Archive for April 2025
Rich Mullins
Rich Mullins was a Christian music pioneer, widely regarded for his songwriting and praise music compositions. Rising to prominence during the golden era of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) in the 1990s, Mullins became one of the most distinctive voices in the genre. His songs, including “Awesome God” and “Sometimes by Step,” became defining tracks not…
Read MoreJohn Chacha
Born and raised in Tanzania, poverty was prevalent all around him and he yearned for something more. In 1979, Dr. Chacha received a sponsorship to go to the United States for Bible School. After completing Bible School and college, he went back to Kenya and Tanzania to seek the Lord and there he received a…
Read MoreRick Elias
April 7, 2019 – This past Tuesday, Rick Elias passed away from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was sixty-four. I grew up on his music, mainly through his work with one of my all-time favorite songwriters, the late Rich Mullins. Elias made numerous contributions to contemporary Christian music, or CCM, as it’s…
Read MoreKeith Green
When musician Keith Green died in a plane crash on July 28, 1982, the world lost a special man whose heart was aflame with the gospel message. Before his untimely end, Green took the world on his seven-year spiritual journey. He held back nothing and was consumed with loving Christ and the church. On October…
Read MoreLarry Norman
In the wild swirl of the 1960s counterculture, amid long hair, protest songs, and psychedelic rebellion, a lanky young man named Larry Norman strummed a different kind of tune. His lyrics were as bold as the times, but his message pointed toward Christ. With his electric guitar and disarming honesty, Norman invented a new genre…
Read MoreJean Donovan
Jean Donovan was born on April 10, 1953. She was the younger of two children and raised in an upper middle class family in Westport, Connecticut. Her father, Raymond, was an executive engineer, and later chief of design, at the nearby Sikorsky Aircraft Division of the United Technologies, a large defense contractor for the U.S.…
Read MoreJack Heaslip
On Wednesday, February 25, members of the band U2 gathered at St. Mary’s Church outside of Dublin in order to observe the passing of the Rev. Jack Heaslip, the band’s long time friend and “traveling pastor.” The 71-year-old Anglican priest passed away after a lengthy battle with motor neuron disease. Heaslip’s pivotal spiritual guidance and…
Read MoreJohn Wimber
John Richard Wimber was born on February 25, 1934 in Peoria, Illinois and was raised in a non-Christian home. He loved music and by his early twenties, he was involved in the music industry. He was best known for helping to form the group “The Righteous Brothers” where he played keyboards. In 1963 his life…
Read MoreBrennan Manning
“Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever.” Richard Francis Xavier Manning, better known to legions of faithful readers as author, speaker, and contemplative Brennan Manning, for whom grace was irresistible, completed his earthly…
Read MoreJerry Falwell
In June of 1956, at the age of 22, Jerry Falwell started Thomas Road Baptist Church in his hometown of Lynchburg, Va., with 35 members. Also in 1956, Falwell began the “Old Time Gospel Hour,” a nationally syndicated radio and television ministry that has led millions to Christ. In 1967, Falwell implemented his vision to…
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