sound of Music. In 1965 he published his first song, "The Way I Used to Be," and became the youngest member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. That same year he signed a five-year recording contract with Decca Records and released his first single, "Cheese and Crackers."
Though Green was groomed to be a teenage idol, he never quite achieved success. The late 1960s found him experimenting with drugs and dabbling in various Eastern religions. His life began to turn around after he met (and eventually married) songwriter Melody Steiner in the early 1970s. Under Steiner's guidance, Green began to explore fundamentalist Christianity. Before fully embracing the faith, he began keeping company with singer/songwriters Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill, two of Southern California's best-known Christian rock artists. His skills as a singer and composer began to develop as he edged closer to religious conversion. Finally, in 1975 he became a committed Christian after becoming involved with the Vineyard, a well-known San Fernando Valley church. With a convert's fervor, Green became involved in a series of Christian music projects, including the band Good News and the stage musical Firewind. He also began writing spiritually themed songs, among them "Your Love Broke Through," which went on to become a Christian pop standard recorded by Randy Stonehill, Phil Keaggy, and others.
Dedicating his reawakened creativity to glorifying God, Green founded Last Days Ministries in 1977. He and his followers evangelized to young rock music fans, street people, and others not being reached by conventional churches. At the same time, he made his debut as a Christian recording artist, signing with Sparrow Records and releasing the album For Him Who Has Ears to Hear. This song collection displays the essentials of Green's musical style: exuberant singing, piano-based melodies, and well-crafted pop/rock production. Among the best-known tracks on Green's first album are "You Put This Love in My Heart," "No One Believes Me Anymore," and "Your Love Broke Through." Balancing the warm-hearted testimony of these tunes are some humorous moments, including "No One Believes Me Anymore," a mock lament sung from the Devil's point of view. Overall, For Him Who Has Ears to Hear introduced Green to the Christian music market as a gifted musical evangelist of enormous potential.
As his audience grew, Green made clear that his focus was on spreading Christian teaching rather than providing entertainment. He sought to challenge the assumptions of his fellow believers, criticizing Christians who took their faith for granted. Some compared him with the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, who decried the loose morals and weak faith of his generation. A number of the songs on Green's 1978 album No Compromise were addressed to the spiritually lazy. Most important among these is "Asleep at the Light," a ringing call for Christian activism sung by Green with palpable emotion. Less intense but still effective is the playful "Dear John (Letter to the Devil)" and the country-tinged "Soften Your Heart." All three of these songs received considerable airplay on Christian music stations.
Green was uneasy in his role as an emerging celebrity. He spoke out against the Christian music industry's increasing tendency to imitate secular show business ways. "Why do we idolize Christian singers and speakers?," he asked in a statement issued through Last Days Ministries. "We go from glorifying musicians in the world, to glorifying Christian musicians. It's all idolatry! ... It's true that there are many men and women of God who are greatly anointed to call down the Spirit of God on His people and the unsaved. But Satan is getting a great victory as we seem to worship these ministers on tapes and records...."
Turning away from the California Christian music scene, Green relocated to Lindale, a small east Texas community, in 1978. In addition to maintaining Last Days Ministries, he decided to launch his own record company, Pretty Good Records. Through this label, he released his next album, So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt, in 1980. This eclectic effort pokes fun at weak-spirited believers in its title track and offers a personal confession of need in "I Want to Be More Like Jesus." The most enduringly popular track proved to be "Oh Lord You're Beautiful," a powerful hymn that became a favorite at Christian worship services. In a bold move, Green announced that So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt would be sold for a variable price, even given away for free to those unable to pay. This decision sent shock waves through the Christian music industry, causing other artists to reconsider their album and concert pricing policies. An estimated 200,000 copies of the album were eventually distributed on a "pay what you can afford" basis.
Unlike some of his Christian music peers, Green showed little desire to dilute his message in hopes of reaching a wider audience. His 1982 album Songs to the Shepherd concentrates on worshipful material, praising the Lord in musical settings ranging from uplifting pop ("You Are the One") to blues-seasoned rock ("O God Our Lord") to old-fashioned country ("Draw Me"). While these songs were little-heard outside the Christian community, they helped fire Green's already-committed audience to a greater level of devotion. Fusing his work as a performer and evangelist, he toured actively during the early 1980s, mixing personal testimonials and heartfelt exhortations in between his musical numbers.
Green's life was cut short just as he began to hit his stride as a musician and minister. On July 28, 1982, he boarded a small Cessna aircraft for a brief sightseeing flight around his property in Lindale. Also on board were his son Josiah and daughter Bethany, along with the pilot and eight other passengers. Overloaded, the plane crashed shortly after takeoff, killing everyone on board. Recovering from her loss, Melody Green decided to carry on with Last Days Ministries and Pretty Good Records. Recordings of her husband's music were released posthumously, beginning with Prodigal Son and Jesus Commands Us to Go in 1983. Though lacking the cohesiveness of the albums released during his lifetime, both these song collections capture Green in strong creative moments. Prodigal Son's dramatic title track is a particular highpoint.
