Charisma Magazine
Article: Closing the Book -- December 1988
By Angela Kiesling
Contemporary
Christian music's premier group calls it quits. But that doesn't mean the last
chapter has been written.
The sleek, white cruise chip
docked in
In late spring of 1988, the
2nd Chapter of Acts announced that "a fresh wind of change" was
blowing for the group. This meant their on-the-road ministry would soon end.
But the word was quickly buzzing that perhaps even more than the concert
ministry was coming to a close.
An obvious question would
seem to be: Why would they abruptly end their singing ministry on the heels of
two very successful Hymns albums and at the peak of their popularity? In
response they simply glance at each other, then reply, "This is what we
feel God wants us to do."
Right. You're tempted to
say. Call it quits. Just like that. But then you remember their remarkable
history…
The awe-inspiring story of
Annie, Nelly and Matthew Ward dares to be told in superlatives. It is the story
of God choosing and using three unlikely-indeed, rather simple-people in a
powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit that has turned lives upside down,
beginning with their own.
The Ward family was a big,
happy clan. Growing up on a farm in
Music had always been a part
of family life, and at the tender age of 5, Annie joined her two older sisters
in a singing group called the Ward Sisters. Farm co-op meeting and sprawling
country picnics were their platforms. The girls would belt out "How Much
Is That Doggie In The Window" while mother played the piano.
In the early 1960s Walter
and Elizabeth Ward moved their brood to
Her mother's death sent
Annie searching for answers. She dabbled in drugs, Eastern mysticism and
"self-realization", but answers eluded her.
"I just hurt so much on
the inside that I needed something take away the pain," she remembers, her
deep brown eyes reflecting her gentle nature.
Two years later, tragedy
struck again-Walter Ward died of leukemia. Of the four younger children still
at home, two went to live with an older brother; the other two, Nelly, then 14,
and Matthew, then 12-moved in with 24-year-old Annie and her husband, Buck.
"I think we were both
numb," says Matthew, whose most striking feature is his shock of long
blonde hair. "We were numb to everything that was happening. We just
buried Dad and it really didn't matter after that. OK, we'll move. Fine, that
sounds good-you know? It really didn't make any difference where we moved at
that point."
To make matters worse, the
two hardly knew their older sister. Annie had moved out while they were still
quite young. And Buck, their new father-figure, was a complete stranger.
Adjustments were required of everyone, and often their eyes would meet over the
supper table in awkward silence. Then the miracle of music entered the
household.
Day after day, Annie would
sit at the piano and gaze at the yellowed keys beneath her hands. Nearly half
the ivories the old upright were missing, but to her it was a beautiful piano
nonetheless.
"Brother Bear", as
the piano had been dubbed, had been a gift from Buck their first year of
marriage. As a little girl, Annie had always yearned for piano lessons, but in
a large family money couldn't be wasted on such things. For weeks after the
piano arrived she simply sat on the swivel stool, staring. Later, she summoned
the courage to move her fingers cautiously over the keys, playing simple chords
and familiar melodies.
One day Annie sat silently
before the piano, almost reverently as if she were asking God to help her play.
Buck was at work; Nelly and Matthew were still at school. Annie spread her
fingers in chord-fashion across the keyboard and began picking out a tune. She
allowed the Lord to inspire her. Her hands were creating a melody, and it sounded
right!
The words were next. At her
protest that "I can't write lyrics!" Buck had told her not to think
of it that way. "Just think of it as expressing your heart, sort of like
praying at the piano," he had gently urged. And that simple advice was the
start of Annie expressing herself ever so intimately to God with words and
song. On many days afterward, Annie would smile at the familiar slap of the
screen door as Nelly and Matthew arrived home from school. Pulling up two
rocking chairs around "Brother Bear", the three of them sang as in
the old days when Mother was still alive. Only now, the music had a new
yearning in it.
"We were singing to the
Lord" says Matthew, his eyes capturing the intensity of that long ago
time, "and it was a way of releasing our pain. We had gone through
something tragic but we knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It was
more of a rejoicing in the Lord, a healing process, because we were moving out
of a real dark time into the brightness."
"I think it was one of
the most enjoyable things in my life," says Annie, nodding in agreement
with her brother. "The Lord would give me a song right there on the spot.
And now, looking back, I can see how the Holy Spirit healed my heart and was
healing their hearts-touching them, mending them and drawing us together to
become what He wanted us to be-all through the music He gave during those
special times at the piano."
