Posted on 09/23/2002 4:11:58 PM PDT by KMC1
"Oh just go listen to her Kevin, give her chance," came the considerable urging of my friends.
So Saturday night, there I am, finding myself winding the back roads of Rosemont, Illinois, trying to get to "the event" for the weekend - Amy Grant and Vince Gill live in concert. Arriving just on time, getting to my seat which was about 18 rows back center stage, I had just enough time left to say "Hi" to a few friends sitting nearby. One of whom could not resist.
"Kev! Surprised to see you here!"
"Well, hey, the opening act looks good, and we'll see what happens," was about the only response I could muster up.
Okay, a little history for you.
Amy Grant has been doing "Christian" music for over eighteen years. Throughout her early days I became a fan and faithfully bought every record/tape/cd she made. At a previous station where I worked, co-workers regularly tried to "stump" me by seeing if I knew a vague line of lyric from one of her albums. I was seldom stumped. As a young man, wanting to put positive messages into my brain I found Christian music to be the kind of reinforcement I needed to my choices. Amy's music was positive, fun, and upbeat. She literally "began" an entire genre of commercially-successful music, and many Christian musicians since owe their commercial success to the lady that really did make it popular.
Amy Grant enjoyed a parallel stream of success in pop music as well. Some of her songs centering more around the idea of positive relationships were added to pop radio's playlists and soon Amy stood on a platform amongst Christian recording artists that was truly head and shoulders above all others.
Many conservative-minded people were the ones buying Christian music, Grant's included, and as the eighties gave way to the nineties, conservatives, and people of faith made Christian music the fastest growing music in terms of sales increases and in new radio formats hitting the dial. The term "CCM" (Contemporary Christian Music) became a more regularly known term and the groups in CCM (Michael W. Smith, D.C. Talk, Jars Of Clay) became stars.
Through it all no one benefitted more than the lady who was already sitting atop the heap.
In the nineties there were troubles for Grant as well. Her longtime marriage to the man who wrote her very first number one song, Gary Chapman, was shaky. Her independence, wealth, and lack of accountability did not really create for her any need to try and salvage the marriage. The marriage was dissolved and Christian music's number one star, and someone who had avoided the ugly headlines that two other troubled Christian music artists, Sandi Patti and Michael English, had lived through seemed to be at peace with herself, and the world around her.
But over time - the truth was known.
Amy had soon married country crooner Vince Gill. Amy and Vince as far back as the early days of the nineties had become friends, but as her own music betrayed her. The two were soon "deeply in love."
I remember being a music director at a radio station when her single came out titled, "It Takes A Little Time". Having been tipped off as to the "close friendship" that Amy and Vince were experiencing, having seen her credit him on the CD's credits - with no mention to her husband, and after listening to the lyrics of that song - which should never have been released to Christian stations - made it all too clear. Amy Grant was experiencing a marriage that was dying, and it was dying in part because of her refusal to give up an illicit relationship, a relationship strictly forbidden by the faith that she had proclaimed from the stage for so many years.
And let me be really clear here - by sleeping with someone who is not your husband, and in fact, when that person you are sleeping with is actually someone else's husband - YOU are jeopardizing the health and stability of not one, but two families.
In her own song, "Love Will Find a Way," Grant wrote the lyrics for a woman responding to a letter concerning marital infidelity.
As Amy came out on the stage at the concert Saturday night here in suburban Chicago she did lots of her old songs. Sometimes I would catch myself reliving moments and places in my life based on what song she was singing.
She did the song "It Takes A Little Time", and like a knife through my heart - I was back in my old office holding that CD for the first time and with some fairly horrific feelings inside.
People of faith and conservatives in particular were outraged when a nation's president would let an ogling intern give him unspoken pleasures. People of faith criticized Hillary for allowing his philandering to continue. People of faith were further outraged when that President lied to cover it up.
People of faith, and yes even conservatives were some of the 49 people lined up outside the Mishawaka, Indiana, police station as Madelyne Toogood was brought in for beating her four year old daughter Martha - and getting caught on video tape. In one interview the lady waiting for the car carrying Toogood to arrive said, "I just want to give her a piece of my mind for treating her kid like that."
