This is a tribute to my dear friends who perished a few days ago. I hope not to sully their sweet yet formidable legacy with the woes of the world, though we discussed them often. That will be left for a later time.
As much as we know the realities of this world, that our lives are a vapor in the expanse of time, unexpected deaths of friends always come as a shock, especially if we are witness to the tragedy. From such a circumstance is this being penned.
Fire. We may dread tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters, but the instant spread of unbearable heat and unquenchable flame carries a fear that no one ever wants to stand face-to-face unprepared.
Bound together by music composed for God’s Glory
Preparation, however, comes in two different ways – the natural by having fire extinguishers, an escape plan and maybe even protective gear; and the spirit-led, knowing that whatever may occur, the ability to confront a crisis with an inward solemnity and grace is ingrained.
My friends, family in the measure of deep ties in the Lord, were prepared in the second manner by understanding who they were in Christ and how fleeting is their natural existence in comparison to their eternal one.
Steve and Ann Marie Fairchild Rogers, were (I keep wanting to say ‘are’ and, in the way life everlasting it is true) two of the most giving, amazing individuals who were heavenly operatives in an earthly plane. Bound together by music composed for God’s glory, two more integrated lives one may never meet.
Each of them had a lifetime of evangelism through song. Steve as a guiding member of The Messengers, a contemporary gospel group that included his sister and wife in the 1980s, touring the South through original songs in venues of every size. He served as youth minister for many years but after being confined to a wheelchair following surgery that went awry more than a decade ago, Steve continued to minister to those challenged by life’s major setbacks, physical and emotional. He had a wellspring of experience and faith from which to draw.
Ann Marie Fairchild, with whom an unfailing friendship grew from her mentorship when I entered the Kingdom through salvation, had a blue ribbon ministry of 50 years teaching children and adults through puppetry, song and even clowning. Though I knew she had participated in crusades in the 1970s and 80s, working with individuals like Dale Evans (I had compiled and written her biography for her website in 2010), she never let on about those who had advised her during those years of international touring as an evangelist and ventriloquist until nearly the 20th year of our sisterhood. Drs. Adrian Rodgers and Charles Stanley had been two who personally guided her as she developed a vast collection of children’s Bible studies that still provide core teachings for ministries in India and elsewhere. Many of Ann Marie’s videos (she was a videographer/documentarian/film producer, too) are yet making the rounds with children three and four generations down the line.
Harmony with the Lord is what they prayed for all of us
For both, it’s their original music compositions that continue to find place in the bosom of family, friends and thousands of people, who have encountered their spirit-led songs that build faith, share hope, teach God’s Word and always resonate with the joy that flowed unhindered from their hearts.
It is the water of the Word that overcame the flames of an earthly fire that took their lives with billowing black smoke. Knowing them so well – and I’ll not be the only one to testify to this – we’ll believe they were praising God with their last breath… The last breath on earth that is followed by the first in Heaven. That is what Ann Marie shared many times, understanding how God’s grace for our natural existence gives over to the Glory of an eternity in His house.
This is far too brief to divulge the depth of Steve and Ann Marie’s accomplishments and how strongly their testimonies and teachings have touched, and are yet to touch, numberless lives, because their legacy lives on through their songs.
Before this is wound up, there is something more to be learned from this couple whose lifetime devotion to Christ was evidenced every day, His grace abiding in them and manifesting through them…
For those of us whose marriages have been something of a bust, it's important to know that the best pairings are fully grounded in the love of God first and foremost. By receiving His love and allowing it to dwell within us, love for one another can experience a vital fulfilment the worldly misses.
This is why there is marriage of three, not just two, and the third dominant party is not the state, which place it has improperly been inserted, but Jesus. He's the cement, the element that binds two spirits in harmony. And harmony is the most fitting word for Ann Marie and Steve. Their lives were imbued with the harmony of song, voices often intertwined with the joy of knowing the Lord who gave them guidance for each day and peace for accomplishing His will.
Harmony with the Lord is what they prayed for all of us.
Former newspaper publisher, A. Dru Kristenev, grew up in the publishing industry working every angle of a paper, from ad composition and sales, to personnel management, copy writing, and overseeing all editorial content. During her tenure as a news professional, Kristenev traveled internationally as a representative of the paper and, on separate occasions, non-profit organizations. Since 2007, Kristenev has authored five fact-filled political suspense novels, the Baron Series, and two non-fiction books, all available on Amazon. Carrying an M.S. degree and having taught at premier northwest universities, she is the trustee of Scribes’ College of Journalism, which mission is to train a new generation of journalists in biblical standards of reporting. More information about the college and how to support it can be obtained by contacting Kristenev at cw.o@earthlink.net.
ChangingWind (changingwind.org) is a solutions-centered Christian ministry.
This is a tribute to my dear friends who perished a few days ago. I hope not to sully their sweet yet formidable legacy with the woes of the world, though we discussed them often. That will be left for a later time.
As much as we know the realities of this world, that our lives are a vapor in the expanse of time, unexpected deaths of friends always come as a shock, especially if we are witness to the tragedy. From such a circumstance is this being penned.
Fire. We may dread tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters, but the instant spread of unbearable heat and unquenchable flame carries a fear that no one ever wants to stand face-to-face unprepared.
