Post by Ivory Fair on Apr 22, 2002 12:21:31 GMT -5
Ex-Temp sings now for God
From rock to revival for Leonard, wife
By Tony Green
Staff writer
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Glenn Leonard, a former member of the Temptations, teaches on the price of fame at the Voice of Joy Ministries on Jacksonville's Westside.- James Crichlow/staff
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Resolving the artistic and religious impulses has always been troublesome.
''A lot of performers get saved, leave the entertainment industry and join the church,'' said Glenn Leonard, former member of the Temptations singing group. ''But then when they join, the first thing they're told is that they are going to have to stop doing that stuff.''
''That stuff'' is singing, dancing or whatever they did in the industry before they joined the church. That's ''the stuff they tell you is going to send you to hell,'' he said.
The question is, how do you reconcile the artistic impulse with the spiritual?
Easy, said Leonard.
''The artistic gifts come from God, and you have a responsibility to use them,'' he said. ''So the gift itself isn't the problem. It's the vessel that needs cleaning up.''
Leonard and his wife, Darcel, formerly lead dancer on the popular ''Solid Gold'' TV show, discussed those ideas and more in a seminar at the Westside's Voice of Joy Ministries. The seminar was one of more than 100 the couple does each year.
Though they are ''trying to raise up performers, not preachers,'' they do show how the arts can be viewed in a Biblical context.
''We have a drama team; we also have dance, and we have mime'' at the Voice of Joy Ministries, said Sandra McCoy, director of Special Projects for the ministry. ''And their [the Leonards] expertise is on a whole different level from what we are accustomed to, so they can benefit us as well as the other churches. They are taking the arts back to the church where they belong.''
Leonard, who along with his wife is an ordained minister, came to his present state the hard way.
He replaced Eddie Kendricks in the Temptations in 1975. Just a few weeks later, he met Darcel during a performance on the ''Midnight Special'' TV concert show. Two years later, they were married.
But even marriage and the prospect of a solo career (which he launched after leaving the group in 1984) could not keep him from feeling unfulfilled. In fact, he says, he was miserable. After one particularly freewheeling hotel party, he switched on the television, and, as it happened, switched to a ministerial program.
''The man said: 'You, there in the hotel room! God has his hand on you, and Jesus is what you're looking for,' '' Leonard said. ''When he said the name of Jesus, it hit my heart like a Scud missile. After that, I got the strange feeling that someone was in the room with me, and tears started flowing out of my eyes.''
He shared his experience with a friend in the business, who didn't answer but instead opened up a copy of the Bible.
''The next day, I joined the church,'' he said. ''Like I said, it isn't the gift that is bad, it's just that the vessels lead horrible lives. It's just a matter of finding out what your purpose is, and to do that, you have to go back to the Creator.''
From rock to revival for Leonard, wife
By Tony Green
Staff writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Leonard, a former member of the Temptations, teaches on the price of fame at the Voice of Joy Ministries on Jacksonville's Westside.- James Crichlow/staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resolving the artistic and religious impulses has always been troublesome.
''A lot of performers get saved, leave the entertainment industry and join the church,'' said Glenn Leonard, former member of the Temptations singing group. ''But then when they join, the first thing they're told is that they are going to have to stop doing that stuff.''
''That stuff'' is singing, dancing or whatever they did in the industry before they joined the church. That's ''the stuff they tell you is going to send you to hell,'' he said.
The question is, how do you reconcile the artistic impulse with the spiritual?
Easy, said Leonard.
''The artistic gifts come from God, and you have a responsibility to use them,'' he said. ''So the gift itself isn't the problem. It's the vessel that needs cleaning up.''
Leonard and his wife, Darcel, formerly lead dancer on the popular ''Solid Gold'' TV show, discussed those ideas and more in a seminar at the Westside's Voice of Joy Ministries. The seminar was one of more than 100 the couple does each year.
Though they are ''trying to raise up performers, not preachers,'' they do show how the arts can be viewed in a Biblical context.
''We have a drama team; we also have dance, and we have mime'' at the Voice of Joy Ministries, said Sandra McCoy, director of Special Projects for the ministry. ''And their [the Leonards] expertise is on a whole different level from what we are accustomed to, so they can benefit us as well as the other churches. They are taking the arts back to the church where they belong.''
Leonard, who along with his wife is an ordained minister, came to his present state the hard way.
He replaced Eddie Kendricks in the Temptations in 1975. Just a few weeks later, he met Darcel during a performance on the ''Midnight Special'' TV concert show. Two years later, they were married.
But even marriage and the prospect of a solo career (which he launched after leaving the group in 1984) could not keep him from feeling unfulfilled. In fact, he says, he was miserable. After one particularly freewheeling hotel party, he switched on the television, and, as it happened, switched to a ministerial program.
''The man said: 'You, there in the hotel room! God has his hand on you, and Jesus is what you're looking for,' '' Leonard said. ''When he said the name of Jesus, it hit my heart like a Scud missile. After that, I got the strange feeling that someone was in the room with me, and tears started flowing out of my eyes.''
He shared his experience with a friend in the business, who didn't answer but instead opened up a copy of the Bible.
''The next day, I joined the church,'' he said. ''Like I said, it isn't the gift that is bad, it's just that the vessels lead horrible lives. It's just a matter of finding out what your purpose is, and to do that, you have to go back to the Creator.''