Saturday, January 13, 2007

Back Stage Past - 1993
"stranger to holiness" and "taking heaven by storm" LIVE

15 comments:

Michele Rayburn said...

You originally asked "Anyone Remember This? :)

Yes. I do. I had bought this video in December of 2001..."Sold Out!" It was an outstanding concert. I only wish I were there for it.

When I heard the opening song, "Stranger To Holiness", it brought me to tears because we had been worshiping with you at church for about 10 months, and I never really could comprehend what a well-known singer/evangelist you were till I saw this video. You had kept your singing ministry a well-kept secret around us, though you sang at church.

The first song I ever heard you sing at church was "Knowing You". (If you remember, I thought you wrote the song!) And I have been "sold out" on your music ever since! Your music touches my heart like no one else's.

I remember many years ago, a few years after I got saved, I heard "Living In Laodicea" on the radio while "living in Grand Rapids, Michigan" :) I don't usually remember things like that. But the song was so hauntingly beautiful, I never forgot it. I never knew who sang it...till I went to visit a church one day, and you were there. Terry knew you because you had sang at his home church in '79-'80, and he told me a little bit about your music.

I do wish you would do another video of one of your concerts in the future...and post your concert/speaking schedule on your website. A lot of us would like that very much.

Thanks, Steve, for letting me go down Memory Lane for a bit, also.

Your sister in the Lord,
Michele

Anonymous said...

I saw you at a theatre in NYC in the eighties. This brought back memories. Thanks, I needed that!

Bhedr said...

Wow reading Micheles testimony makes me realize that I come from a differant angle. In much the same way that you have an indifferance towards country music, I have had to get over the hurdle of the 80's style phobia that I have always had...course after getting over that hurdle I can say that I truly appreciate your heart as well as some of the songs you sing. (I always took to classic rock when I was younger and the Duran/Duran imagery and 80's feel always for some reason gave me the heeby geebies but hey we are all differant)

I ordered your Doing My Best and the songs have really grown on me now. Your like a good friend to have around the house and I am actually starting to break through my 80's barrier:-) with your help. He covers me, He's All You Need, Don't Tell Them Jesus Loves Them and Revive Us O Lord are some of my favorites now.

Also I think "The Lord Is My Rock" is one of your greatest from the David album. I sing that all day long. That whole album is great with much scripture to meditate on.

littlegal_66 said...

Thanks for embedding this "blast from the past."

Could you have ever imagined during the taping that in 14 years, one click on a mouse could bring clips from the video directly to the average household computer monitor? Thank the Lord for modern technology, right? :-)

(BTW, I converted my VHS copy of "Sold Out" to DVD a couple of years ago, LOL).

Michele Rayburn said...

Hi Brian,

I think I know where you're coming from. Before I was saved, I loved to listen to rock music. But after I was saved, I immediately turned away from all secular music, not just rock, and even most of Christian rock.

A few years ago, a Christian friend of mine was talking about how good Springsteen was. And I said that I used to listen to him but that I wouldn't anymore. My friend immediately fired back "Why not???!!! He thought that I was being self-righteous and judgmental. I said that I can only speak for myself. I told him that I used to be a huge fan of Springsteen. I used to listen to his music when he was still a "nobody". (It was maybe ten more years before he caught on in the music world.) But the reason I wouldn't listen to him anymore is because I can't. His music sends me back to the darkest days of my life, before I knew Christ. And it was at that point in time that God saved me.

I know there are many Christians who can listen to secular music. It seemed that it was often Christians who came from good Christian homes. So, when they listen to secular music, there usually isn't any "baggage" they're holding on to from their past. They can listen to that kind of music with a clear head.

I love good music, and so I can understand a little bit why Christians would want to listen to secular music (and even Christian rock music). I wouldn't want to sound judgmental or self-righteous about it. I just think that they are settling for less instead of experiencing God's best by doing that.

