Keith Green's initial tone of ministry was largely influenced by Leonard Ravenhill, who pointed Keith to Charles Finney, a nineteenth century revivalist preacher who preached the law of God to provoke condemnation in his hearers. During his concerts he would often angrily exhort his listeners to repent, and commit themselves more wholly to following Christ. Green later repented from this kind of approach, and this transition is evident in his music beginning with Songs for the Shepherd in 1982, an album more focused on the love, mercy and grace of God than the wrath of His displeasure.
Some who knew him believed Keith was legalistic and harsh, while others tell another story...
Keith Green was a man who impacted an entire generation. His music and his life was much like a racing flame -- on fire with vibrance and passion for Jesus Christ. Those who knew Keith best will tell you that his zeal for Jesus could flare like a whip of fire when he saw Christians compromising with the world. And yet, his life was seasoned with humor and a keen awareness of his own human frailties. Mostly, Keith was burdened with reaching the lost and broken with the true message of the Gospel - and challenging Christians to give 100% to Jesus. And in the last few months of his life, the Lord turned Keith's heart once again toward the lost. He wanted to go back out into the streets, the prisons, and the nations to reach those without God. He wanted to sing to them. He wanted to tell them how much Jesus loved them. However, it was not to be...
Keith's music and ministry still live on today. The power and anointing God placed on Keith's life can still be heard and felt in his music and teachings. He was strong, persistent, and hard to ignore. He spoke the truth we needed to hear then, and perhaps like never before, need to hear now. In the seven brief years that Keith knew Jesus, he trumpeted a wake-up call to Christians everywhere. "It’s time to quit playing church and start being the Church," Keith said.
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