Viewpoint: The Day That Alice Cooper Came To Church

March 15, 2015

Written by Barry Howard, senior minister of the First Baptist Church of Pensacola.

On President’s Day weekend, one of those long weekends when “School’s Out,” Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Damon Furnier, better known as Alice Cooper and his wife Sheryl, joined us for worship at First Baptist Pensacola, unannounced.  In fact, there was a pretty big crowd that day and I didn’t even notice that they were in the congregation.

An extraordinarily large number of middle school and high school students were seated together, front and center, in colored “Wise Up!” tee shirts as our worship time served as a grand conclusion to Disciple Now Weekend, a huge event devoted to equipping and instructing teens to make “wise” life choices. The atmosphere in the service was charged with energy and encouragement.  And one of the most popular rock musicians in history was in the crowd, somewhat anonymously.

A few hours after the service I happened to notice a few social media posts from members who “wished they could have met Mr. and Mrs. Alice Cooper at church today.”  At first I assumed that they had seen someone in our service who resembled Alice Cooper.  However, I became a little more curious when one of our ministers reported, “Alice Cooper and his wife came out my door and shook my hand.”  And on Monday I confirmed that Alice Cooper was indeed in Pensacola, had dined at one of our excellent seafood restaurants, had played golf at our top notch Country Club, and had joined our church family for worship.

Why was Alice Cooper in our worship service? And how should a church react when such a well-known celebrity comes to church? Although I wasn’t ever a huge Alice Cooper fan, I recalled reading a story or two about Alice Cooper’s Christian faith, testimonials similar to those of Bono and Ringo Starr. After discovering that the Coopers had joined us for worship, I revisited a few of those stories and even watched a video of his testimony on YouTube.  I learned that Cooper teaches Sunday School on occasion at his local church, and that he frequently attends worship services and Bible study gatherings while he is on the road.

Both Cooper and his wife were raised in Christian families.  In one interview, Cooper said, “I grew up in a Christian house. My dad was a pastor, he was an evangelist for 25 years, and I used to go up and do missionary work with him with the Apaches in Arizona.  My grandfather was a pastor for 75 years. I grew up in a Christian home. And my wife’s father is a Baptist pastor. So, I was like, we were PK’s – preacher’s kids – so we married each other.”

After some prodigal years early in his career, Cooper said he stopped drinking and started going back to church with his wife. “I finally realized, I had to go one side or the other,” said Cooper.  “The Lord really convicted me, saying, look, it’s time to make a decision here.”

It was rather inspiring to learn that Alice Cooper prioritizes a time for worship during his busy travel schedule.  And as a pastor, I am actually glad that very few people in our congregation noticed that Cooper and his wife were present in our worship service, and those who did, allowed them to be worshippers on that particular Sunday, and not celebrities.  As far as I know there were no autographs, no photos, and certainly no “selfies” with Cooper in the background.

When a celebrity comes to church, they usually prefer anonymity.  At our church we preach that “everyone stands on level ground at the foot of the cross.”  Every individual is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). On any given Sunday in our congregation you may spot local and national media personalities, prominent businesspersons, esteemed congressmen, respected judges, and renowned athletes, well-known individuals in the community who join the rest of us as we gather to worship God and embrace our primary identity, which is “child of God.”

On the Sunday that Alice Cooper came to church, quietly and without notoriety, he heard an A+ sermon from our Student Pastor and he joined his voice with others in singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. He was not there as a notorious entertainer.  He was there as a fellow worshipper alongside spiritual family members who share a common confession, yet who travel a lot of different roads through life. As it is on most Sundays, it was an encouraging day of worship for our church family. Alice and Sheryl, I trust it was a good day for you as well. You are welcome here anytime.

Pictured top: Alice Cooper performs last month at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio. Photo by Ralk Arverson. Pictured inset: Alice Cooper on a film set. Photo by Thomas Brodbeck. Creative Commons photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

10 Responses to “Viewpoint: The Day That Alice Cooper Came To Church”

  1. Victoria on March 21st, 2015 4:40 pm

    wow… I have been a fan since I can remember.
    We all have come together and fond each other,
    And our Creator.. May he Bless you as he has
    Each of us.. Great story .. Sorry I missed
    Meeting him and his family.. Although I am sure
    He just wanted his time of peace..

  2. Debbie on March 19th, 2015 1:30 pm

    Thank you for this article. So many people have bad opinions about people just from their outward appearance. God looks upon the heart.

  3. Gman on March 16th, 2015 5:07 am

    There is a GOD.

  4. opinion on March 15th, 2015 11:58 am

    There are several articles and interviews he’s done that are available online through various outlets where gives an account of his repentance and coming to know Christ, how he doesn’t sing certain songs anymore, or refer to drugs and alcohol in a positive light. He also has developed charitable organizations to get young people in urban areas away from gangs and into other activities with Christian mentors. Yes, on the outside, be appears unorthodox

  5. Beegee on March 15th, 2015 10:45 am

    I agree wholeheartedly with John Sullivan……………thanks,John,for reminding folks of this very important requirement!!!!!! We so often get caught up with notoriety and you and it well,…lest we forget….

  6. john sullivan on March 15th, 2015 9:02 am

    It good to see he went to church, hopefully he got something out of the preaching.

    Just remember and I’m saying this to everyone thats willing to listen, you must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven, and that only happens at the point you received Jesus Christ. The act of going to church, sing in the choir, being a pastor or deacon, church membership, feeding the hungry, giving donations, NONE of these things will get you to heaven. See Matthew 7:22

  7. Molino resident on March 15th, 2015 8:39 am

    Very nice story.

  8. Keith on March 15th, 2015 8:36 am

    I appreciate this article and the ministor’s view. It is to often these days to see total rejection of anything different than one’s own view. I think we can all see that the minister was not promoting Mr. Cooper’s life, but accepting him as a person, and as another person of faith, even if it occurs along a different path.

  9. CW on March 15th, 2015 8:11 am

    And just think, many people that used to accuse him of being a “devil worshipper” because of the way he looks.

  10. chris in Molino on March 15th, 2015 3:20 am

    That was a really awesome story that just makes me feel good. Glad to see such positive news. Thank you.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News