Years ago, a 12 year old boy who didn't know the Lord asked me why I wouldn't want to listen to secular music. And I said "Because it's of a different spirit", and I went on to explain what that meant and shared the Lord with him.

Secular music really is of a different spirit. When I listen to only Christian music and expose myself only to Christian radio stations, along with my Bible readings, that's when I am closest to the Lord, and the most filled with the Spirit.

You can listen to secular music if you want to. But it's been my experience that when you do, you really do miss out on the closeness to God that you would have had.

When I came across Steve's music, even his earlier music (which was a little more “rocky”), it sounded wonderful to me because it was of the right Spirit. It wasn't like secular music. Secular music usually sings of hopelessness, but Steve's music always sang of our hope in Christ. Unlike a lot of Christian music today, his is scriptural, and beautiful and meaningful. But I guess you already agree!

ann said...

Michele, that was really interesting to read. I agree with the spiritual richness of Christian music, I, too, stopped listenig to secular songs, there is no substance in them that I long for any more.
Bhedr, what can I say - the 80's are stuck on me, because it is when I was young and enjoyed life to the fullest, and it was not dark. Darkness came later...
Littlegal, I plead guilty, I ordered this VHS yesterday on-line, and am going to follow Your example in converting it into DVD.:)
Steve's CD for today in my car is "After God's Own Heart" :) (It is a different one every day).


Steve, in one of Your songs You sing: "we don't need stars in the Body of Christ". I know that You mean protestant popery, but I read it also as the celebrity-negation, and it fits perfectly into what Michele is describing about You, as well as to everything You are here for us.
Any plans of concerts in Sweden?

Bhedr said...

Hey Michele. Thanks for that post. You and I are not much differant. I don't listen to classic rock anymore and I may surprise you. I mostly listen to the dudley do right stuff that barely anyone can stand anymore on BBN radio and it just cuts that umbilical chord for me from the Old world...but there is stuff like Steves that I like now as well as some contemporary but it all ends up like such a slippery slope anymore and no one takes a strong stand like Steve. I think his verse "Thy Statutes Oh Lord shall be the theme of my song in the house of my pilgrimage" is right there in front of us. That is what God desires for us.

Still that 80's thingy was always hard to get over as well as some of the BBN music and hymns. When I was a kid I used to hate that stuff...but man when you become a new creation you love what you once hated. All of a sudden hymns become a joy when once they were a song to sing in church to get through. Now they are all I really want to sing anymore...and some contemporary stuff like Steve's.

I had to take some of my oldest sons music away a while back and I began to introduce him to Steves stuff, but my son was mad at me for the longest time and he began to complain to the public school system as well as my old church. I then had to go with him to the psychologist office because he had written a suicide note. The first thing he told them was he was upset because I had taken his music away. Pray for me.

Near the same time my sons teacher put a note on his desk that said, "Rock on dude!"

That was really helpful. So yes I do agree that it is a differant spirit. He had started listening to some Christian rock but then later I found some thrash and really trashy stuff on his MP3.

The other day he grabbed his electric guitar and started playing thrash and yelling out "I hate you"

I spoke to him about what spirit he thought he was channeling. Then later at church the Pastor spoke on channeling satanic spirits. My son came up to me later and asked forgiveness and I hugged him. The last few days have been very peaceable with him. The next day after the event a Christian came to his school who was a poet and spoke about some of these things we were burdened about. Boy I had and have been praying and he came up to me with one of his books that day showing it to me. I was so thankful to God and his providence. Continue to pray for us though. We love our children but I still am convinced that Satan is using the music industry to whisper false imaginations into their heart and mind.

Thank you brother Steve for taking the stand you do and may we commit ourselves to immersing our minds with scripture and psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

Marcia said...

Oh, this is so cool. Thanks for sharing.

Michele, wow. Your comments certainly resonate; there are certain secular songs I hear that instantly transport me back in time to situations I wish I'd never been in.

littlegal_66 said...

