Steve Green (b. August 1, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a Contemporary Chris… Read Full Bio ↴Steve Green (b. August 1, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a Contemporary Christian music singer notable for his vocal range (tenor 3) and flexible solo style. Over his twenty year career, Green has been honored as a four-time Grammy Award nominee, six-time Dove Award winner, has had 13 No. 1 songs, and has sold over three million albums.

Career

Green was born in Portland, Oregon to missionary parents, Charles and Jo Green. He is one of six siblings who spent much of his early life in Argentina. He studied Music at Grand Canyon University, graduating in 1976. He originally broke into Christian music with the Mobile, Alabama based youth worship group Truth. He also sang backup vocals and played bass with Sandi Patti, White Heart and the Gaither Vocal Band. In 1982, he joined the Christian rock band White Heart as a vocalist. But a difference in ministry vision accompanied by a confrontation with his brother, Randy, led to a spiritual renewal in Steve's life in 1983. He signed a solo contract with Sparrow Records, and his self-titled debut album appeared in 1984. In the same year, he established Steve Green Ministries.

His break out year came in 1985 with the release of He Holds The Keys. The album garnered Green a nomination and win as Male Vocalist of the Year in the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) category. The following year, 1986, saw the release of two recordings, "For God And God Alone," and a high church style worship album entitled "A Mighty Fortress." The following year saw the release of his first Christmas recording, "Joy To The World." In early 1988, he released an album dedicated to his parents called "Find Us Faithful." As the 1980s came to an end, many of Green's songs became recognized standards including "People Need The Lord" and "Broken And Spilled Out." He was often considered the male version of Sandi Patti, using many of the same songwriters and styles as well as the traditional ending the song on a (literal) high note. Green also contributed background vocals to Patti's 1986 hit, "Let There Be Praise."

Green was one of the first artists to be involved with Promise Keepers, performing at their inaugural event at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado in July 1993 before 50,000 men. His song "Answer The Call" was inspired by the event and another song, "O Men of God Arise," embodies the Promise Keeper mentality.

Green recorded "The Mission" in 1989 and continued his success with "We Believe" in 1991. As the early 1990s direction of Christian music changed to a more rock oriented format, Green returned to traditional roots by releasing an album of hymns in 1992. Yet Green switched styles in 1994 on his "Where Mercy Begins" album. He also received the first of two career boosts due to outside events.

On September 9, 1994, a US Air jet crashed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing all aboard. One passenger was an up and coming Christian singer named Kirk Lynn. Lynn has just recorded Green's song "As We Sail To Heaven's Shore" from the 1988 "Find Us Faithful" album. Only a rough cut played at the memorial service for the passengers, grieving family members were told where to find the original song by Green, which boosted album sales for the older recording.

Green's style change continued on his 1996 recording, "The Letter." He was also instrumental in attempting to set up an accountability group for Christian artists following the adultery scandals of Michael English, Marabeth Jordan, and Sandi Patty as well as the Mike Warnke debacle. He was helped in this endeavor by Steve Camp, Wes King, and Michael W. Smith. That year also saw the release of his second Christmas album, "The First Noel."

Green changed focus again in 1998 by declaring he would only record songs that honor the Lord - songs that he could be satisfied with should it be his last recording. That year saw the release of "The Faithful" and 2000 saw the release of a devotional song album entitled "Morning Light." Two years later Green released "Woven In Time" and again found himself receiving a career boost.

Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

Green was a personal friend of Space Shuttle Columbia commander Rick Husband, who was killed along with six others in the February 2003 disintegration during reentry. Green was interviewed by CNN and his song "God Of Wonders" got a boost from the unexpected publicity. He released another album in 2005.

Green's sister is married to Dr. Mark Bailey, president of the evangelical Dallas Theological Seminary, and he helped the seminary celebrate its eightieth anniversary in April 2004. He has also written a thirty day devotional titled, "The Power of the Cross" and has recorded numerous children's videos and songs.

His bilingual abilities have seen the release of two Spanish CDs in the United States.

He is married to Marijean Green, who has testified to her own struggle with bulimia and they have two children, Summer (b. 1984) and Josiah (b. 1986).

Green has expanded his musical ministry to include videos and James Dobson's Focus on the Family.