Indeed, those spontaneous
sing-alongs were the genesis of what is today known as the 2nd Chapter of
Acts-a family trio marked by tight harmonies and a powerful anointing. But to
the three gathered in the living room after school hours, what was happening
was just an extension of their private lives, a spiritual catharsis for their
suffering.
It was during one such singing
session that Nelly says the Lord revealed to them His purpose for their lives.
"He said we were like
three small streams, and when we came together we would be a river. God
promised He would use that river to go through people's hearts and through their
lives. In the same way rushing water uproots things, cleans things out and
opens things up, He 
promised to use us. And that's exactly what He has
done."
Buck and Annie led a prayer
group in their home during the early ‘70s. This group of family and friends
became the first audience for Annie, Nelly and Matthew, who were extremely shy
about performing.
"We would sing and
people would say, ‘You should come over to our church' or "We have a
coffee house ministry and we would love for you to come and sing,' says Annie.
"But our answer would be, ‘No thanks, we don't want to sing in front of
anybody. This is our little thing and we want it to stay that way.'"
However, it became
increasingly difficult to quell the stirring inside each of them that this was
what God wanted them to do.
"We were scared to
death," laughs Matthew. "We were sure God had made His first
mistake!"
Finally persuaded to mount a
makeshift stage at a Christian coffee house, they simply sang their
songs-avoiding as much as possible the eyes of the 30 or 40 people in the room.
But God wouldn't let them
off the hook so easily. Other such engagements came up, and they reluctantly
performed again and again on the local concert circuit. Whenever asked, they
sang solos at the church the attended at the time. Tom Hollingsworth, who was
their choir director at First Assembly of God,
Church services and coffee
houses were their stage-until Barry McGuire showed up.
The big, bearded musician,
who had recorded the hit "Eve of Destruction" in the late ‘60s, had
been scouting out the right producer for his next album, Seeds. One of the
three names he'd been given was Buck Herring, who worked as an audio engineer.
McGuire came to the Herring household late one evening in 1971 and began playing
some of his songs for Buck. The noise of his feet thumping out the rhythm
awakened Matthew and Nelly, who had already gone to bed, and they came
sleepy-eyed down the stairs to see what the ruckus was about.
"You know, you ought to
hear my family sing," suggested Buck after McGuire finished his songs.
"They're really pretty good."
Here we go again, thought
McGuire. Another ‘my family can sing real well' session. He couldn't count how
many times he'd heard that line before. But propriety at the moment demanded he
listen to the brother-sister trio sitting before him.
"Sure, I'd love
to," he offered brightly, and the group gathered around the old piano. The
music started on the keyboard, or what was left of it-and then the voices
joined in.
McGuire had never heard
anything like it before. The harmonies-they were crystal clear, almost angelic
in sound. And the lyrics, so intimate he felt as if he'd pried into someone's
prayer closet.
When the last strains of the
song faded into the cool night air, Barry McGuire lifted his bowed head. There
were tears in his eyes. And before he left, he asked Annie, Nelly and Matthew
to sing background vocals on his upcoming album.
The chance to be recorded
brought similar opportunities their way, such as singing background vocals on
Jamie Owen's albums. However, the first real recording was not intended to be a
"group" record. A friend of Buck's had written a song titled
"Jesus Is" and wanted to record it. As it turned out, Matthew was
chosen to be the singer and recorded the vocal on his 13th birthday. Christian
performer Pat Boone eventually heard this recording and arranged a contract
with MGM Records for the fledgling group which, as yet, had no name.
One day at work, Buck says he heard an almost audible
voice say "The 2nd Chapter of Acts." Not wanting to forget it, he
jotted the words down in order to tell Annie and the others that evening.
"When he came home and
said, ‘I think the group should be called the 2nd Chapter of Acts', we all
wanted to throw up on the spot!" laughs Annie. "I said, ‘Honey,
that's a terrible name. It doesn't let anyone know we're a family'."
"I was afraid people
would think it's a play," quips Matthew.
Buck suggested they read
Acts chapter two and see what is said.
"So we read it, and it
blew our doors off," recalls Annie. "I think that's when we knew this
was what the Lord wanted to call us."
As could be expected, there
were problems in recording Christian music for a secular record company, and
after much frustration and prayer, the group obtained their release from MGM.
In 1974 they recorded their
first album for the newly formed Christian label, Myrrh Records. Their
legendary recording of "Easter Song" on this album, With Footnotes,
combined with three years of national touring with Barry McGuire, established
the 2nd Chapter of Acts as a prominent Christian group. And, due to their Jesus
Movement rock ‘n' roll overtones, their songs also unwittingly placed them on
the cutting edge of what is now called "contemporary Christian music."
