48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finding the real man behind the legend, March 11, 2004
This review is from: No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green (Paperback)
There is no doubt that Keith Green has had a profound ministry. Even more than twenty years after his death, people are still being touched by his music and message. I know that I am a different person because of my exposure to this bold man of God.
"No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green" follows Keith from failed teen idol to the tops of the Christian music carts to a fiery plane crash in Texas. We see his early days as a struggling musician whose life was one of constant seeking but never finding until the day that Jesus put an end to the search. Along the way, Melody Green (with David Hazard) paints a picture of the early Jesus Movement of the late Sixties and early Seventies, showing how she and Keith were in the midst of it. Anyone who has been a Christian for a long time will be fascinated by how God put the Greens into the right places at the right time. There is a look at the nascent days of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship; friendships with classic Christian musicians like Randy Stonehill, Larry Norman, Barry McGuire, and Phil Keaggy; radical days of ministry highlighted by long nights ministering to anyone who would listen; and a sense of destiny shared by a small group of people with a common vision. It is almost a textbook-worthy look at a post-hippie Christianity finding its way.
To say that Keith Green is revered in certain circles is an understatement. One of the nicest features of this book is that it demythologizes the man himself. The "shoot first and ask questions later" perspective of Keith that made so many consider him a prophet is examined more closely, revealing feet of clay that some might find surprising. Often the hard-hitting songs that we have taken for granted were written as much for Keith himself to hear as for anyone else, the stinging messages a form of self-discipline for the author as much as his audience. Yet even in the correction of bad eating habits and too much TV, we are shown a prophet who examined his own life and often found it wanting. Finally, we get to see how Keith's self-defining brashness often backfired and how he came to a more gentle place in his ministry shortly before his death.
All these revelations are helpful in understanding the man behind the myth. Still, there are lapses. Very little is said about the recording sessions that led to the amazing albums. They come and go and we learn little. Certain anecdotes don't seem to lead anywhere, either, leaving the reader to merely surmise how or why Keith came to a certain place in his thoughts, actions, and spiritual development. Short excerpts from his journals are included, but more would still have been better. I know that I wanted to probe further into the subtle changes in the spiritual life of the man that led him into the situations outlined here, especially in the last year of his life--a year that zips by in the book. I suppose a wife can only know so much, and for those of us who want to know exactly how everything fell into place, I can only say that this book serves to drive us closer to God in order to ask Him those unanswered questions for our own ministries.
That said, this is still a very good biography of a man that practically packed a whole lifetime of spiritual growth into twenty-eight all too short years. Anyone who loves biographies of the great saints of God would be remiss to skip over this one. It definitely got me thinking and praying.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very engaging story about a passionate Christian musician, November 29, 1999
No Compromise is the perfect title for this book, because Keith Green did not compromise when it came to the Christian life. He loved Jesus more than anything else in the world, and it comes through in this biography written by his widow Melody Green.
You will read of Keith's early interest in spiritual things, his life in the 70's hippie sub-culture, his shattering conversion to Christ in response to the Spirit-filled preaching of Kenn Gullickson, (and his wife's conversion the following week), and his excitement at coming to know Jesus.
You also read of his zeal in winning people to the Lord, and how over the course of months, he felt the leading of the Lord to make Christian music albums. You read of his love for the writings of the Rev. Charles Finney, and his desire to see people totally broken and spilled out before the Lord in repentance and faith.
You read of his later interest in world missions, and his tragic death in a plane crash (along with his son Josiah and daughter Bethany and others who were on board).
Melody then has a brief appendix illustrating how keiths music stills fans into flame the fire of faith in the lives of so many. I am one of those people, and I highly recommend this stirring biography.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It Changed my Life, January 17, 2005
This review is from: No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green (Paperback)
I read this book for the 1st time right after I became a new Christian almost 20 years ago. It changed my life. The title that Melody used for this book perfectly described Keith Green's heart. He made many mistakes and was often over zealous in his faith, but what inspired me the most was his complete trust in God at all costs. He gave up the opportunity to be rich and famous according to the world's standards, and in turn became rich and famous according to God's standards. I recently read this book again and cried so hard I couldn't breathe. Not so much for Keith & his family, but for myself, that I wish that I had even a fraction of the faith and zeal that Keith had.
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