Tomorrow (July 30) my lovely wife and I celebrate 25 years of marriage, so I hope you'll permit me a moment of personal reflection in her honor. You see, although I had been a Christian musician for many years, it was Carolyn who introduced me to modern worship music and opened my eyes to what worship could be.

Back then our church was doing "blended" worship, but to us, it felt like we were stuck in a style of worship that was great in the 1950's, but neither of us felt good about bringing our non-believing friends to church to hear hymn singing with organ accompaniment.

Carolyn was the youth pastor at our church for several years, and at youth leader conferences she was exposed to an emerging, contemporary style of worship that was exciting, engaging, and culturally relevant. It was the late 1990's, and she began bringing home CDs such as the Revival Generation albums, with artists like Delirious?, Matt Redman, and others, and she played them during her Quiet Times in the early mornings. Listening from my study in the next room, I heard songs that gradually awakened me to what worship could be, and with the help of a wise, older senior pastor who understood that our church needed to adjust to the times if we had any hope of communicating effectively with new generations, the vision of contemporary worship at our church became a reality in the late summer of 2000.

I began working with the worship team, and soon was leading the team. And many of those songs, which seem a bit dated now, almost ten years later, ended up in our early repertoire. I have been leading contemporary worship services ever since, and in a very real sense, I owe it to my beloved wife for helping me catch that vision.

Thanks for twenty-five great years, babe, and for your influence in my life and ministry. You're the best.

(Carolyn is our children's pastor now--you can check out her blog at http://carolynheacock@blogspot.com.)

My good friend Rick e-mailed me this week to tell me that Larry Norman has gone home. It was sad news, and I'll admit that my eyes are wet even as I write these words. But Larry's life had been full of physical suffering in these last few years, and it is a blessing to know that he is safe at home with Jesus now.

I first heard of Larry Norman shortly after graduating from high school in 1972; in those days "Pass it On" was about the most contemporary Christian music I knew (and I think I'll be fine if I never have to play "Pass it On" again). But Larry played rock 'n' roll music about Jesus. Songs like "Rock that Doesn't Roll" and "Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music" were radical in their day. Songs like "Why Don't You Look Into Jesus?" were shocking to some (go look up the lyrics to that one, and you'll see what I mean). But Larry's heart was completely sold out to Jesus, throughout his long career as a performing songwriter and as a music producer.

Two Larry Norman albums stand out for me: "Only Visiting This Planet," and "In Another Land." Some of the songs on "In Another Land" still give me chills, and sometimes tears, just thinking about them. Classic Norman songs like, "Six Sixty-Six" and "U.F.O." are quirky and even a little goofy at times, but there is truth in there that goes to the heart of being a follower of Jesus.

Larry could be weird at times, particularly in the latter part of his life, as his health was failing. The one time I saw him live (and I can't remember where or when), he had a hard time remembering his own lyrics, and was singing from hand-written notes that he kept getting mixed up. Even before his body started to fail him, he would sometimes start a song, get two lines in, and stop to preach for a while about something that struck him as he was singing. And he pulled no punches, even in his lyrics. He attacked hypocrisy with a prophet's boldness, and sang candidly of his own pain and failure.

Consider this excerpt from his song, "Great American Novel:"

You kill a black man at midnight
Just for talking to your daughter
Then you make his wife your mistress
And you leave her without water
And the sheet you wear upon your face
Is the sheet your children sleep on
At every meal you say a prayer
You don't believe but still you keep on
And your money says in God we trust
But it's against the law to pray in school
You say we beat the Russians to the moon
And i say you starved your children to do it

Larry's song, "Hymn to the Last Generation" is only four lines long, but his recording of it on "In Another Land" still moves me to worship, every single time I hear it.

There are videos of some of Larry's performances on YouTube, but most of the ones I've seen don't do justice to his songwriting brilliance--go get some of his classic recordings and listen for yourself.

I'm a huge fan of Bob Dylan--I'd be surprised if I was the first one to observe that Larry Norman did for the Jesus Movement of the '70's what Bob Dylan did for the folk movement of the '60's. Many of his songs, like Dylan's still hold up after all these years.

Thanks, Larry, for all you did for young Christians like me at a time when you were one of the only ones out there finding ways to speak God's truth into a culture that was rapidly changing. Thank you for the great songs, for passionately loving Jesus. To quote one of your own lyrics, "I hope I'll see you in Heaven." Enjoy your rest in Jesus, old friend.

For a good look at Larry's discography, lyrics, and other information about Larry Norman, check out his site at OnlyVisiting.com.