But in those days, reminds Matthew, there was no such thing.
The music of the 2nd Chapter
of Acts was in many ways crucial to the spiritual revival of the ‘70s. It
helped usher in the age of charismatic praise and worship-and for the first
time it told the watching Christian world that it is possible to worship God
with rock music. That doesn't mean everyone accepted it outright. They didn't.
There were churches that would not host the group.
Even most early detractors will now agree that the
word "ministry" best sums up the history of the 2nd Chapter of Acts.
But in the early days of touring, any ministry to the audience was derived
solely from their lyrics and the anointing on their singing. The group
themselves took some time in mustering up courage to utter a word on stage.
" Barry McGuire was our
teacher," says Annie. "He was a living example of how to minister and
communicate. Because we didn't dare talk, he talked. He showed us by example
the importance of being who you are on stage, who God has called you to
be."
Toward the end of their
touring schedule with McGuire, the 2nd Chapter of Acts started to open up a
little on stage. But a strange phenomenon greeted them after every song-those
faceless people beyond the footlights didn't clap. Instead, the auditorium
would grow strangely quiet. The awkward silence unnerved them at first, until
they realized what was really happening.
"I think the Spirit was
moving in a fresh way," says Matthew. "That's why their mouths were
open. And by saying that, it may sound as if we were so incredible that people
were just blown away. But that wasn't it at all. We didn't feel that; we've
never felt that. It was simply that people sensed the Spirit of God. When you
come in contact with that, and you're not used to it on that level in music,
your first reaction is almost one of shock."
In her soft-spoken way,
Nelly adds, "I believe one of the reasons people didn't clap is because we
weren't singing songs about Jesus, we were singing to Him, and therefore they
could see Him. It made them fall in love."
Indeed, a 2nd Chapter
concert is not just entertainment, but a spiritual experience. The music of
Annie, Nelly and Matthew cuts to the core of the listener; it breaks down
barriers and it heals. Few can leave the concert hall with dry eyes-and many
find themselves at the altar.
As the 2nd Chapter of Acts
moved into full-time touring, a succession of albums followed-In the Volume of
the Book, Mansion Builder, The Roar of Love, Rejoice. But, as always, success
took its toll. In 1976, the group hit a crossroads and took a year off to
define their call.
As Nelly puts it: "It
got to the point where we didn't know if we were the 2nd Chapter of Acts or the
2nd Chapter of Acts was us. We were almost becoming a machine-the ministry was
taking over the family, instead of being an extension of the family. It was
like the tail wagging the dog."
Nelly's husband and concert
coordinator Steve Greisen points out another critical reason for the 1976
break: Up to that point Buck and Annie were a surrogate mom and dad for Matthew
and Nelly. It was important for these two young adults 
to stop and evaluate what God was calling them to do,
what He was calling them to be personally. Up to that time they had really been
helping Buck and Annie fulfill their vision. Was that what God wanted for Nelly
and Matthew as well?
"I think as a group-and
I came along in 1976-we have always had an understanding of God's call,"
says Steve. "We've always sensed that God is propelling us forward. But
we've had our dark times of learning: ‘What's next? What are we supposed to
do?' And those are the times when we've pulled back. In 1983, we took another
year off to regain clarity."
Signs and wonders have
followed the 2nd Chapter of Acts throughout their 17-year career. And the
stories have come to them by letter, by word of mouth and by direct experience:
-A few years ago God began
an in concert healing ministry through Nelly. Several people were healed of
cancer, arthritis and other ailments.
-A woman dying of cancer
heard "Easter Song" played over the hospital P.A. system and was
healed.
-A terminally ill child took
Annie's Kids of the Kingdom children's album through the pediatric ward to
share with his friends before he died.
-Loren Cunningham of Youth
With A Mission says while standing in a Siberian train station, he heard
"Easter Song" played over the P.A.
-A woman wrote to say that
as her mother lay in a coma dying, she placed headphones playing "Holy,
Holy, Holy" (from the Hymns album) on her mother's head. The elderly woman
opened her eyes, whispered, "That was beautiful!" and then died
peacefully.
There were trying times as
well. Record producer Dan Collins and Sparrow Records president Billy Ray Hearn
talk about a dramatic change, indeed a maturing in Buck Herring's life over the
years. "He blew up at times," says Collins. Hearn adds, "He
could be intimidating. If something wasn't just right he'd let you know about
it."
