Magazine Quotes

"If Larry Norman is to be called the father of Christian Rock, then Marsha Stevens certainly deserves to be known as the mother of contemporary Christian music, a title that Christian Century and others have bestowed upon her. She was the leader of what is considered to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group, Children of the Day, and she has continued as a solo artist to produce albums of worship-oriented and edifying adult contemporary pop. As such, she remains the progenitor of what, by 2002, would become the single most popular genre in the contemporary Christian music market." - Excerpt from "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music", Sept. 2002

Reviews

"The Mother of Contemporoary Christian Music continues to capture hearts for Jesus. Argue interpretations of Scripture and debate the ethics and origins of homosexuality all you want - no one with sensitivity to things of the Spirit can deny God is using Marsha Stevens to bring the love and mercy of Christ to people whom God apparently has not forgotten."
Dr. Mark Allen Powell, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary
Author of "An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music"

"...very powerful and moving...a song for every one of us." Pam Smith, Amazon Radio

"If Marsha Stevens is the house band in heaven, even I'll be good." Will Grega, Gay Music Guide

"Spectacular & Spirit-filled as usual..." Rev. Troy Perry, Founder of Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

"Refreshing and original alternative in women's music!" Kelly Conway, Dykes on Mykes

"I've long had a great appreciation for your musical genius, but what warmth and wit...we were deeply moved." Rev. Michael Piazza, Cathedral of Hope, Dallas, Texas

"Marsha, I admire you as a singer and songwriter...you tell your story with a combination of focus, warmth, intelligence, social concern, deep faith and humor." Bob Crocker, The Hymnal Project San Francisco

"In times when I was spiritually low, your music has helped me get close to God again." Sam Hammack, Excel International

"When are you going to write a song for me?" Tata Vega, singer "The Color Purple"

"The most unique person in all of MCC!" Rev. Jimmy Brock

"Of all the things that live on after us, Marsha's music may best be described all that we tried to do and be for our community." Rev. Nancy Wilson, Author of "Our Tribe"

Bio

Maybe you know Marsha Stevens because she wrote a song you love, or because she came to your church to do a concert. But since September of 2002, the right-wing Christians have been re-introduced to Marsha by "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music."

{She was the leader of what is considered to be the world's first contemporary Christian music group, Children of the Day, and she has continued as a solo artist to produce albums of worship-oriented and edifying adult contemporary pop. As such, she remains the progenitor of what, by 2002, would become the single most popular genre in the contemporary Christian music market. A pioneer of pioneers, Stevens would be one of the only artists from the early Jesus movement to be still recording and touring fulltime at the end of the millennium. And yet - she would remain virtually unknown to potential fans of her music, ostracized by an industry whose limits of ecumenicity had been tried and found wanting. The story of Marsha Stevens in may ways parallels the story of the Jesus movement itself. Whether the Jesus movement of the 1970's morphed into the Religious Right of the 80's or was killed by it is a matter of historical perspective.

Born Marsha Carter, the talented performer wrote what would become Children of the Day's classic hit, "For Those Tears I Died (Come to the Water)" when she was just sixteen. One of the most popular songs of the Jesus movement, "For Those Tears I Died" is a moving testimony to God's saving grace, replete with images of baptism and liberation…the song was featured on what was destined to become the most important Christian music album of all time, Maranatha's The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert, the record that put the Jesus movement revival into high gear, spreading its influence from Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa throughout the country and beyond. "For Those Tears I Died" became one of the best known Christian folk songs of the decade. It would be translated into numerous languages, recorded by countless artists and, for a time, could be found in practically every evangelical songbook in the country. No one in 1969 could have predicted it would have such influence in the decade ahead - much less that, for two decades beyond, Christian congregations would be ripping the song out of their hymnals, systematically binding up the pages and mailing them off to Stevens as a symbol of the hostility they felt toward one who continued to love Jesus and sing His praises when they thought she was no longer entitled to do so…

Stevens became the first (and as of 2002, the only) major singer in the contemporary Christian music subculture to identify herself publicly as a lesbian…Christian Century Magazine has said that Stevens became "conservative Christianity's worst nightmare - a Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, God-fearing lesbian Christian."

For her part, Marsha does not betray a shred of bitterness toward any of those who have opposed her and she does not seem to resent her exclusion from the contemporary music culture. She speaks tenderly of her former colleagues and respectfully of the leaders at…churches that have dismissed or denounced her…And she has found her calling, "Does the church really need another middle-aged female Christian singer? Check out the CD racks! I write and sing contemporary Christian music for the glbt community. It may be a narrow field, but hey, it's wide open!"}

Today, Marsha and her spouse, Cindy, are working between tours to continue their music ministry training school for those in Christian outreach to the GLBT community. An outreach of Balm Ministries (Born Again Lesbian Music), the program is called upBeat!. They have produced a Praise and Worship album with 14 singers and 10 songwriters and each year they accept 6 to 10 students into their training seminars. The next training will be held at King of Peace MCC in St. Petersburg, FL in June of 2006.

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