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About the Book
"King's Cross" by Timothy Keller explores the story of Jesus' life and ministry through the lens of the Gospel of Mark. Keller delves into the significance of Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection, and how it impacts the lives of believers today. The book challenges readers to reflect on their own faith and the implications of following Jesus.
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman is an American Christian musician, singer, song writer, record producer, actor, author and social activist. He is the only artist in the history of music to have won 56 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and is also a proud receiver of 5 Grammy Awards. His music is known for being a unique cross between country music, soft rock and orchestrated pop, which made him a prominent artist in the contemporary Christian music circuit of the 1980s. Chapman grew up in a humble environment where he found his calling for music, owing to his fatherâs inclination towards country music. He learnt to play instruments like guitar and piano just by hanging around in his fatherâs music store, listening to him play along with his friends. He took up music seriously when he moved to Nashville and got recognized by Sparrow Records, a company he stayed with for a long period in his career. He has released 19 studio albums and has sold over 10 million albums until now. Chapman is a family oriented person just like his father and has a big family comprising of his wife Mary Beth and 3 biological and 2 adopted children. He is a vocal advocate for adoption and has worked socially to eradicate the problem of youth violence.
Childhood & Early Life
Steven Curtis Chapman was born on November 21, 1962 in Paducah, Kentucky, to Herb and Judy Chapman. His father was a country singer and songwriter, who turned down opportunities to become a successful singer to concentrate on his family. His mother was a stay-at-home mom.
His father owned a music store, a business he managed from his basement and used to play music with his friends. Such creative environment at home influenced Chapmanâs life from very early on and he bought his first guitar at 6.
Chapman joined as a pre-med student at Georgetown College in Kentucky but after few semesters he moved to Anderson College, Indiana. But he ultimately dropped the idea of studying and went to Nashville to pursue his first love, music.
During 1980s, he wrote a song âBuilt to Lastâ, which gained huge popularity after getting recorded by a gospel group âThe Imperialsâ. The success of the song fetched Chapman a songwriting deal with Sparrow Records.
Career
Chapmanâs first official album âFirst Handâ was released in 1987. The album was an instant hit with singles like âWeak Daysâ and topped at number 2 on the Contemporary Christian Music chart. The album had a mix of country music with soft rock and pop.
In 1988, following the success of his first album, Chapman released âReal Life Conversationsâ. Its hit single âHis Eyesâ received the âContemporary Recorded Song of the Yearâ award from the âGospel Music Associationâ. He co-wrote it with James Isaac Elliot.
After a few years, he made a swift turn to mainstream music with his album âThe Great Adventureâ in 1992. It earned him two Grammy awards for the album and for the title song of the album.
After gaining consistent success with albums like âHeaven in the Real World (1994), âSigns of Life (1996) and âSpeechless (1999), Chapmanâs next great album âDeclarationâ came out in 2001, for which he toured 70 cities.
In 2003, âAll About Loveâ was released and it ranked at Top 15 on the Christian Music charts. It was released under Sparrow Records and Chapman very humbly credited his wife Mary Beth for being the inspiration for his album.
âAll Things Newâ was released in 2004 and the album added another Grammy to Chapmanâs proud award collection. This time he received it in the category of Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. It was also nominated for the Dove Award.
In 2005, âAll I Really Want for Christmasâ was released, which was Chapmanâs another successful Christmas album after âThe Music of Christmasâ. It had traditional holiday tunes and favorites like âGo Tell It on the Mountainâ and Silver Bellsâ.
Chapman took his music to greater levels by taking his concert to South Korea for the U.S. troops who were serving there in 2006. It was the first Christian concert that ever performed for the American army in that country.
In 2007, he released âThis Momentâ which included hit singles like âCinderellaâ, for which he was chosen for WOW Hits 2009. He also went on his âWinter Jamâ tour and took his sonsâ, Caleb and Willâs band along.
