Melody Green
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Melody Kay Green, née Steiner, is an American speaker, writer and songwriter of Christian music. She was the wife of musician, singer, songwriter and pianist Keith Green (d. 1982), and co-wrote many of the songs Keith made popular, such as 'Make My Life A Prayer To You', 'Jesus Commands Us To Go!' and the hymn 'There Is A Redeemer'.
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[edit] Pre-Green
Born in Hollywood, California, on August 25, 1946, she lived with her family off the boardwalk at Venice Beach. Her childhood was troubled and her teenage years turbulent after the divorce of her parents at age 12. While growing up, she tried many different outlets to attain peace. She was selected as one of the The Sweetie Seven, a group of seven young women who were formed as a singing group associated with the national Buddhist organization, Nishren Sho Shu. As a part of this group, she toured a portion of Asia. Disillusioned after a series of letdowns during that tour, she left the group and continued her spiritual search by dabbling in meditation, astrology, yoga, and the study of an obscure occult science which all turned up to be empty searches for her. In a last-ditch effort to find happiness, she turned to a steady relationship with a man in whom she had been interested prior to getting involved in Buddhism, but that also ended in disappointment.[1]
[edit] With Keith Green
Melody met Keith as an up-and-coming musician who'd gained a bit of notariety as a young entertainer when she was working at Matrix Image. With talk of video being the next wave of the future in music, Keith approached the company to see if their video effects could be used with some of his songs, and Melody gave him a tour of the operation. A week later, Keith contacted Melody and asked her for a lunch date which she managed to avoid - for the time being, anyway, as Melody was not looking for a relationship but was rather trying to figure out how to end the relationship she was in. Eventually Keith's persistence paid off, and they began dating. They were married on Christmas Day, 1973.[1] Just 18 months into their marriage, their search for the truth culminated in the event of their lives being given over completely to Jesus Christ as their Savior and the love of their lives.[2]
Melody started writing songs before she met Keith. On their first date, Keith brought along a guitar and played a new song for her that he'd just written and asked to hear some of her songs. After she played some of her songs for him he seemed to really like them.[1] However, after they were married and became a songwriting team Keith's response to the first song she wrote upset her at first but then she realized he was right when he said, "I know you can do better." After they became Christians, Melody wrote a number of the songs that were to become viewed as characteristic of Keith Green's music.
Melody and Keith partnered together in setting up Last Days Ministries. LDM started out in 1975 as an outreach to people in the streets as they started sharing their passionate message about Jesus to whoever would listen. There was no intention of forming a ministry starting out. However, by 1977 having found themselves supporting 70 people, the ministry was launched nonetheless which coincided with the release of Keith's first Christian music album, For Him Who Has Ears To Hear.[2] A ministry newsletter was started which came to be widely distributed to subscribers on a regular basis. These newsletters soon grew into a regular magazine with many of the articles becoming tracts.
On July 28, 1982, the day Keith died, Keith and Melody gathered together with people in the ministry, and during that time of ministry Keith announced, "God is going to raise up my wife! She is going to speak out against abortion - but that's not all." Melody continues to direct Last Days Ministries. Among the many subjects she ministers on as a speaker and writer, she also campaigns against abortion and has written on the subject including a tract entitled: Children...Things We Throw Away?
[edit] Post-Green
With Keith's unexpected death in 1982, Melody was devastated. However, with the support of friends, family and her immense faith in God, she bounced back to face life. She currently heads the Last Days Ministeries as President and CEO. She has spoken in a wide number of events all over the world. In 1991 she married Andrew Sievright.[3] She was also engaged to someone else before that. Green and Sievright divorced in 2000.[4]
Melody is also a writer and editor. With David Hazard, Melody authored a biography of Keith, No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green (Harvest House Publishers, 1989; revised and expanded in 2000; also on the Compact Disc version of The Ministry Years, Volume Two album). She also released excerpts of Keith's writings as books: Cry In The Wilderness (Sparrow, 1993), If You Love the Lord (Harvest House, 2000), and Make My Life a Prayer (Harvest House, 2001).
[edit] References
1. No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green (Harvest House Publishers, 1989; revised and expanded in 2000)
2. Last Days Ministeries - Melody's History
