Welcome to Paradise, Randy Stonehill

When I fully surrendered my heart to Jesus back in April of 1975, there was not a whole lot of what we call today contemporary Christian music to choose from. Now don’t get me wrong, I was new to the hymns and I immediately fell in love with them. I was drawn to the power of the lyrics used by the saints of old that both expressed perfectly my new love for the Lord and also helped me understand the richness of the theology behind my salvation. Do any of you remember this sacred classic that’s chorus goes something like this? “Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus–Deeper than the mighty rolling sea–Higher than the mountains–Sparkling like a fountain¬–All sufficient grace for even me–Broader than the scope of my transgressions–Greater far than all my sin and shame–O magnify the precious name of Jesus–Praise his name!”
Even while I was becoming acquainted with a whole new catalogue of psalms and spiritual gems, I was still longing to express my faith via the music of my generation. You see, I was born with a transistor radio in my hand and have been keeping the tunes turned up loud as my constant companion all along the way of these 54 years of my journey. So it was in the ’70’s that I got introduced to a whole new genre that what was being defined as “Jesus Rock.”
I began buying the records from artists like Larry Norman, Love Song, B.J. Thomas, Second Chapter of Acts, Keith Green, Phil Keaggy and a guy named Randy Stonehill. As a matter of fact, Randy’s lyrics felt like they were expressing the very cries of my yearning heart that was longing to grow in my newfound faith.
I gobbled up Randy Stonehill’s 1976 classic recording “Welcome to Paradise.” I played it on my GE Wildcat Turntable over and over again. Here are some of the lyrics from the track called Puppet Strings.—“I can’t keep from mourning for this topsy-turvy world–With all its strife and pain-Mourning for the lost and the desperate children–Who can’t remember their names. And I can feel it in my soul–Now the end is getting near–I can hear the devil laughing–And it’s ringing in my ears. We are all like foolish puppets who desire to be kings–Now lie pitifully crippled after cutting our own strings.”
Randy and these other very gifted and anointed singers and songwriters were taking the timeless good news of the Bible and just repackaging it within the notes of our culture and a whole new population of teens were grasping that Jesus is the rock and he rolled our blues away! Why should the devil have all the good music anyway?
Randy Stonehill, one of these legendary Jesus people who helped mold my passion to become a lifelong follower and preacher of the faith, will be our very special guest this coming weekend at The Lighthouse Church. Randy will be in concert this Saturday night, Oct. 26 at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday morning Oct. 27 at 9:00 and 10:45 a.m. These presentations are open to everyone within the sound of my voice and a free will love offering for Randy will be taken.
I invite you to come and be challenged. If you are seeking something–come and be inspired. It will be a true celebration of a story in music that I believe will impact your own tale and soundtrack. Randy will have you laughing one minute and thinking reflectively and deeply from your heart the next. You will feel like you have known him forever in a matter of minutes. His music is infectious. His sense of humor is contagious. His life is definitely worthy of your attention. Randy was there when Keith Green came to know Jesus. Randy was there when Bob Dylan opened his heart to God in Larry Norman’s kitchen. It is my hope that you will be there when Randy is here this weekend.
40 years after the release of his first album in 1971 entitled “Born Twice,” and 30 years after writing a remarkable song called “Turning Thirty,” Randy Stonehill has done a very remarkable thing for a music artist. He is alive and well and creative and still at it and I can’t believe he is coming to be with us! The man who authored the classic sing along, “Shut De Do,” and made us laugh as we listened to “American Fast Food” is still celebrating each heartbeat as if it just might be his last. “Your Love Broke Through” was one of his first songs and “Spirit Walk” is one of his latest and I want you to join me in the singing at the music that matters and the melodies that will give us exactly what we need to not just get by–but to set our own symphonies of service at the highest level of excellence that we can muster to offer our worship to the King of Glory!
If you need more information, you can check out The Lighthouse Church website at www.tlccma.org or call us at 609-465-6690. You can also learn more about Randy Stonehill at his website www.randystonehill.com. I hope to see you this weekend. I will be the one with the body of a guy in his mid-50’s but the heart of a teen who is still head over heels in love with his Jesus!