Old Enough To Know

Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) became such an important part of my ministry later on that is it difficult to remember that there was a time when I was totally unimpressed by the genre.  My introduction to Amy Grant, who was CCM in the late '70's and early 80's, was through my friend Sandra (Punky) Payne  (Punky was also Dopey, one of my 7 Dwarfs during my senior year in high school.  That's a story I need to flashback to at some point...).  She and Sabrina (Sis) Perry made me listen to Amy and another singer named Evie, and to me both of them seemed like they were singing Jesus Loves Me with electric guitars.  Punky and I even sang an Amy song as a duet at a wedding, but that still didn't light my fire for the music.  In 1983 Michael W. Smith came along and had a hugely popular song called Friends.  It was performed at almost every graduation and by every youth choir for a 5 year period (or so it seemed!).  Other than those brief instances and the few artists I had heard at the National Youth Workers Convention in 1982, I knew very little about CCM when I arrived at Springfield in 1987.

Several things happened to change that.  TNT was underway, and I was desperately searching for door prizes to give away each week.  I attended the NYWC in Atlanta that November and heard lots of good music I had not been exposed to before.  While there, I purchased a new curriculum called Old Enough to Know, based on The Big Picture album from M.W. Smith.  A copy of the cassette tape came with the book.  The music was fun and stuff I thought our youth might enjoy.  The lyrics spoke to the teenage condition.  We used some of the lessons, and they went over well, as did the songs that accompanied them.  I decided that tape would make a good door prize for TNT.  In those days, there was only one place to buy CCM, and that was at Christian bookstores.  I went to our local store and found they did not have any copies of The Big Picture, but they had another project called The Live Set with many of the same songs performed live.  I got a couple to give away- and I was blown away!  These were serious musicians who were rocking the house with some great songs.  My favorite was Old Enough to Know, which talked about the sexual pressures on teens.  I have included the original live video below. The song is great, but it's worth watching just for the 80's hair and clothing! 

Eventually most everyone who was a regular at TNT won a copy of that tape.  Michael went on to become an icon of Christian music who is still doing it today.  His next tape, Eye 2 Eye, was one of two 1988 releases that changed the way I listened to music completely.  Other CCM prizes followed, and the music became a part of my ministry.  Over the coming months I will feature other artists and albums that had an impact on us, as well as some life-changing concert events.  I thank God for the many artists who have inspired me and the students I served over the years, and for their faithfulness in singing for God.  Enjoy the music!