I found this letter (pictured) while looking through some old papers, and I thought it was too rich not to share it.
The letter is a response to me by Donald Wuerl, who now is the disgraced Cardinal Archbishop of Washington DC, having forgotten that he knew about Cardinal McCarrick’s homosexual abuse of minors and Roman Catholic seminarians, but who then (1984) was the rector of St. Paul’s Seminary in Pittsburgh.
I had apparently written to him requesting information about admission to the Seminary, and in this letter, he referred me to the “Vocations Director” for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. By the end of that year, I had applied for and was accepted to this seminary program, and I remember having attended a small lunch at the Seminary, for incoming students, that was hosted by then Father Wuerl. That’s where I met him.
Most people know me as someone who knows Roman Catholicism in a very thorough way. My Protestant friends look to me for advice when they interact with Roman Catholicism in one way or another. Some Roman Catholics know me as an apostate, and some (Dave Armstrong Google Alert) consider me to be a bitter anti-Catholic.
But this letter reveals my bona-fide credentials as a genuine Roman Catholic, back in the day.
Jeff is a dear old friend of mine; I worked for him for several years in the 1980’s (right out of college). This is a magnificent tribute to God and country. Please share this video far and wide.
My friend Jeff Steinberg celebrated his 43rd anniversary in ministry yesterday. I worked for Jeff from 1981-1986, as his sound man, driver, and personal assistant. Jeff posted this video from Jerry Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour", where he first sang for a national audience. He was 21 years old at the time:
He is still doing his thing; you can have Jeff sing at your church for a love offering and expenses. Visit http://www.tinygiant.com, or call him at 901-754-5333. Tell him John Bugay sent you.
This is at a small church in central PA, where some of the footage from Jeff's documentary was filmed. I think this is the one and only video that exists of yours truly. My son made it on his cell phone, and that accounts for the quality.
At the start of the video, I was talking about the 1979 Ford Van that I used to drive. It had a dual gas tank, and the first tank was almost on empty. Our host, Carol, had booked Jeff on a Sunday for two church services, Sunday morning in Plattsburg, NY, and then in the evening, about three hours to the south. That's where this picks up, with me describing that trip between concerts:
I worked as Jeff Steinberg's driver, sound man and personal assistant from 1981-1985, (often scratching his back, which is what appears to be happening in the initial scene in the video here). Jeff was born with no arms and "barely a leg to stand on" as the advertising material says. Actually, he's got two legs, but they're not very good at all. Still, he makes them work, and in the process, he has managed to put together a singing career and ministry that has lasted 40 years now.
It's Jerry Falwell introducing him in the film. Jeff got a start on Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour" in the early 1970's, and he's been traveling and singing ever since. He mostly sings in churches, and he only asks that a love offering be taken. If anyone is interested, you can learn more at www.tinygiant.com or contact him at steinbergs@tinygiant.com.
My dear friend Jeff Steinberg turns 60 today, and I’m conflicted. I want to tell him “you’re an old, old guy,” but on the other hand, I recognize that I’m not far behind him.
Jeff was born in 1951 with no arms and deformed legs – you may have heard the term “Thalidomide baby” – Thalidomide seems to have been introduced some time after his birth, but Jeff’s physical deformities are very similar to those you’ll find among children who can trace their maladies to that drug.
In those days, such children were institutionalized, and Jeff mostly grew up at Shriner’s Hospital in Philadelphia and later at the Good Shepherd Home in Allentown, PA. There, a local Christian couple “adopted” him, took him into their hearts and into the church, and they introduced him to the genre of Northern Gospel Music that’s still popular in that part of the state. He taught himself to sing by singing along with the albums of his favorite Gospel groups, and in 1971 he started a singing trio and has been singing and traveling ever since.
Working for Jeff was my first job out of college. He was singing a song called “The Glove” by Gordon Jensen – “Lord, let me be the glove you wear today”, like a glove worn “on a carpenter’s, or on a surgeon’s hand”. He has a driving and powerful voice, with a raspy Neil Diamondish character. And in his younger day, he could pop around a church stage like nobody’s business.
I had something like a journalism degree, and he had me driving hundreds of thousands of miles in a 1979 Ford van, setting up audio for hundreds of concerts he performed in hundreds of different churches from 1981-1986. In the process, yes, I also held some of the hair-washing and hair-spraying duties you’ll see in the video below.
It’s hard to say how deeply those years have affected my whole life since. When we first found out my wife was sick, and I called him, wondering how we were going to get through it, Jeff’s advice to me was “you’ve got to fight like hell every step of the way.” That wasn’t just idle advice. He lived that way. For years I had the privilege of watching him do it. It’s not right to say that nothing ever got him down. But nothing ever has kept him down.
On the video below, about seven minutes, you’ll see clips of him performing small portions of his signature songs, “I’m a Tiny Giant”, and “Masterpiece in Progress”, autographing a T-shirt by signing with a Sharpie pen in his mouth, and ministering to a group of prisoners in prison, among other things. Jeff has never had a lot of huge success in the world, but he’s been a huge success in my own life and the lives of the thousands of others he’s touched in 40 years of ministry now.
He’s booking his fall tour now, and he’s always got a few available dates open. If you’d like to have Jeff perform for your church or function, give him a call at (901) 754-5333, or email booking@tinygiant.com.
