The Music He Gave Away

In 1979, Christian musician Keith Green made a decision that baffled the music industry. At the height of his popularity, with albums climbing the charts and concert halls filling to capacity, Green announced he would no longer charge for his music. Albums would be sent to anyone who requested them — free of charge, no questions asked. "You don't sell the gospel," he insisted.

His record label thought he was foolish. Financial advisors warned him he would go bankrupt. But Green believed that if the message of Christ was worth singing, it was worth sacrificing for. He and his wife Melody opened their home to dozens of people at a time, feeding and housing anyone in need. Every royalty check, every concert offering went back into the ministry.

Green died in a plane crash in 1982 at just twenty-eight years old, but not before he had given away hundreds of thousands of albums and reshaped how an entire generation thought about generosity.

His life echoes what the apostle Paul wrote: "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls" (2 Corinthians 12:15). Sacrifice is not simply what we hand over reluctantly. True sacrifice looks like open hands and an emptied wallet and a life poured out — not because we have to, but because the love of the Almighty leaves us no other reasonable response.

What would it look like if we stopped calculating the cost and started giving as though the gospel were actually free?