Melody Green continued to guide Last Days Ministries through the coming years and, in 1985, also took on the directorship of Americans against Abortion. Green's musical legacy remained vital as well, with many of his best-known recordings repackaged in compilation albums by Sparrow during the 1980s and 1990s. Multi-artist tribute albums also began to appear, starting with 1992's No Compromise: Remembering the Music of Keith Green. 2001 saw the release of Start Right Here: Remembering the Life of Keith Green, featuring spirited interpretations of his songs by such notable Christian rock acts as MxPx, Joy Electric, and Starflyer 59. Your Love Broke Through: The Worship Songs of Keith Greencontains covers of Green tunes by Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, Rebecca St. James, and other top-rank Christian pop/rock talents.
On November 27, 2001, Green was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. The honor served as an acknowledgment of his continuing influence in Contemporary Christian music some 20 years after his death. Green's intensity and dedication have continued to make him a role model for younger Christian performers, such as Rebecca St. James, who paid tribute to him in a Sparrow Records press biography. "I think what touches me most about him was that he was so committed to loving God and living for Him," she said of Green. "I know he was very strong-willed and people were sometimes offended at what he did and said, but it all came out of a pure motive of trying to be committed to Him in every part of his life. He wasn't going to back down just because of what people thought of him. That, to me, says that he was more focused on pleasing God than on pleasing man, something I think we should all try to focus on."
Keith Green's Career
Began career as child stage actor and composer, early 1960s; signed with Decca, released debut single, "Cheese and Crackers," 1965; began writing Christian songs, mid-1970s; founded Last Days Ministries, released first album, For Him Who Has Ears to Hear, 1977; founded Pretty Good Records, released album So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt, 1980.
Keith Green's Awards
Induction (posthumous), Gospel Music Hall of Fame, 2001.
Famous Works
For Him Who Has Ears To Hear , Sparrow, 1977.
No Compromise , Sparrow, 1978.
So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt , Pretty Good, 1980.
The Keith Green Collection , Sparrow, 1981.
Songs for the Shepherd , Pretty Good, 1982.
The Prodigal Son , Pretty Good, 1983.
Jesus Commands Us to Go , Pretty Good, 1984.
Because of You--Songs of Testimony , Sparrow, 1998.
Here I Am, Send Me--Songs of Evangelism , Sparrow, 1998.
Oh Lord, You're Beautiful--Songs of Worship , Sparrow, 1998.
Make My Life a Prayer to You--Songs of Devotion , Sparrow, 1998.
âhappy wife, happy lifeâ - and other misleading advice to young husbands
The title read, âHow Do I Get My Husband to Be Less Passive?â Click. The author, a wife and clinical psychologist, addressed the common complaint that women of various ages bring to her: their husbands lacked passion for anything but the couch and the screen. These wives wanted to know how to get their men to do something other than stare at the television, laptop, or smartphone, and how to get them to initiate something other than physical intimacy. They wanted their men to plan dates, start conversations, play with the kids, stand up for themselves (at work) and for their wife (with the in-laws), or to show concern for daily decisions. The manly intentionality that had pursued these women during dating had dwindled in marriage. Age-Old Problem The complaint, of course, is nothing new. Paradise was lost when the first man took the easy path of appeasement in his marriage. The serpent hissed lies in her ear; he stood silently by. Instead of an uncomfortable moment with his wife, and then crushing the skull of her deceiver, he watched as she took a bite. Compromise bore twins, and he ate too (Genesis 3:6). âLasting joy in our marriages is found in living out the drama of Christ and his bride, not Adam and his.â And we see Adamâs passivity echoed in countless marriages today. The temptation to be emotionally and spiritually absent, when physically present, has merely changed hairstyles over time. The same unmanly repose still beckons men to recline in the passengerâs seat. God calls out to husbands today with the same question he asked in the garden: âAdam, where are you?â And where are we? Too often giving into the scheme that affords less responsibility and more opportunity to watch the game. Masculinity that leads through loving sacrifice  can feel like an endangered species. And some of the mantras given to me as a newly married man may have hurt, instead of helped, my enlistment into the active-duty husbandry put on display in Jesus Christ. Consider four naive, and easily misunderstood, words of counsel given to new husbands, even from well-meaning Christian brothers. âHappy Wife, Happy Lifeâ The advice could be redeemable. The husband should lavish his queen with love, finding a great deal of his joy in hers. And one could say it from an eternal perspective: Happy wife (in the Lord), happy life. But what is most often meant by this phrase cannot be missed: a manâs life is less miserable when his woman gets her way. Such deferment is tempting: no conflict, no unhappy bride, no blame. Just letting her have her way is much more comfortable than making unpopular decisions on weighty matters, that you think (and pray) are spiritually best for her and your family: Whether they be where your children go to school, what church you join, where you live next, when to have children, or countless difficult choices that require spiritual energy, courage, and faith. But Christ created men to initiate and bear responsibility. His glory is to