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Jim's PERSPECTIVEDecember 09, 2014Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3: 1-3 NKJV Many years ago in the early seventies, I and countless others discovered a group of singers known collectively as the Second Chapter of Acts. A sister and brother, Nelly and Matthew Ward, had followed their older sister, Annie, a young singer/songwriter from North Dakota, to California after both of their parents died. Annie was married to Buck Herring, a recording producer/audio engineer. Nelly and Matthew moved in with Buck and Annie, attended school, and then the three siblings began singing together. Barry McGuire, another early Christian artist, was instrumental in helping them gain a wider audience than the coffee houses where the fledgling trio had already begun singing. From their 1974 debut release, “The 2nd Chapter of Acts with Footnotes,” to their 1988 final concert in Houston, Texas, the group was a shining beacon of the Kingdom of God for millions of people, and their timeless music, through pieces such as their signature “Easter Song,” continues to bless many today. The story and amazing sound of the 2nd Chapter of Acts (like manna from heaven) is unrepeatable and unduplicated. There has been no one like them before or since. What attracted me to their music was that I knew beyond doubt that their reason for being was ministering to the reality of Jesus Christ, and that they did it faithfully and without apology in a form often unrecognized by the larger Body of Christ. I heard them several times in concert, sometimes driving hundreds of miles to attend. When I listened to them sing, I felt that I was hearing a dialogue between themselves and God. However, not all Christians received them as instruments of the Lord. Many Christians, in the beginning, did not appreciate their ministry in music. Being a musician, and a new Christian as of 1972, I immediately perceived an anointing the very first time I heard them. In terms of musical quality, 2nd Chapter, especially accompanied by A Band Called David, was at least as good as anyone else—better in my mind— on stage at the time. They did not sound like some in today’s contemporary music world whose contrived sound seems to be merely a copy of other and lesser forms. “Unique” is an overly-used word but one that really describes these people. That they were not received well by some other Christians of the era is a mystery to me and one that I ponder to this day. Being a child of the fifties and growing up through the sixties into adulthood in the seventies, I witnessed firsthand the reaction of the Christian culture to the music when it first appeared. I realize that much of the rejection originated with the “rock” sound. I heard many Christians denounce the rhythms of the music, and criticize even such Gospel luminaries as Bill Gaither, when he began touring with “The Gaither Vocal Band.” One pastor said directly to me, in the context of a conversation about Gaither, “The beat is the problem.” That Bill Gaither was ever identified with “rock” I find laughable. But a few Christian leaders were vicious in their attacks, even calling what those early artists did demonic. A book at the time whose title I cannot recall, but whose scriptural premise was that in the “last days” there would come those who would “deceive even the very elect,” evidently was meant to “warn” Christians. A chapter mentioning “Christian Music” stated that these “deceivers” have been audacious enough to have taken on biblical names, such as “The 2nd Chapter of Acts” and others. Reading that was painful. David Wilkerson, a man whom I have always admired and actually met, at more than one time in his life denounced both secular and Christian rock. However, in 1982 he published a tract entitled “Confessions of a Rock Hater.” This is in part what he said: As I saw it, (converted rock and rollers) should have forsaken everything from their In the late seventies I was at a 2nd Chapter of Acts concert in Durham, NC, where I heard Buck Herring say that David Wilkerson had apologized to them and now endorsed them as authentic ministers of Jesus Christ. That’s a good ending to an otherwise bad story. By the way, I do know about the 1987 “David Wilkerson/Mylon LeFevre Incident,” but that is another story, and one that does not belong in this discussion. That “people of God” sometimes do not recognize the hand of their Father at work in his body is both surprising and totally understandable. As far as the understandable part goes, Christians are just people, flawed human beings (and I am certainly one of those) who are often opinionated, close-minded, clique-ish, dismissive, suspicious, prudish, self-appointed-keepers-of-the-flame, and while most will not verbalize their biases and prejudices, some will articulate theirs with volume and vehemence. The part that surprises me is in the area of discernment. I would think that those guided by “the Spirit of Truth,” who is the Holy Spirit, who is Truth itself, who has promised “to lead us into all Truth” (but I guess He didn’t stipulate when, did He?) would come to the conclusion that, although they themselves might not appreciate how those naming God as the author of what they’re doing in the way that they are doing it, at least would recognize that what is happening has the stamp of the hand of God on it. Yes, people do come around eventually, but it is often hard going for the ones who feel called of God to do the thing they are doing, but which seems out-of-step with other rank-and-file brothers and sisters who do not share those ones’ belief that God is actually leading and guiding. Joseph, the son of Jacob, it seems to me, is a prime example of one who heard and received the Word of the Lord, gave voice to it (no matter how immaturely or unwise), and was rejected for having done so by other persons of God, namely his brothers. Come to think of it, though, it occurs to me that the “other persons of God” had not yet “heard” the same Word spoken to Joseph, a specifically chosen individual. But not hearing didn’t make them any less “persons of God.” It simply means that the Word had not come to them in their own present circumstances. Joseph’s brothers are in fact the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. And yet they, in their all-too-human jealousy at the time, seized their favored-status brother with his coat-of-many-colors and visions in which they—the “other” brothers— would seem to have to play a lesser role. They fabricated a story about his death to tell their father, threw him into a pit, and, after considering killing him, later sold him into slavery. Many are familiar with the story, one which I have always loved. Joseph, whose God-given ability enables him to land on his feet and rise up to succeed wherever he finds himself, ends up in Egypt. He is falsely accused by a woman who tried to seduce him, and is thrown into prison. Again he finds favor with the powers-that-be and, years later, meets some persons who have access to the Pharaoh. He interprets their dreams and is summoned by, and granted audience with, the King. Joseph accurately predicts a coming famine and demonstrates an ability to advise the Pharaoh and how to administer stores of food in the current productive years in order to have rations for the lean ones. Joseph becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt. He and his brothers are reunited in a touching account of forgiveness and grace, and God’s provisional hand is evident and obvious through it all. It’s a great story of faith and perseverance in the face of adversity. We are told in the book of Hebrews that Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith.” The word for “author” actually can be translated as “pioneer,” but I still like the idea of God as the author of our own faith story. I have a line in the song “Who Says?” that reflects that verse: “I’ll write your story from first to last page, and I’ll be with you now to the end of the age. If you ask me, ‘Oh, yeah, well ‘Who Says?’’ I’ll tell you, “the Spirit of God.” I believe that God does tell his own story through ours if we let Him do it. That, I believe, is what Paul is partly referring to in 2 Corinthians 3 where he writes of the people as “living epistles,” “written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” This is also what I want and what I believe to be the desire of my heart: that God will write his story through mine. That is, when one sees and hears me, they are directed to Him. I take to heart the injunction from God contained in the verse from Jeremiah, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not…” I have no desire to “make a name” for myself unless it will advance the Kingdom of God and the word, life, and ministry of the risen Christ Jesus. This is what I see and what I think of when I remember the 2nd Chapter of Acts. Theirs was, and is, a glorious story told by God through their willing and obedient participation that ushered me into His Presence and brought me closer to Him and to His Kingdom. - Jim Radford |
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©2013 Jim Radford. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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