Buck acknowledges an early
tendency to explode emotionally. If, for example, the piano wasn't tuned
exactly according to expectations when the group arrived, the host or the tuner
would have an earful. In the early ‘70s Buck had a reputation for at times
being difficult.
Then, in 1973, Buck reached
a breaking point. "I needed to be delivered," he says. "I would
intimidate people. I would build up anger expecting a problem to happen and
running through my mind exactly how I would respond even before the problem
occurred. When Matthew was younger, I would tell him to clean his room in the
morning. On my way home form work that afternoon I would think, he probably
hasn't cleaned his room.. Before I got home I was already mad."
Buck recognized this as a
family trait and took a spiritual stand against it. During the next few years
the blow ups came less frequently. When the piano wasn't tuned when the group
arrived, instead of unleashing his wrath, he would send the rest of the group
off to dinner, pull out his tuning fork and quietly tune the piano himself.
Buck says it's now been four years since his last big blow up. "God
delivered me," he says. "It just took some time to walk this one out.
But God has been faithful."
When God performs a work in
your life-especially when that work spans 17 years-it's easy to become lulled
into thinking nothing will change. But He is a God of change, and the "new
chapter" 1988 brought was not easy to accept.
Says Annie, "We all
felt for a while that changes were coming. Something was stirring. Every year
we come together in January and have a family time, praying and seeking God on
what we're supposed to do. And we just felt in our hearts that the Lord wanted
us to finish our obligations that year and not tour anymore. Basically, because
of the things He wanted to do in every one of us He can't do with us all
together. Not that being together is bad or wrong, because we love each other.
It is hard for us. It's as if it is not right, and yet it is perfectly
right."
Steve agrees, and points out
that what they're doing is "a classic example of laying down the good
thing for the best." He adds, "It's important for us to realize that
when God gives a gift, it is His to do with what He wants. It takes a lot of
courage to leave something that is good. We don't really know what is
ahead."
As far as doing future recordings
as the 2nd Chapter of Acts, Annie, Nelly and Matthew say they don't know
whether they will record again.
"For Nelly and I-and I
think it's true for all of us-we feel the Lord is saying to just finish the
course and be available to let His work be done in us," says Steve.
The concert ministry of the
2nd Chapter of Acts culminated with a land concert in
In the audience on that
cruise were many long time friends, including Dan Collins and Jamie Owens
Collins. "It was very emotional," says Jamie. "Annie was trying
to keep it together but she ended up crying. I did too. Annie thanked Matthew
and Nelly for helping her deliver what God had put on her heart all these
years."
Jamie, who became friends
with Nelly when they were both 14 and living in the same household for a while,
isn't surprised by the group disbanding. But it is nonetheless very emotional.
"From the world's point of view what they are doing is crazy," she
says. "They are on top. Yet when God says, ‘Now it's all over,' they say,
‘OK.' Their depth of sincerity really impresses me."
To a person, those who have
come to know them well over the years accept the decision as a decision from
God. "They have always done what they felt God was calling them to do-no
matter what the cost," says Sparrow Records president Billy Ray Hearn
about the group that once recorded for him. "And it has cost them plenty.
They took off a year when everyone said they shouldn't; they went to love
offering concert instead of ticketed concerts, and they insisted upon keeping
the focus of their music on worship."
Hearn credits the group with
setting a standard of integrity and accountability that many contemporary
Christian artists today try to follow. "A lot of what Sparrow is today is
because of them," says Hearn. "Even today when I have a tough
decision to make about the company I call Buck for prayer and council."
Annie, Nelly and Matthew
grow quiet as they search for words to capture the impact of this turning
point. Finally, Annie speaks for them all: "More than anything else, I
think it's important to let people know we recognize that it's been God's
faithfulness that's kept us through the years. And we love each other deeply.
There is no separation in our hearts at this change. "
"We hope our lives and
ministry have been an encouragement to let people know that no matter what they
think of themselves, no matter how broken they are or how hopeless their
situation is-if God can deal with three broken, shy young people who were
willing to do what He wanted, then He can do it with anybody."
Though they may not again
sing on stage as a trio or record another album of hymns, the 2nd Chapter of
Acts will always be the 2nd Chapter of Acts-for they were always the same on
stage as off. And even in their closing chapter as a group, they showed that it
is possible to say yes to God even when the cost is great.
-Angela Kiesling