Their paths crossed, perhaps just to make this one song. Was that true for two popular singers in the mid-1980s, by the names of Steve Camp and Carman Licciardello? They may have had something in common, as they thought about what to say in their collaborative project that they called “Revive Us, O Lord”. As is evident by what they wrote, they felt an emergency was ongoing, which in a physical analogy oftentimes means an ambulance (perhaps like this one shown here) is necessary to prevent death. The two men had come to a shared faith in separate walks from different directions, so expressing the same message says something about not only the congruence, but also the universal truth of what they wanted to say. What was it?
Steve Camp was 30 and Carman Licciardello was 29 in 1985, and can we infer from their words that these two, nearly the same age physically, also were closely aligned in their estimation of how Christendom was going here on planet Earth? Was it something in each of their personal journeys or rather something they sensed in the Christian world at large that caused them to cry out in their lyrics about betrayal, a need for repentance, and a divine renewal? Both Steve and Carman (his birth name was Carmelo) were musically talented from early ages, but their walks toward Christian faith were different. In childhood, Carman performed in his mother’s band and then moved on to his own shows as a teenager in Atlantic City casinos, before trying to take himself into the Las Vegas scene. So, at age 20, Carman was still searching for himself, and was in for a big change when a Christian music artist’s (Andrae Crouch) concert profoundly affected his outlook. He accepted the message he heard that night, though his musical career went on a five-year hiatus. In the same 20-year stretch of time, Steve Camp accepted Christ at age 5, and his early musical journey included mentorship by two men (Larry Norman and Keith Green) prior to beginning a professional music career by age 22. So, two different beginnings, but by their late 20s Steve and Carman were evidently on the same page. Where and how they met to collaborate is not known (at least, it’s not shared readily on websites, etc), but Camp and Licciardello agreed that something was amiss in their world. They admitted that they’d abandoned God, walked away from doing His work, and had strayed so far that they could no longer hear His voice nor feel energized by His resurrection (v.1). Were they dead? They must have thought so, because alive people don’t need revival! This was an urgent appeal, with Christians needing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and with not just one jolt of divine electrical stimulation. Steve and Carman vocalize ‘revive us’ no less than 11 times in their collective exclamation. Did God respond to their alarm bells?
From what they wrote Steve and Carman must have thought there was still some reason to hope, if only Christians would expose themselves to His prescription for healing. They expected God was still faithful and willing to call us His own (v.2). We could still be drawn by His own life’s revival, with His Spirit sparking our sense of fidelity (v.2). Finally, part of the healing process is humanity’s willingness to be cleansed, to admit we’re dirty (refrain). It may seem like a simple question, but Jesus once asked someone ‘Would you like to get well?’ (John 5:6) In our pandemic world today, some of us are asking others this same question, and wondering why the answer seems so elusive to them. To some with a spiritual disease, the same question might be asked. What better cure is there than Jesus?
See here for biography of one of the authors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carman_%28singer%29
Here’s a link to an obituary of one of the authors: Died: Carman, Christian Showman Who Topped Charts with Tri...... | News & Reporting | Christianity Today
See here for biography of one of the authors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Camp
See here for information on the album for the song by one of the authors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_God%27s_Own_Heart
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