Most of my memories of Keith are through the albums and then tapes, but there was a time when Keith came to Houghton College in Houghton, NY. Wish I could remember the date because it was a great concert and the thing that impacted a lot of the students and others that attended is how he handled the space, (or lack of it). There just wasn’t enough room for all the folks that came so Keith had people come up and sit around the stage. He broke barriers that are tough to break at times, (and at times it may not be safe and good to break), but for this time it was a great thing to do and he met folks and worshiped together and spoke to hearts in his passionate way. No holds barred.
Though that was an awesome experience I have to say that my personal favorite time was alone with the Lord, maybe driving and listening to tapes and a song would permeate my thoughts and cause me to deal with something with the Lord. That is what I remember most. Keith’s stuff brought me before the Lord and I could spend time with the Father and deal with things in my heart. It wasn’t about Keith. He was kind of a greeter leading us to the One who really could impact our lives and I will always appreciate that. The results are I am always looking for those times now and I can now come into the throne room on my own, but I get to help others find that room because I got a good idea of how to do it. Jim
I only have his tapes that became a standard part of my walk with MY GOD…..;). unfortunately, I seem to have lost them…:(….and can’t find them anywhere! I will always have my personal time(which is ALL the day!) with MY GOD, I just miss his soul filled songs that made the time so peaceful. I will keep looking for them, tho. My favorite song of his was “The Sheep and The Goats”! I just LOVE the way he presented a very serious point and put a bit of humor in it.
Anyway it was a set of four tapes and I’m hoping to find maybe some CD’s so I can have them for our Bible Study that we have at my sister’s house….;). I’m so glad that Kieth’s music gave me the “go gettem” I need to “go and get ‘em for GOD!”. Joyce
I saw Keith two or three months before he died. He was playing at the Long Beach arena I think at the time. I am the same age as he was had he lived. I loved his music.He truly was a prophetic voice through the music he played so well. At the time I was going to a church that was in sync with his messege. When he sang and preached he pulled no punches when he talked about the condition of the church. I miss the youth and zeal we had back then. One way or another I pray God will turn the church and this country around in the right direction .Keith is missed but let his zeal resides in people that God will raise up soon.
I saw Keith perform at Lakeland Community College in Mentor, Ohio sometime in 1979-80. I was working full-time for Teen Challenge at the time and we took the whole camp to see him. I remember about half the place going forward at the altar call. I liked getting the Newsletter and enjoyed listening to No Compromise. I sent him a letter once and someone else from the ministry responded. I never did get to meet him but I was a counselor at the Memorial concert in our area. He inspired me to read Finney and I’ve probably read about everything in print either by Finney or about Finney. I’ve made several trips to Oberlin College and copied out of print stuff that Finney authored. I’ve been to Finney Chapel and Finney’s gravesite several times. Finney has helped me to figure out what I believe and why. If it wasn’t for Keith I probably wouln’t have heard about Finney. I think I might have also seen Keith perform at one of the Jesus festivals at Agape Farm in Mount Union, Pennsylvania.
Northeastern Bible College, Essex Fells, NJ about 1979 or 80. I had heard the “No Compromise Album” in a little Christian book store in our area. Wow, was I blown away and deeply convicted, especially by the “Asleep in the Light” cut. I was a student at the Bible College, not really sure what I wanted to do with my life. Keith was doing a concert at the college. When I got to the school, I knew something was up. There were cars lined all the way up the road to the school to the main road road waiting to get in. I noticed license plates from as far away as New Hampshire. The concert was standing room only. It was awesome, as the presence of God fell and a Spirit of repentance moved through the crowd. Many in the crowd stood and came to mikes to confess their sins. Keith, went out to the people outside the concert venue that could not get in and sang and preached to them. Seeing how many people did not get in for the first concert, he agreed to do a second one that night, which was also SRO. Keith and his ministry contributed a huge amount to the man I am today and the ministry I have today as the pastor of a church in New Jersey.
I saw Keith in concert in Seattle, WA in the fall of 1980. As I recall, the arena held about 6,000 people. It was packed and there were about 5,000 people outside, unable to get in. Keith agreed to do a second concert that night for those who would stay.
He came out in jeans and a plaid, flannel shirt. Just Keith and a grand piano on the stage, nothing else. Of course, he held the audience spellbound. At one point the crowd erupted in applause at something he had said. Keith responded, “Some of you are only applauding because you don’t want your neighbor to know that what I said applies directly to YOU!” Ouch.
