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Shaken. Experiences in our lives, be they of our own doing or not, often leave us shaken. But for those with a solid foundation of family, friends and a relationship with Christ, those times do not have to leave us broken, but instead can be used to bring about new creation.In a world of sprinters, it's refreshing to stop and consider the life and ministry of a long-distance-runner like Steve Green. While accolades and statistics can't measure everything, it's difficult not to notice four Grammy nominations, 18 number one songs and six Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. Over three-million of his albums have sold around the world. Songs like "Find Us Faithful" and "We Believe" have touched hearts everywhere. In 15 years of solo-ministry, this powerful vocalist has released 22 recordings, including children's projects and Spanish albums. Early in his career, Steve's talent fueled groups like Truth, White Heart, and the New Gaither Vocal Band. He has written devotional books and has been a favorite at Billy Graham Crusades and Promise Keeper events.
Steve Green is a gifted communicator. What keeps this man fresh, and on the cutting edge of ministry? Much of the answer is found in Steve's history. With his four siblings, Steve was raised in Argentina by missionary parents. "I saw my parents love people that our culture would categorize as 'unlovely,'" he explains. "There was a genuine sense of God's presence in our home. "It also gave me a real opportunity to experience feeling what being in the minority was like. Because of my blond hair and fair complexion, I was stared at and called names. Living in Argentina has helped me to empathize with minorities here in America and other places around the world." Steve responded to the Gospel at eight years of age, the same year he got his first guitar. "I never thought of music as anything more than a part of church worship and a means of personal expression," he remembers. "My brothers and I played guitar for the song services, all in Spanish. I had no visions of grandeur, because I didn't know that music could be used for anything other than accompanying a church service."
The central event of Steve's history, though, is an intense personal revival that followed nearly a decade of rebellion. Starting at age 16, a hardness emerged in his heart that continued for the next eight years. When he left for college, enrolling as a pre-law major, he was glad to leave behind the sacrifice and poverty of his childhood. "I wanted to do something more lucrative than ministry," he recalls. Steve's vocal talent was obvious, though, and he was encouraged by a professor to study music. While still in school, he was recruited by the group Truth, where he met his future wife, Marijean. Performing 350 concerts a year with the group and then in later years, busy with studio sessions, TV and radio commercials, Steve describes himself as a "voice for hire. I sang for my own satisfaction or the approval of others, but my heart wasn't right."
After leaving Truth in 1978, he and Marijean married and sang as backup singers for The Gaither Trio. Soon Steve was singing to huge, appreciative crowds with the newly formed Gaither Vocal Band. "My career was going along well as a singer," he says, "but my heart was moving even further away from God. Without a vital relationship with Christ, I was descending into thoughts, attitudes and patterns of sin. The gap between the image I portrayed and the true condition of my heart was widening. I was dangerously deceived." The Lord used a painful confrontation by Steve's older brother to get his attention. "It was what I needed to hear. I resisted, but God broke through." That night in 1983, Steve realized that he didn't really know or love God. "I had just used Him. I gave up and said if you can do anything with my life, please do."
God did. "I felt like I had been reborn," he recalls. "God gave me new glasses to see everything. The whole world looked different. At the concerts now, people were souls, perhaps some with great need. I would stare at the audience, concerned that they truly understood the gospel. That was the beginning of ministry for me. "I also had a hunger for His Word and a sense of the importance of the purity of conscience and the subtlety of the enemy's tactics. These things started to come out in my conversations with people; confession bred confession and often they would begin to weep and confess their own sin. All of this was very new to me. I began to pray and ask the Lord what He wanted to do with my life."
Bill and Gloria Gaither saw the change in Steve, and encouraged him to pursue God's leading and the possibility of a solo ministry...the very thing he had been praying about. His self-titled, 1984 debut album was born of that personal renewal. "I had done so much in the wrong way -humanly engineered," he explains. "Finally, my music became a matter of prayer and spiritual seeking. I was never again to be a voice for hire. God had given me musical abilities for His purposes."
Now married 21 years, with two teenaged children, Steve approaches his call with the same sense of mission. "Fifteen years later, he says, we are still living out the implications of that work of God. There has been - hopefully - growth and maturity, but we are still operating by the same premise. The gifts God has given me are for Him, for His kingdom, for directing people's hearts to Him."
That is the heartbeat of Steve Green Ministries. "Trends and fads come and go," he says, "but I feel like I am just supposed to stick with what I do and be who God has made me to be. I am enjoying the privilege of ministry more than ever."
His favorite recording projects over the years? Steve loves the 1991 "We Believe," but is equally excited about his new devotional recording, "Morning Light." This tender and effective project features a beautiful mix of new songs and old favorites, designed to focus our hearts on the Lord at the start of the day. Steve helped compile a companion devotional book for the project. Having been raised in Argentina, international work remains a natural part of his ministry. "We have focused on Spanish speaking countries for years, but recently have said yes to invitations from other parts of the world, like South Africa, Korea and the Philippines," he says.
Steve's concerts, stateside and overseas, include a special time for children, who are drawn by his popular "Hide Em in Your Heart" recordings and "Prayer Bear" videos. "Statistics tell us that most people come to Christ between the age of five and the early teens," he says. "It's a place of great impact to reach another generation, and I take it very seriously."
Steve is dedicated to his family and church community. He schedules concerts on weekends and returns home for the remainder of the week. "It's a way of life for us," he explains. "It's a lot more expensive to tour this way, but it keeps us together so we can have a somewhat normal life." Sometimes he gets home Sunday morning before the family is even awake, but soon they are on their way to Christ Community Church, where, he says, "I'm just one of the many who gather to worship the Lord."
"We all need community," says Steve. "Accountability is an outgrowth of community, of relationship. The greatest need for the Christian artist is authenticity; that comes from real living, real serving, real connectedness with the Body."
"Sometimes," he smiles, "it's just time to be still and listen and learn. So many problems are solved by being connected with the Body. The Lord keeps us stabilized."
If there's a secret to Steve Green's marathon run, it's his endurance to remain faithful - first to his Lord Jesus Christ and to His call upon his life. The stability and authenticity that define his ministry have developed from a close relationship with God and God's people.
And it's a secret Steve is glad to share.
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