âBeauty Will Riseâ, Chapmanâs seventeenth album, was released in 2009. It is said that he wrote the songs of the album after getting inspired by his daughter Maria Sueâs sad and untimely demise. It included songs like âMeant to Beâ and âRe:creationâ.
In 2012, Chapman finally parted ways with Sparrow Records, the record company that he remained loyal to for so many years. He was signed on by Sonyâs Provident Label Group and came out with a Christmas album called âJOYâ.
âThe Glorious Unfoldingâ was released in 2013 under Reunion Records and it peaked on number 27 on the Billboard 200 and was number 1 Top Christian Album. The album was produced by Chapman himself and Brent Milligan.
Major Works
Chapmanâs âThe Great Adventureâ in 1992 was a turning point in his musical career because until now he was making soft and contemporary country music but with âThe Great Adventureâ he targeted the mainstream audience and tasted huge commercial success for the first time.
Awards & Achievements
Chapman is the winner of five Grammy awards for albums like âFor the Sake of the Callâ âThe Great Adventureâ âThe Live Adventureâ, âSpeechlessâ and âAll Things Newâ. He has also received 56 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, more than any other artist.
Personal Life & Legacy
Chapman got married to Mary Beth in 1984 after they first met at Anderson University in Indiana. They have three biological children: Emily, Caleb and Will and three adopted children: Shaohannah, Stevey and Maria, together.
In 2008, Chapmanâs youngest son Will ran over his car by accident on his adopted daughter Maria Sue Chunxi Chapman. She was running towards him to meet him but he did not see her and she was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Trivia
Chapmanâs wife Mary Beth Chapman has written and released a book about losing her youngest daughter called âChoosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hopeâ.
Chapman and his wife have written three children's books with adoption themes: âShaoey And Dot: Bug Meets Bundleâ (2004), âShaoey and Dot: The Christmas Miracleâ (2005), and âShaoey and Dot: A Thunder and Lightning Bug Storyâ (2006).
He has received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Anderson University.
valentineâs day for single christians
There is a strangeness to Saint Valentineâs Day. G.K. Chesterton saw the oddness of it with his remark that âthere seems to be a comic incongruity in such lively and frivolous flirtations still depending on the title of an ascetic and celibate bishop.â Valentineâs Day remains a massively popular holiday in America, despite the fact that many people donât simply consider the day strange, but dread it all together. For some, the day is too commercialized â a waste of money, they say. All those cards and flowers and chocolates for a holiday weâve made up needlessly. But many who cringe at Valentineâs Day are simply lonely â they hate being sad, and being reminded of what they donât have. But as a single Christian who longs to be married, I propose another reason to step back from this annual day of love: it stirs up longings in us that canât be filled â yet. Valentineâs Day is not an easy or light thing to face as a single person. The chick flicks, charming cards, and chocolate hearts can easily make us feel sad and tired â and tired of feeling sad. But for Christians, this is no excuse to wallow in our loneliness or discontentment. This year, I will not celebrate Valentineâs Day, but it is not simply because Iâm frustrated or lonely. Itâs because I would rather enjoy Godâs gifts of contentment, fulfillment, and hope â gifts that Christ died to purchase for us, whether weâre single or married. Real Contentment When youâre on a diet, does it help you to look at pictures of food, or does it make you even more weak, hungry, and miserable â and more likely to cave to your cravings? For me, itâs the latter. Looking at what we long for but cannot have stirs up feelings in us we cannot satisfy. It causes us to feel drained, despondent, and worse still, discontent. âSingle Christians, Christ died to give you contentment, fulfillment, and hope â even on Valentineâs Day.