The sweetest, yet most haunting memory of that night was the way it ended. Keith asked the audience to leave the auditorium in silence. He said, “Don’t talk about what you’ve heard tonight with anyone until you talk to God about it first.” It was eerie…6,000 people exiting a large auditorium, and all you could hear was an occasional cough and the sound of shuffling feet.
I can tell you about the concert I wasn’t at.
A Memorial Concert was held in Long Island, NY after his death.
My youth group was going and I couldn’t wait to go.
A few days before the concert, my sister and I were grounded and couldn’t go!
I cried and cried and cried. And to this day, it kills me that I wasn’t able to go.
Oh well, my own fault. But, wish I could’ve been there.
Years later, I did get a DVD copy of a Memorial Concert. But, it wasn’t the same.
Wish my sister and I would’ve stopped that fighting way before the concert.
(That’s why we were grounded-fighting!)
I’ll have to share this story with my 2 girls who are always fighting.
I could tell them, “One day, you might be grounded for fighting and miss out on something in life that might mean a lot to you.”
I saw him at Jesus Festival (79?) (before it became the Creation Festival) in Mt. Union, PA. He stopped the concert midway and was lead by the Holy Spirit to pray against Satanic forces in the area. (Evidently there had been Satan worship going on in the woods nearby). A bonfire was started off to the side of the arena area from all the Satanic paraphinalia (Books of Satan, tarot cards, drug paraphinalia, etc.) that were tossed into it. It was a mighty night of deliverance for the whole audience. There was a girl that was standing in front of me who fell to the ground convulsing, cursing and screaming. Myself and my friends that were with me immediately laid hands on her (so she would hurt herself) and prayed over her. After about 5 – 10 minutes, the spirits left her and she was delivered!! One or two or the guys had to almost sit on her, she was that strong! What an awesome experience to the power and authority of pray!! I’ll never forget it. I have been able to share that story numerous times over the years when people doubt the need for praying for someone and their deliverance.
Jesus Northwest, summer of ‘78. No one, really, outside of Southern California had heard of this guy. THE concert. The one that they offered through the ministry for awhile as his first “live” recording. I was a scrawny 18 year old kid, traveling alone, staying in my tent in the campground. We had all been lying on the ground around the stage all day, getting tan, showing more skin than necessary, laughing and relaxing in the sun. Keith closed the event on Saturday night. You all know what his concerts were like–goofy-looking, floppy-haired, quirky, laughable jewish dude with this amazing hair that bounced around the stage like a tumbleweed in a tornado! Yeah, he reeled us in. We were chuckling, but not really paying much attention. We had already seen some pretty amazing well-known talent that week. But though I saw him many subsequent times and later became intimately acquainted with his ministry and those who knew him best, I have never again witnessed a Keith Green audience react quite like that night. We were blind-sided. Mesmerized. Aghast. And finally heart-stricken. There were 15 or 20 thousand, perhaps more, and I don’t think there was a single dry eye after the Sheep and the Goats and Asleep in the Light. But if there were any hard hearts left, that night’s version of My Eyes Are Dry uncapped the floodgates. Most were prostrate, or bent, racked in convulsions, crying out in repentance and fear for our hardened hearts. None were exempt that night, but in true Keith form, he didn’t leave us huddled in shame. The evening closed with a wonderful impromptu moment when, after 10 or 15 minutes, Keith just whispered, “Wow. Where do we go from here? We can’t have an altar call. There are too many of us!” So we just started singing, intimately, perfectly, cleansed and truly in accord. That such a night might happen again. And soon.
I was fortunate enough to see him twice in concert. Once was in New Mexico where I was working as a summer staffer at Glorieta, the Baptist camp. The last time was in Austin, TX in an auditorium used for wrestling. The piano was actually in the wrestling ring. Keith couldn’t resist the obvious analogy. “and in this corner, Jesus Chriiiiiiist” At the time both events were highly emotional and spiritually charged, as were all of his concerts, I’m sure. His talent always impressed me.
I (Wendell) was a seminary student at Oral Roberts University when Keith made his appearance there. We were at ORU because we desperate for more of God and had become somewhat disillusioned. Keith’s ministry rekindled a fire in us for God and His kingdom. His radical commitment to God and His truth caused some things in us to be awakened. His passion for lost souls stirred us into action. His love for God aroused us to seek God more diligently. His willingness to give away his albums for “whatever you can afford” baffled us. His willingness to call out sin, no matter how unpopular, mystified us. This brief encounter with Keith changed our lives and ministry forever. Our kids grew up on Keith Green music, and later Jason Upton music, thus also affecting their lives in a powerful way. My only regret is that I did not make more time in my then busy schedule to spend more time with Keith while he was Tulsa those few days. I look forward to seeing him again in heaven!
