Recognizing Larry Norman's Contribution to the Body of Christ

For those that aren't yet aware, Larry Norman, often called the father of Christian Rock, went to be with Jesus at 2:45 am on Sunday February 24th. We were privileged to participate in a couple benefits designed to help raise money for Larry's medical expenses. He was a blessing to so many!

Following is a post that I left on the http://www.larrynorman.com message board:

I hope these words are a blessing to you...

It has been my privilege and honor to communicate with 
Larry via email and play a small part in some benefit 
concerts to raise money for his medical expenses.  My 
heart is broken for those closest to Larry: Charles, 
Kristin and all the rest of the Solid Rock family.  
Knowing he is with Jesus is wonderful and exciting, but 
it is not the same as hugging him and laughing with him.

Charles, I hope you know how amazingly proud Larry was 
of you.  We did some interacting over the production of 
a CD for my band, and he absolutely refused to have it 
done without you being part of it.  His trust and respect 
for you was so huge...

Kristin, how sweet, supportive and humble you have been 
as you have taken on all the tasks assigned to you in 
the Solid Rock world.  Your open heart and sweet voice 
on the phone, in the midst of all the turmoil, excitement 
and trials of handling the interactions and dealing with 
the pain of Larry's illness has been a great example to
me.  Feel God's blessings on you, for I am sure He is 
actively pouring them out.

There are a lot of others much closer than I ever was to 
Larry, but I hope that we all take the time to recognize 
the contributions that God made to the body of Christ 
through Larry.  Would there even be a such thing as Integrity 
music or Hillsong, if Larry and the pioneers in his wake 
hadn't refused to knuckle under to pressure from the church 
and the record business?  Today many churches feed many 
sheep that would never have darkened the door of a church 
if they were gonna be made slaves to the fifties cultural 
church norms that continue in some churches to this day?

We now have freedom to worship God using exciting and 
passionate music and to reach out to souls in the language 
that souls understand.  I know when I started playing Jesus 
Music in churches in the 70's, it was a challenge because 
God used instruments, tempos and styles that were "of the 
devil" to many folks.  Because of the groundwork laid by 
Larry and continued by others, many churches now use those 
same instruments, tempos and styles to worship and glorify 
God. Already every Blud Bros concert ends with our anthem 
"Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?"  From this 
day forward, at the end of each performance, that song will 
be verbally dedicated to it's author, who has now heard those 
treasured words "Well done, good and faithful servant".

God has blessed us through you Larry, and now you are enjoying 
His blessings in a way we can only imagine.

Thank You Sir

Large Al
www.bludbros.com

Blud Bros Blog Begins

Hello friends of the Blud Bros..

Large Al reporting for duty here. Welcome to another new aspect of the Blud Bros updated worldwide web home. We are glad you took a moment to read this. We hope you are blessed by your interaction with the Blud Bros and our ministry.

If you have poked around our new site very much you will have already found out what we're about and why we do what we do. In Matthew 25 it states:

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’" Then the righteous answered, "When?" (Large Al paraphrased version) Jesus responded, "When you did it for the least of these, you did it for me".

So we are a Christian Blues band with a gospel / classic rock edge that goes to prisons and rehab centers and other places where most bands don't choose to go, and we don't charge for our performances. The reasoning is simple. Multiple choice tests are way easier than essay tests. It is really wonderful that we can follow specific instructions laid out by Jesus and know we are pleasing Him. In the other parts of our individual lives we are investing in the lives of others. Roscoe, Dan and I serve on various worship teams. Bob and Randy are very active in the ministries of their respective churches. Rich counsels folks who are trapped in the prison of substance abuse.

All of us know that serving God is the only sensible thing to do while we are visiting this planet, because our life on earth is a tiny short chapter leading toward an eternity of Joy with God, or torment without Him. Serving people in the way Jesus did, with the power Jesus gives us, is one way we are allowed to express our love to Him. He deserves our complete unselfish devotion. He has earned it even though He had no need to earn it. We need Him, He doesn't need us. He loved us long before we even knew Him. Our God deserves praise, honor, glory and worship at all times in all things.

I hope you can be blessed by getting to know Him better. I hope this little contribution of ours is an encouragement to your life. Jesus loved you and I so much that He chose to die in our place, so we could live in fellowship with Him for eternity. Is there anything in this life that compares to that? I don't think so.

Much Love and Grace to you

Large Al