Ann--

As long as we're confessing format conversions and Campi media in the same "cyber breath," I'm in the process of converting my LP collection to mp3 and wave files; of course I had to begin with my Steve Camp albums. :-D To date, the tracks from "For Every Man" and "Sayin' It With Love" are done, (and it goes without saying that they are on the iPod, as well as pretty much the remainder of Campi's catalog, which I converted to mp3 a long time ago, LOL), and I'm midstream with "It's a Dyin' World" and "Shake Me to Wake Me." Spare time projects, of course. The older material I'm converting for nostalgia's sake. :-)

BTW, I wish there was a way folks could access some of the older files I've saved that aren't yet available on audienceONE, (although I believe Steve is more partial to the material from "Fire & Ice" and later).

(Besides, I'm not fully aware of the legal issues involved as it relates to the original record companies' rights vs. the artist's rights, [in this case, Campi's]; hopefully Steve can shed some light for me on that somewhere down the road).

Bhedr said...

I think you guys might have misread me a bit as well or I communicated wrong or something about the 80's but that is ok cause sometimes its hard to communicate:-)

Let me illustrate. I love some of Scott Wesley Browns old stuff from the 70's because I love that sound and style of music that was popular at the time. His stuff in the 80's grates at me a bit. The sound. What I am saying is the 80's style simply did not appeal to me...but I force myself to try to get through prejudicial barriers like that because I might miss something.IOW From Scott Wesley Browns library of 35 favorite songs...disc one is worn out but disc two is barely listened to. Do you understand what I am saying? But if I retained that prejudice then I would miss a great song by Him on disc two that is so good like, "When Answers Arent Enough, There is Jesus". Disc one carries over that 70's sound while disc two has that 80's sound that simply has always given me those heeby geebies. In much the same way Hillbilly Redneck music grates at some of you and I think its kind of funny that it does. I get a kick out of it but don't think you are any less spiritual for not liking some of those songs that I can really praise God with. I really didn't mean that aspect of it as a deeply spiritual thing, but still tried to identify with the spiritual implications of what Michele was saying and the importance of what she was saying as well.

On a simple note I was saying that Steve has kind of warmed me up to that 80's sound...well a little anyway:-) The sound on Desiring God is preferrable to the 80's sound. I have worn that CD out.See what I am getting at? I just always had a hankering for vintage sounding instruments as well. Hey I play guitar...maybe its a guitar thing. I love folk as well and that is why I like Micheal Card. As I said, we are all differant...but in truth I like hymns mmost and simply listen to BBN most of the time as it is helpful to me. Camps stand with scripture in song helps that as well. You immerse a song in scripture and it will really help you throughout the day. I hope I was able to express what I was saying. I am sorry I didn't make it clearer.

Bhedr said...

It is through the truth of God's statutes in song that I came to meet the A1M website. Not the music. I was wrestling over these issues in music at the time and now I really believe his view and the 107 theses has to be the correct one to take. It has been a tough road. Thank all of you for being patient with me. May the Lord be with you all.

Unknown said...

Welcome to the oh-so 80's hair! :-)

ann said...

Littlegal -
I am waiting, more and more impatiently, for my iPod 80gb to be delivered, to put THINGS on it. Guess whose music shall go first :)
One essential CD still missing, though, but I hope for the best (Steve knows what I mean).
Let these be the only steps of any conversion in our lives ;)
Bhedr -
I understand. Thank You for explaining. I guess, everybody is stuck with the music of his/her specific tim and generation, and You are probably 10 years older than those who like the 80's, aren't you? :)
breuss -
these were the hairdos...:)
I have some notorious photographs in my closet...

JoeL said...

Nice song. I have one question: Were you in a look-a-like battle with Al Denison (I believe that was the guy)?

Very good BLAST FROM THE PAST

Bhedr said...

and OH how it got SO bigger and bigger as the years went by. Then everybody got a Nirvana haircut.