I remembered attending my first Christian concert in a high school in the Chicago area in October, 1978. I never heard of Keith before that time. I fell in love with his music and his message. I heard later on, that was his only Chicago appearance. I had a privlage to meet him, and to shake his hand.
I don’t remember when, but Keith played at The Ebell Club in Long Beach, California. Being somewhat of a musician I so enjoyed his piano playing (especially a touch of the 3rd movement of the Moonlight Sonata). I never had been around miracle healings and someone who had been deaf in one ear was healed. Keith really brought the Presence of God in a way I had not experienced.
I grew up in Maine. Keith was scheduled to come to Augusta, Maine, I believe it was the very next concert date he had. He didn’t make it………. In October, I think, Melody came. My church youth group was devastated. Even now, all these years later, I hear his songs, and I am transported to another place and time. Keith will always have a special place in my heart. There was/is no one else like him.
I was at Jesus ‘78 with my Connecticut church’s youth group at the Agape Farm in Union Pa. There I met the man I am married to to this day! Keith’s music was a constant part of my walk with God and now his music is as important to our three girls.
I saw Keith in 1978/1979 in Marietta, GA. At the time, I was a new Believer and Keith was a powerful prophetic voice to me and many of my college aged brothers and sisters. I was also privileged to meet Lenoard Ravenhill at the Ellis Bible Study in Symyrna, GA where the Pat Terry Group led worship. I had 8 track tapes, LPs, and cassettes of these great Christian music pioneers and they impacted me greatly to become a songwriter, worship leader and producer. I have a cherished framed copy of Keith’s tract “Who Cares” in my studio. In 1980 I actually went to Last Days on a trip to TX from GA. I now live just a couple of hours from Lindale. What an unforgettable and influential man of God was Keith Green!
Share Your Memory
Keith Quotes
When we complain about the one who has wronged us instead of praying for him, we end up being the loser. Grumbling and complaining is evidence of our unbelief in God’s sovereignty and His ability to work things out for His glory and our good.
October 24th, 2007 at 1:20 am
I saw Keith on tape….at a memorial concert in feb./march of 1983. It was in St. Petersburg Fla. By July 1983 I was at Last Days Ministries.
Karen
October 27th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Most of my memories of Keith are through the albums and then tapes, but there was a time when Keith came to Houghton College in Houghton, NY. Wish I could remember the date because it was a great concert and the thing that impacted a lot of the students and others that attended is how he handled the space, (or lack of it). There just wasn’t enough room for all the folks that came so Keith had people come up and sit around the stage. He broke barriers that are tough to break at times, (and at times it may not be safe and good to break), but for this time it was a great thing to do and he met folks and worshiped together and spoke to hearts in his passionate way. No holds barred.
Though that was an awesome experience I have to say that my personal favorite time was alone with the Lord, maybe driving and listening to tapes and a song would permeate my thoughts and cause me to deal with something with the Lord. That is what I remember most. Keith’s stuff brought me before the Lord and I could spend time with the Father and deal with things in my heart. It wasn’t about Keith. He was kind of a greeter leading us to the One who really could impact our lives and I will always appreciate that. The results are I am always looking for those times now and I can now come into the throne room on my own, but I get to help others find that room because I got a good idea of how to do it. Jim
November 10th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
I only have his tapes that became a standard part of my walk with MY GOD…..;). unfortunately, I seem to have lost them…:(….and can’t find them anywhere! I will always have my personal time(which is ALL the day!) with MY GOD, I just miss his soul filled songs that made the time so peaceful. I will keep looking for them, tho. My favorite song of his was “The Sheep and The Goats”! I just LOVE the way he presented a very serious point and put a bit of humor in it.
