Since I was introduced to Christian music by a girl from high school back in the mid 1980’s, I have been exposed to various artists. While I am teased by close friends because of my unique collection of unknown musicians, I have been spiritual nourished by almost every cassette tapes and CD that God has allowed me to purchase. One of my favorite artists of all time is Benny Hester, a famous yet fallen singer.
Back in the 1980’s, Benny Hester was well on his way to reaching Michael W. Smith like celebrity status. With number one songs like When God Ran, Perfect, and You Weren’t Meant to Live Your Life Alone Benny was the Stephen Curtis Chapman of the 1980’s. Benny was able to write songs relevant to the times with a biblical message. One of Benny’s few mistakes was getting divorced during an era when Christians weren’t allowed are suppose to do such a thing.
The consequence of Benny’s action was being excommunicated from nearly every Christian bookstore in the nation. While only 3 out of 10 Christians ever enter a Christian bookstore, those who attempted to find one of Benny’s half dozen CD’s often went home empty handed. Ten years later, Michael English followed in Benny’s footsteps, having an affair during a tour. Although Michael came clean immediately, his wife divorced him, leading to several Christian retail chains to remove his albums from their stores. If only these Christian companies could have been present in John 8:1-11, maybe then they would have dropped their stones, forgiven these 2 men and welcomed their music in their stores. Although the fame of Benny Hester and Michael English vanished over night, God has forgiven them, but not forgotten their talents.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 