People of faith sometimes wonder why an outside world looks at them as though they are hypocritical. Well let's remove the "wondering" from the scenario. Others look at people of faith as hypocrites because while President Clinton is booed for engaging in illicit and immoral behavior (as he should be), people of faith were by the thousands filling seats in Suburban Chicago Saturday night applauding Amy as she raved about what a "good" man Vince Gill was. People of faith are seen as double minded when we condemn Madelyne Toogood for slapping her kid around in the car - and say nothing when the children of one marriage must now be split between 3 or more homes.
People of faith get pummeled because we have yet to step up to the plate.
Or then again, have we?
I left the Grant concert early to avoid anymore of Ms. Grant's glib comments about her formerly adulterous husband who is now a "good" man.
I got home just in time to see Miss Illinois Erika Harold be named Miss America 2003 on national TV. Throughout her pageant life Erika Harold has been an unashamed Christian who encourages young people to live moral lives. Erika through her own example, encourages kids to abstain from sexual activity until marriage, and once married to live monogamously for life (note to Ms. Grant).
Erika Harold genuinely lives out of her faith. The new Miss America says she hopes to run for office someday. I hope she does.
In my opinion, it is time to replace high profile personalities who have an obligation to live morally - and that goes for politicians, as well as singers.
And did I mention that Miss America sings, too?
I never met Vince personally but, have played with guys who have. People, who care to know about the history of this couple would agree that there is no better match than Amy and Vince.
Amy did the suffering spouse detail while practically raising their children herself. There comes a time when you have to put the children first and take the lumps for leaving. I applaud her.
Also, I am once again sickened by comments of some in this thread. James is not the only book in the bible. The average Joe on the street would crumble living under the microscope this family has endured.
And isn't it the Presbyterian church that condoned homosexual marriages?
Kinda the pot calling the kettle something.......
Kinda more like the Pot calling the Kettle bloody schismatic heretics, you mean.
The Orthodox Presbytery permanently separated from the Apostate Presbyterian Church USA back in 1936 for exactly this sort of reason.
Since that time, God has been pleased to grow the Orthodox Presbytery by 100,000 percent. (Check the OPC Membership Rolls if you have any doubt)
The Lord God Almighty built this nation on the blood of Orthodox Presbybyterians.
This thing called "America" is OUR Baby.
We BUILT This City.
And when God has need of his Presbyterian Calvinists, He will call us again.
Count on it.
Blood and Honor. That is the Coin of Orthodox Presbytery, even while the Kingdom of AntiChrist rises around us.
Of that you can be certain -- we pledge our lives, our fortunes, our Sacred Honor (that's an orthodox presbyterian phrase, in case you did not know).
The Black Regiment does not sleep.
We await the Call to Final Sacrifice.
We few, we happy few... we band of Brothers.
And orthodox Presbyterians, also!!
(Curses on this deficient FR spell-check!! Curses!! Grumble, grumble...)
Is this a PR piece for the new Miss America? Is participating in the Miss America pagent a "Christian " activity??
GOD FORBID!!
I am distinctly a Cat Person.
Chalupa-beggin' chihuahua dogs are useful for one purpose only:
...when Clay Pigeons get too stale...
Food for (regional) thought.
Are you sitting down, sinkspur? I'm gonna agree with you (sort of). There is a VERY fine line between witnessing and being a Pharasee hypocryte. You can't teach the difference. You just have to feel it.
I never knew they were a couple.
Poor Sharon and Valerie.
Marriage isn't a private affair. When you make the vows, you do it before God AND the world. If those vows are broken, they are done so publicly. Marriage can not be a secret thing, so neither can divorce.
People who are doing right don't fear having the light shine on their behavior. When I heard about this little spouse swapping incident, I looked high and low for an explaination. None has ever (to my knowledge) been offered.
Now I hear rumors of Gary Chapman being a scumbag. Fair enough, but that doesn't address Vince Gill's wife and family.
If Grant is stilling calling herself a Christian, she has to level with people and explain why her actions were justified. If she can't justify what she did (or Vince Gill) and refuses to repent then neither one is a believer no matter what they claim.
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