Anyway it was a set of four tapes and I’m hoping to find maybe some CD’s so I can have them for our Bible Study that we have at my sister’s house….;). I’m so glad that Kieth’s music gave me the “go gettem” I need to “go and get ‘em for GOD!”. Joyce
December 2nd, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I saw Keith two or three months before he died. He was playing at the Long Beach arena I think at the time. I am the same age as he was had he lived. I loved his music.He truly was a prophetic voice through the music he played so well. At the time I was going to a church that was in sync with his messege. When he sang and preached he pulled no punches when he talked about the condition of the church. I miss the youth and zeal we had back then. One way or another I pray God will turn the church and this country around in the right direction .Keith is missed but let his zeal resides in people that God will raise up soon.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I saw Keith perform at Lakeland Community College in Mentor, Ohio sometime in 1979-80. I was working full-time for Teen Challenge at the time and we took the whole camp to see him. I remember about half the place going forward at the altar call. I liked getting the Newsletter and enjoyed listening to No Compromise. I sent him a letter once and someone else from the ministry responded. I never did get to meet him but I was a counselor at the Memorial concert in our area. He inspired me to read Finney and I’ve probably read about everything in print either by Finney or about Finney. I’ve made several trips to Oberlin College and copied out of print stuff that Finney authored. I’ve been to Finney Chapel and Finney’s gravesite several times. Finney has helped me to figure out what I believe and why. If it wasn’t for Keith I probably wouln’t have heard about Finney. I think I might have also seen Keith perform at one of the Jesus festivals at Agape Farm in Mount Union, Pennsylvania.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
Northeastern Bible College, Essex Fells, NJ about 1979 or 80. I had heard the “No Compromise Album” in a little Christian book store in our area. Wow, was I blown away and deeply convicted, especially by the “Asleep in the Light” cut. I was a student at the Bible College, not really sure what I wanted to do with my life. Keith was doing a concert at the college. When I got to the school, I knew something was up. There were cars lined all the way up the road to the school to the main road road waiting to get in. I noticed license plates from as far away as New Hampshire. The concert was standing room only. It was awesome, as the presence of God fell and a Spirit of repentance moved through the crowd. Many in the crowd stood and came to mikes to confess their sins. Keith, went out to the people outside the concert venue that could not get in and sang and preached to them. Seeing how many people did not get in for the first concert, he agreed to do a second one that night, which was also SRO. Keith and his ministry contributed a huge amount to the man I am today and the ministry I have today as the pastor of a church in New Jersey.
April 26th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I saw Keith in concert in Seattle, WA in the fall of 1980. As I recall, the arena held about 6,000 people. It was packed and there were about 5,000 people outside, unable to get in. Keith agreed to do a second concert that night for those who would stay.
He came out in jeans and a plaid, flannel shirt. Just Keith and a grand piano on the stage, nothing else. Of course, he held the audience spellbound. At one point the crowd erupted in applause at something he had said. Keith responded, “Some of you are only applauding because you don’t want your neighbor to know that what I said applies directly to YOU!” Ouch.
The sweetest, yet most haunting memory of that night was the way it ended. Keith asked the audience to leave the auditorium in silence. He said, “Don’t talk about what you’ve heard tonight with anyone until you talk to God about it first.” It was eerie…6,000 people exiting a large auditorium, and all you could hear was an occasional cough and the sound of shuffling feet.
August 12th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I can tell you about the concert I wasn’t at.
A Memorial Concert was held in Long Island, NY after his death.
My youth group was going and I couldn’t wait to go.
A few days before the concert, my sister and I were grounded and couldn’t go!
I cried and cried and cried. And to this day, it kills me that I wasn’t able to go.
Oh well, my own fault. But, wish I could’ve been there.
Years later, I did get a DVD copy of a Memorial Concert. But, it wasn’t the same.
Wish my sister and I would’ve stopped that fighting way before the concert.
(That’s why we were grounded-fighting!)
I’ll have to share this story with my 2 girls who are always fighting.
I could tell them, “One day, you might be grounded for fighting and miss out on something in life that might mean a lot to you.”
August 17th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I saw him at Jesus Festival (79?) (before it became the Creation Festival) in Mt. Union, PA. He stopped the concert midway and was lead by the Holy Spirit to pray against Satanic forces in the area. (Evidently there had been Satan worship going on in the woods nearby). A bonfire was started off to the side of the arena area from all the Satanic paraphinalia (Books of Satan, tarot cards, drug paraphinalia, etc.) that were tossed into it. It was a mighty night of deliverance for the whole audience. There was a girl that was standing in front of me who fell to the ground convulsing, cursing and screaming. Myself and my friends that were with me immediately laid hands on her (so she would hurt herself) and prayed over her. After about 5 – 10 minutes, the spirits left her and she was delivered!! One or two or the guys had to almost sit on her, she was that strong! What an awesome experience to the power and authority of pray!! I’ll never forget it. I have been able to share that story numerous times over the years when people doubt the need for praying for someone and their deliverance.