sacrifice. His mission is to lead his wife and his family from the front, on his knees. Although his charge includes the flourishing of the wife, the health of our leadership does not depend solely upon the daily undulations of our brideâs earthly happiness, but on the consistency with which we obey our Master. You can have a happy, governing wife resulting in a shallow, resistance-free life, and end up with an unhappy Lord. In the end, a nearsighted âhappy wife, happy lifeâ mentality throws the toys in the closet to go outside and play. Happy wife, easier life  does not lead to happiness, but to a closet full of regret, bitterness, and selfishness, which we all must open eventually. It backfires on us, leaving even a growing number of unbelievers wondering how to get their men to be less passive. Lasting joy in our marriages is found in living out the drama of Christ and his bride, not Adam and his. âYour Spouse Is Your Best Friendâ âYou can have a happy, governing wife resulting in a shallow, resistance-free life, and end up with an unhappy Lord.â She is not just your BFF because marriage is not simply friendship . It isnât a symmetrical partnership in which the relational patterns are interchangeable. The elegance of the dance consists in the man leading assertively, lovingly, thoughtfully, and the woman following fearlessly, receptively, joyfully â which is much more than mere friendship. The dance is improper when the husband attempts to follow. Now, if we mean that she is the one person with whom you confide most, the one earthly person you treasure most, the one person with whom a day spent doing menial tasks is anything but wasted, then, yes, this is a glory. But our marriages are more than a flat partnership. The glory of a spouse is more than the glory of a friend. The miraculous event of God joining husband and wife together in a bond that none can break is a rose not to be hidden, even in the beautiful tulip-garden of friendship. The marriage drama enacts that of the Great Romance. This flower, by any other name, must smell distinctly sweet. To ballet is not to waltz. The moon is not the sun. The companion is not the spouse. âBe a Servant Leaderâ For sure, an aspect of this is incredibly right: Jesus came not to be served but to serve and give his life for many (Mark 10:45). That the husband should be like Jesus in such self-giving sacrifice is without question or asterisk. Being a servant leader is  great advice â when both words are kept together. Often, however, they are not. The paradox of servant leader  devolves, in some minds, into merely meaning servant : You sacrifice your convictions for any and all of her ambitions. You take on her calling, not because of exceptional circumstance but only because you wanted to lay your aspirations down for hers. You coddle her, never asking her to do anything that she does not already want to do â even if you think it best for her ultimate joy in the Lord. The good-intentioned servant (non)leader, in an honest attempt to love and serve his wife well, abdicates to a kind of service that undermines his call to be a husband and bear responsibility, take initiative, and feel the burden of the hardest decisions. I prefer sacrificial  leadership instead: âHusbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up  for herâ (Ephesians 5:25). It is a leadership that, while not relinquishing its responsibility or apologizing for its authority, sees leadership as a calling to inconvenience self first for the good of oneâs family and neighbor. âMarriage Is 50/50â Marriage, for the man especially, is not 50/50. Manhood doesnât require her to scratch your back before youâll scratch hers. Headship doesnât keep score. You donât go so far, and no farther, until she catches up. You donât limit your patience, kindness, gentleness, and goodness until she matches. A husbandâs love doesnât bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things only half the time . Husbands donât wait for reciprocation to initiate. âThe marriage drama enacts that of the Great Romance. This flower, by any other name, must smell distinctly sweet.â Jesus didnât wait for his bride to meet him halfway. His spouse didnât take half of the scourging or half of the cross. He, manly he, sacrificed all for her well-being â while she was yet a sinner. He gave all his life for hers. Nothing 50/50 about it. And sacrificial leadership is so happy in this love of Christ that we lay down our lives like he did â even when she isnât âholding up her end of things.â Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.  We do not bring home the paycheck and expect the wife to pick up the remaining fifty percent of the relational tab with the kids. Marriages that start 50/50, often end 50/50 â splitting half of oneâs assets in divorce. Play the Man You Are âWhy did you wish me milder? Would you have me false to my nature? Rather say I, play the man I am.â âCoriolanus Our feminist-influenced, Bible-ignoring, headship-shaming society wishes real men to be milder. They wish you passive. They wish you silent. But God entrusts you to speak, to sacrifice, to crush serpents. He calls you to be true to your nature â the one he gave you â and play the man that you are. And that man is not timid, not unassertive, not feeble in the faith: âBe watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men , be strongâ (1 Corinthians 16:13). It cannot be asked of that man, âHow can I get my husband to be less passive?â That man, as C.S. Lewis depicts, goes into battle first and retreats last. He, for truthâs and honorâs sake, âstands fast and suffers long.â God calls you to increasingly be this man, and provides the strength for you to be him when you feel weak. Stand upright, then, be strong, after the true strength and example of Jesus Christ. For your King, your wife, and your future kin.
