Russ Taff: Freed from a Life of Pain

winner of six Grammys 18 GMA Dove Awards and inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame Russ Taff has been hailed by Billboard magazine as the single most electrifying voice of Christian music his success stem from his stints with bands such as The Imperials the Gaither Vocal Band and many solo ventures God has just been good I mean just good to me and in the middle of all of this you learn you grow because we've walked together through so many things a lot of times it was just you and God you had a very rocky relationship with your father who was a Pentecostal preacher an alcoholic and during this time I mean your dad realized you had a talent for singing but your dad became jealous of your gift when I was young mom used to stand me on the altar and at four years old yeah you were singing in front of the whole congregation right when I would do good and I would sing and and people would look at me he would emotionally punish me for like two three days just because it took him out of spotlight and negative messages like you're not worth the bullet to shoot you with you're not worth the salt that goes on your bread but the the real beating I got for telling my little friend that mom and dad had had an argument that was from my mother who when I got home she took books out of the shelf and and threw him at me then came over to me and started throwing punches at my face and I'm you know just trying to and so I end up balled up in a corner with her kicking and screaming and kicking and screaming you don't talk to anybody about what goes on in this family but eventually some of their family secrets were uncovered their congregation found out that Russ's father was an alcoholic after he didn't show up for work he and his entire family were voted out of the church so you're 12 years old Russ and and you you're told that you're not welcome back in the either how did that affect you as a young boy well it's devastating you know I couldn't sit down and figure out why I couldn't go to this church anymore because I hadn't done anything and these are little bitty Pentecostal churches that are country churches and but their teaching was that if you're going to lead you have to be perfect and even during that time when you all were kicked out of the church you could have easily just turned your back on God but you you did just the opposite what happened mama had a key to the church and we live about a half a block and I would go down to the church and I'd open it and I would creep down to the front of the church and I would kneel down or I would sit in a Pew and I would just talk to God I'd talk to Jesus and I would tell him I scared I was and I'd tell him I didn't understand what was happening and and in the pain that I was in that you can't tell anybody but there was like three years of just going down late at night and just talking to Jesus and it really connected he and I despite all the turmoil rust formed a Christian band called sounds of joy when he was sixteen there was always a something in me that wanted to bring people to Jesus and I talked to my dad who was we'd moved back to Arkansas to start again try again right he was doing good you know he was really trying and so I invited everybody out to Monday night service at our daddy's little church and they would fill the church up every Monday night Wow and we would play and I would invite I knew like three scriptures but I would preach those scriptures and I would say it will get saved absolutely I mean there was just this they would flood to the altar every month night but it was a great revival and years later when I graduated and stuff and I began to see it was happening all over America yeah Jesus movement and there was this major onslaught of people coming to Jesus it was one of the most incredible things it was during this time that the hid gospel group The Imperials came to Arkansas and saw Russ perform said we want you to come to Nashville and try out for the Imperials to be flattered it was like you know me especially well nobody's telling you you did good but there are thousands of fans didn't heal Russ his years of emotional abuse throughout his time with the Imperials the Gaither Vocal Band and on his own Russ struggled with depression and insecurity Christian counseling helped to a point I'm talking about years of work not just going for a couple of months oh I'm thirty years for me sure to deal with the negative things that happen to realize that I am worthy of his love yeah rest were you able to forgive your parents I was acting longing for Jesus to show me how to forgive yeah but I stayed over in Israel after gate that we did a big shoot over there I would go to the tomb and I would sit and I would just think about him coming out of the tuna man I'd meditate you know go to skull Hill and across in and what he did and it wasn't until I was flying home that I realized that the anger was gone the pain wasn't there anymore and the hurt wasn't there anymore and I thought about my parents and I thought about him and I could actually feel sorry for them right for what happened to them and I saw them as people and not as my parents and and healing began to come by this time Russ's father had already passed away but three years after Russ truly forgave his parents God gave him the one thing that he thought was now impossible affirmation from his dad it happened during a visit to a pastor he had never met who was dying of cancer and when I walked into the hospital room I froze I froze and I wanted to turn and run because he looks so much like my dad so I walk into the room and he's watching my DVD when I come in Wow and he saw me and he went Oh Russ Russ and tears start rolling down his face and I go over to him and I I hug him he said Russ I've taught my boys how to live I've taught my kids how to live and if God doesn't heal me I'm gonna teach my boys how to die I mean it's so resonated inside of me and this is a dad you know yeah that his dying breath is for his kids watch how I die this is how you die in Jesus and he puts his hands on my shoulders and he begins to pray and I began to cry but it was primal in me it was deep I mean all the way down to the bottom of my soul that was a cry of I began to cry and he pulled my head to his belly and began to stroke my hair he be good to tell me how much God loved me and and I cried even more and he said I'm so glad you used your gift for the kingdom of God Jesus loves what you're doing for him how your voice you know and you were preordained to do what you're doing for Jesus and he began to affirm me and it changed my mannerisms it I became a man you know a better husband a better father better everything because dad affirmed me Russ throughout your life and your career what is God taught you that has helped you the most the one that keeps me going and then the one that changes negative thoughts when I am tempted to go back is Heath loves me that he would move heaven and earth to help me and if I was the only person on this plane he would have came and died when I keep those thoughts in my head nothing nothing can stop me

Channel: The 700 Club

Views: 142,422

Rating: 4.9169083 out of 5

Keywords: ottfeatured, 700clubyoutube, christian life, matt vilkas, 3play_same_day, featuredclip, #ent28, success, wendy griffith, 700 club, depression, experiencing god, hd720, 700club, 5760414827001

Id: r5cCyCFcQXg

Length: 9min 26sec (566 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 29 2018