â Longing for companionship, romance, marriage, and sex is not wrong. God himself created these gifts so we would enjoy them (Genesis 2:18; Proverbs 5:18; Song of Solomon; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Timothy 4:4; 6:17). Desiring these good things â and feeling loneliness and sadness without them â is natural. It is not necessarily sinful. It is being human the way God created us to be. But for those of us not-yet-married, these yearnings remain unfulfilled. As a result, we sometimes turn to other things â romantic comedies, chocolates, relationships we know wonât lead to marriage â trying to satisfy the voids in our hearts. However, when we are in a state of weakness, verging on the precipice of discontentment or even dissatisfaction with God, these activities can quickly become dangers. Through fruitless relationships we can exploit other people to get the emotional security we crave without seeking to love and honor them above ourselves (Romans 12:9â10). For many single people, the cheap pleasures of pornography or other sexual experiences become most alluring when we feel discontent. But even good things like movies or chocolate can become dangers when we use them to quench our loneliness. They make us laugh, have a good time, and forget our sorrows â but when these fleeting pleasures fade, we only feel more aware of our alone-ness. For Christians, this should not be the case. We can combat this disappointment and loneliness by turning to the only one who can fulfill us: Jesus Christ. He is the only source of happiness which will never disappoint us and never leave us feeling discontent (Jeremiah 2:13). If anyone thirsts, let him come to Christ and drink (John 7:37) â he will not leave you discontented. Real Fulfillment God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.  Only Christ can fill the emptiest hearts, the loneliest moments, and the saddest days. He understands them all (Hebrews 4:15â16). He loves each of his children (Jeremiah 31:3). He promises  to fulfill all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). âSingleness cannot keep you from the abundance of life and fullness of joy that God promises you.â We may feel like we need  a boyfriend or girlfriend. We may feel like we need  the special intimacy and companionship only a spouse can provide. We may feel like we need  sex. Again, these are legitimate longings. But even if God does not satisfy these specific desires right now, he does promise his comfort and support during the pain of waiting (2 Corinthians 1:3â4). Leaning on his strength, we can carry on (Philippians 4:13). And we can do more than that â we can live full, satisfied, truly joyful lives (Psalms 16:11). Instead of using the season of singleness as a time to mope and bemoan our loneliness, we can use it to chase after our Creator, pursuing a deeper, more satisfying, more glorifying relationship with him every day. It is true that God created marriage and sex for us to enjoy, but he did not create us  for enjoying marriage and sex, ultimately. He created us to enjoy him , in whatever circumstances (Philippians 4:11) â singleness cannot get in the way of Godâs promise of full joy in him (Psalm 16:11). Instead of marking our calendars for an annual day of mourning while the world revels in mutual love, we can mark our calendars to celebrate the special relationship we have with our Father in heaven, who lovingly looks on us and showers us with his glorious blessings and assures us that we are never alone. Real Hope No matter how lonely we feel right now (and sometimes thatâs pretty lonely), we are assured that it wonât be like this forever. Our lives here are merely a vapor, a breath (James 4:14; Psalm 39:5). Think of this: even if we remain single for the rest of our lives here on earth, it is only a fraction of time compared to the eternity we will spend rejoicing in the presence of Christ, who we will know more fully through our pain and loneliness than we ever would have otherwise. âGod did not create us ultimately to enjoy marriage or sex. He created us to enjoy him.â I do not relish the idea of living out my days alone in this world. Nevertheless, I am comforted, encouraged, and hopeful in remembering Godâs eternal perspective: my days here are limited (Psalm 39:4), and sooner than I realize, I will be in his comforting, fulfilling presence, enjoying perfect harmony and companionship with him and all the saints for all eternity. This light momentary affliction â whether a lonely Valentineâs Day or a lifetime of singleness â is preparing an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). This gives me hope. Real Love Dear single friends, letâs not dread February 14, but look forward to it as a special day God has given us to glorify him. Letâs see our loneliness as a reminder to search for satisfaction in Christ. Letâs use our sadness to dwell on his sacrifice, purchase, and love for us. Letâs seize the day to pursue him. Iâll be worshiping him, and enjoying him, right alongside you.