He Holds the Keys
Steve Green Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Death rides blackened clouds across the sky
The Son of man lays down to die
With every pounding blow upon the nail
Thunder rumbles all through hell
And from death's barren womb the captives cry
Who is there to free us should He die

His grave becomes a door, He enters in

To face the author of all sin
Defying death and the grave He takes their keys
And with them every captive frees
And from death's barren womb the captives cry
Arise for our redemption draweth nigh

Chorus:
For He holds the keys
He holds the keys
And though we've been held captive
At long last we are free
For He holds the keys

Against the gates of hell I now resist
For the shackles that had torn my wrists
Lay before me now upon the ground
To sin I am no longer bound
For from death's barren womb
He heard my cry
And loosed the chains that bound me to a lie

Chorus

And to all the things that have kept you away
That keep you defeated day after day after day
The heartache that nobody sees
That eats at your soul like a cruel disease
He who set the captives free
It is He, it is He who holds your keys

Chorus
He holds the keys

Overall Meaning

In Steve Green's song "He Holds the Keys," the lyrics paint a picture of Jesus taking on death and defying it with His resurrection. The first verse describes the scene of Jesus being nailed to the cross and the thunder rumbling throughout hell. The lyrics go on to describe the victory He achieved through His death and resurrection when he takes on the author of all sin, freeing every captive and rendering death powerless.

The chorus boldly and triumphantly proclaims, "For He holds the keys, He holds the keys, And though we've been held captive, At long last we are free, For He holds the keys," referring to the keys to death and the grave that Jesus conquered through His death and resurrection. And in the second verse, the lyrics invite the listener to resist the gates of hell in the same way, as the chorus repeats the refrain that Jesus holds the keys, freeing us from the shackles of sin and death.

This powerful and emotional song is a reminder of the victory that Jesus Christ achieved through His death and resurrection, and how it can have a personal impact on the lives of those who choose to follow Him.

Line by Line Meaning

Death rides blackened clouds across the sky
Death is looming and represented by dark clouds in the sky.

The Son of man lays down to die
Jesus, the Son of God, willingly dies for humanity.

With every pounding blow upon the nail
The physical pain that Jesus suffers during his crucifixion.

Thunder rumbles all through hell
Symbolizes that even hell is aware of Jesus’ death and what it means.

And from death's barren womb the captives cry
The captives of death– those who were bound to it by sin, cry out for salvation.

Who is there to free us should He die
If Jesus dies who will free us from death and sin?

His grave becomes a door, He enters in
Jesus enters into the grave, but it is not the final resting place. Instead, it becomes a way for Him to enter back into life and redemption.

To face the author of all sin
Jesus confronts the source of evil and sin- Satan.

Defying death and the grave He takes their keys
Jesus defeats death and takes control of life and death.

And with them every captive frees
Jesus frees all those who were once held captive by sin and death.

Arise for our redemption draweth nigh
Through Jesus' resurrection, redemption and freedom is near.

For He holds the keys
Jesus has complete control and power over life and death.

Against the gates of hell I now resist
The author is resisting and fighting against sin and evil represented by the gates of hell.

For the shackles that had torn my wrists
The chains of sin that once controlled the author's life.

Lay before me now upon the ground
The chains of sin have been broken and cannot hold the author anymore.

To sin I am no longer bound
The author is now free from sin.

And from death's barren womb He heard my cry
Jesus hears the author's cry for redemption and sets them free.

And loosed the chains that bound me to a lie
Jesus breaks the chains of sin that once kept the author captive and frees them from the false narrative that sin provides.

And to all the things that have kept you away
The author speaks to anything that has kept others from experiencing redemption and freedom.

That keep you defeated day after day after day
The author acknowledges how these things can defeat and hold people back in their daily life.

The heartache that nobody sees
The author identifies a pain that others may be experiencing that is hidden from others.

That eats at your soul like a cruel disease
This pain has a negative impact on the soul and is debilitating.

He who set the captives free
Jesus is the one who sets people free from sin and death.

It is He, it is He who holds your keys
Jesus has control over all aspects of life and death.

He holds the keys
Jesus has the power to set people free from their chains of sin and death.

Contributed by Liliana J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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