CCM Magazine - Rewind

The 2nd Chapter of Acts

       by Devlin Donaldson

  
CCM magazine introduces a new column, Rewind, and welcomes Contributing Editor Devlin Donaldson, who will track down those gone but not forgotten artists from the past days of Christian music. Look for more Christian and gospel music history pieces in coming months.

The vocal trio known as 2^nd Chapter of Acts made an indelible mark on the emerging Christian music genre of the early ‘70s and in the minds of many people caught up in the sounds of the Jesus Movement, planting seeds that have led to many worship trends that now encompasses the church. And it wasn't just this group's music that contributed to the fascination as it was comprised of two sisters and a brother who began performing when two of the members were just 13 and 15.

Elder sister Annie Herring took in her younger brother and sister, Matthew Ward and Nelly (Ward) Greisen when they were orphaned. Their mother died in 1968, and their father followed soon after in 1970. The family needed healing, including Annie who not only lost her parents but had become an instant mother to her siblings. "Annie had just learned to play piano, and we sang,and there was real healing in that worship," says Nelly. "The ministry was between God and the three of us." That soon led to more singing opportunities, and the group recorded for the first time in 1973. Those first sessions yielded songs for MGM, including "Jesus Is" and "I'm So Happy."

From there the history is well known. Their landmark first album,...with footnotes (1974), contained the signature hit, "Easter's Song," featuring bassist Michael Been who went on to form The Call. The siblings continued releasing albums like In the Volume of the Book (1975), Mansion Builder (1978), Roar of Love (a 1980 so-called concept album based on the C.S. Lewis classic The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) through their last release Hymns 2 (1988).

The group, feeling that God was calling them individually to other things, dissolved in 1988. Annie continued writing and recording songs for her own music ministry, visiting 50-60 churches a year around the country. "It's good. They're fun, and I am having the time of my life," says Annie. "For me personally, it's a thrill. [My husband] Buck and I are having fun but more than that, we are seeing God moving in really wonderful places. Now I am able to go to any church that has a sound system. For me, the whole key to ministry is that if you bring people into the presence of God their lives will be changed. And that is our purpose."

Still based in Lindale, Texas, she also continues to record. "I have done four solo records, and I am almost done with my fifth one," Annie offers. "The fourth was called All That I Am (1993). This new record is called Glimpses , and it is probably coming out in May with a devotional book from Bethany House. I wrote all of the devotionals."

Matthew Ward, too, has remained based in Lindale, Texas where he lives with his wife Deanna and their three girls, Megin, Morgan, and Maddie. Matthew began his solo career years before the group ended with Toward Eternity, and he has continued to record and perform. "I have done five solo albums; three since the group ended," states Matthew, the last being Point of View on Benson (1992).

Nelly Greisen and her husband Steve moved in 1983 from Lindale to Colorado Springs where they raise their two teenage sons, Andrew, 16, and Jesse, 13. As for performing, Nelly, unlike her siblings, hasn't embarked into a music ministry. "I really don't want to be a solo artist," confesses Greisen. "That has never been a thing for me. I really love to sing. I have done some worship things, and I love doing that. My life is supporting Steve in his video business, and it's all different. I am not even aware of music."

And so ends the career of 2^nd Chapter of Acts? Not really. In December 1994, for the first time since they split in 1988, the group performed together again at a church outside Seattle, even singing some songs live for the first time ever. Amazingly enough, the threesome didn't even rehearse together but worked on their parts separately and then performed. The result? "Buck turned on the tape, and we started singing" remembers Annie. "And we started crying because it was there. There is just something about the 2^nd Chapter of Acts' identity both musically and spiritually that is its own identity. It's not something you strive for."

"It wasn't five seconds until it just clicked," Nelly added. "It was like we had never stopped singing together. It was good because even as I was there enjoying the experience, I knew it was a ‘done deal.' I saw that all of us had changed and gone in different directions."

And Matthew's recollection? "It was strange standing there with the two of them singing again. It was magical. People loved it." The season for 2^nd Chapter of Acts seems to have passed, but their music and their legacy lives on. Is it because of the many tours they undertook? Was it because of the many great musicians and producers that worked with the band at many times (including Phil Keaggy, Barry McGuire, Michael Omartian, Lee Sklar, Joe Osbourne, Jay Graydon, and Richard Souther, not to mention Been and other members of The Call)? No, they live for one reason best stated by Matthew Ward: "Mostly because of Annie's heart and what the Lord placed in her, the 2^nd Chapter's music has endured. She will tell you she is not a songwriter, she is a song receiver. She feels like the songs she gets are really from the Lord to her or through her for people. I think that is the reason you can listen to them. They still do something to your heart."