December 11th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Jesus Northwest, summer of ‘78. No one, really, outside of Southern California had heard of this guy. THE concert. The one that they offered through the ministry for awhile as his first “live” recording. I was a scrawny 18 year old kid, traveling alone, staying in my tent in the campground. We had all been lying on the ground around the stage all day, getting tan, showing more skin than necessary, laughing and relaxing in the sun. Keith closed the event on Saturday night. You all know what his concerts were like–goofy-looking, floppy-haired, quirky, laughable jewish dude with this amazing hair that bounced around the stage like a tumbleweed in a tornado! Yeah, he reeled us in. We were chuckling, but not really paying much attention. We had already seen some pretty amazing well-known talent that week. But though I saw him many subsequent times and later became intimately acquainted with his ministry and those who knew him best, I have never again witnessed a Keith Green audience react quite like that night. We were blind-sided. Mesmerized. Aghast. And finally heart-stricken. There were 15 or 20 thousand, perhaps more, and I don’t think there was a single dry eye after the Sheep and the Goats and Asleep in the Light. But if there were any hard hearts left, that night’s version of My Eyes Are Dry uncapped the floodgates. Most were prostrate, or bent, racked in convulsions, crying out in repentance and fear for our hardened hearts. None were exempt that night, but in true Keith form, he didn’t leave us huddled in shame. The evening closed with a wonderful impromptu moment when, after 10 or 15 minutes, Keith just whispered, “Wow. Where do we go from here? We can’t have an altar call. There are too many of us!” So we just started singing, intimately, perfectly, cleansed and truly in accord. That such a night might happen again. And soon.
January 8th, 2009 at 11:14 am
I was fortunate enough to see him twice in concert. Once was in New Mexico where I was working as a summer staffer at Glorieta, the Baptist camp. The last time was in Austin, TX in an auditorium used for wrestling. The piano was actually in the wrestling ring. Keith couldn’t resist the obvious analogy. “and in this corner, Jesus Chriiiiiiist” At the time both events were highly emotional and spiritually charged, as were all of his concerts, I’m sure. His talent always impressed me.
February 1st, 2009 at 7:14 am
I (Wendell) was a seminary student at Oral Roberts University when Keith made his appearance there. We were at ORU because we desperate for more of God and had become somewhat disillusioned. Keith’s ministry rekindled a fire in us for God and His kingdom. His radical commitment to God and His truth caused some things in us to be awakened. His passion for lost souls stirred us into action. His love for God aroused us to seek God more diligently. His willingness to give away his albums for “whatever you can afford” baffled us. His willingness to call out sin, no matter how unpopular, mystified us. This brief encounter with Keith changed our lives and ministry forever. Our kids grew up on Keith Green music, and later Jason Upton music, thus also affecting their lives in a powerful way. My only regret is that I did not make more time in my then busy schedule to spend more time with Keith while he was Tulsa those few days. I look forward to seeing him again in heaven!
September 25th, 2009 at 3:09 am
I remembered attending my first Christian concert in a high school in the Chicago area in October, 1978. I never heard of Keith before that time. I fell in love with his music and his message. I heard later on, that was his only Chicago appearance. I had a privlage to meet him, and to shake his hand.
Delphine
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I don’t remember when, but Keith played at The Ebell Club in Long Beach, California. Being somewhat of a musician I so enjoyed his piano playing (especially a touch of the 3rd movement of the Moonlight Sonata). I never had been around miracle healings and someone who had been deaf in one ear was healed. Keith really brought the Presence of God in a way I had not experienced.
October 21st, 2009 at 7:31 am
I am very particular about the music and worship songs that I listen to; however, I fell in love with Keith’s truth and honesty in his message.
I have not heard of anyone quite like him. There was such an anointing on his music and the music brought you into spiritual reality.
March 31st, 2010 at 9:32 pm
I grew up in Maine. Keith was scheduled to come to Augusta, Maine, I believe it was the very next concert date he had. He didn’t make it………. In October, I think, Melody came. My church youth group was devastated. Even now, all these years later, I hear his songs, and I am transported to another place and time. Keith will always have a special place in my heart. There was/is no one else like him.
July 18th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
I was at Jesus ‘78 with my Connecticut church’s youth group at the Agape Farm in Union Pa. There I met the man I am married to to this day! Keith’s music was a constant part of my walk with God and now his music is as important to our three girls.
August 4th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I saw Keith in 1978/1979 in Marietta, GA. At the time, I was a new Believer and Keith was a powerful prophetic voice to me and many of my college aged brothers and sisters. I was also privileged to meet Lenoard Ravenhill at the Ellis Bible Study in Symyrna, GA where the Pat Terry Group led worship. I had 8 track tapes, LPs, and cassettes of these great Christian music pioneers and they impacted me greatly to become a songwriter, worship leader and producer. I have a cherished framed copy of Keith’s tract “Who Cares” in my studio. In 1980 I actually went to Last Days on a trip to TX from GA. I now live just a couple of hours from Lindale. What an unforgettable and influential man of God was Keith Green!