Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Larry Norman (1947-2008)

a Biblical thought...
Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. (John 1:3-4)

a Book thought...
Productivity distrusts the future, and therefore attempts to force it. Fruitfulness trusts the future, invests in it, lives by it and waits patiently for it. (p108 Needham)
a Dave thought...
I recently caught up with the news that “the father of Christian rock” Larry Norman passed away on Sunday. (larrynorman.com) I still remember going to an event in January 1987 titled JAM (Jesus & Music) at the Myer Music Bowl and hearing Larry live singing “I wish we’d all been ready” and being so inspired by this guy. After he performed I got to have a chat with him, he was an amazing man who had helped Christian music break into the secular market and had fun singing about Jesus. He’d taken a lot of hits along the way as he pioneered rock’n’roll music in the church. Here are his last words…


I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.


My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet againSomewhere beyond the sky.I pray that you will stay with GodGoodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry

Just a thought.

2 comments:

jan magor said...

Thanks for sharing that Dave, you would not believe it, I was playing a Larry Norman CD on my way to work this morning. A very big blast from the past. Trevor and I just loved his music. Let's hope we all leave behind such a profound legacy for Christ.

JDK said...

I remember being at the same JAM festival and going out with a group including Larry one night - you may have been there Dave? I didn't really know who he was at the time because it wasn't until the next year's JAM that I became a Christian, however I do remember being impressed by his character. It does make me wonder about what impression I might have made upon people that I have only met briefly - a tough challenge.