By Cecil Yancy
Even the stained glass seems to be grooving to the walking bass. Soon, rhythm guitar, drums and piano join in and the whole place is rocking as the Rev. Dr. John Kilzer walks the aisles and pews greeting folks by first name on a Friday night in Memphis at St. John’s United Methodist Church.
It’s 6 on a Friday night, not the normal time for a church service. But this is “The Way,” a recovery service built community, great music, the 12 Steps and the beatitudes.
“We’re gonna love you and there ain’t nothing you can do about,” Kilzer laughs, before heading back on stage to lead the band in “Jesus on the Main Line.” During the hour-long service, Kilzer will lead the band in Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind,” and get the crowd singing, “Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Hey, Hey, Goodbye.”
A person who’s working the Steps then gets up and shares their Story. “The stories are what matters,” Kilzer responds after the brief talk.“We are our stories. We have to be bold to speak our own stories. Eventually, you’re going to need to start telling your story. Our narratives become a narrative that’s larger than the story being told.”
It’s in this context that Kilmer brings his story: All-America high school basketball player and a basketball star at the Memphis State and a Master’s degree in literature. He signed with Geffen in the late 1980s, releasing albums “Memory in the Making” and “Busman’s Holiday.”
His story began and continues at the end of the fame. He’s been there.
Kilzer entered rehab and went to seminary, becoming a United Methodist minister. Today, as minister of recovery on the church at the corner of Bellevue and Peabody avenues in Memphis, he uses music to minister on that same journey of recovery. He began The Way in 2010. On any given Friday night, you’ll likely see Grammy winners playing alongside Kilzer in “The Way” band.
“We are all in recovery from something,” Kilzer says. “Experience God’s grace and be a conduit to other folks and be present with a smile or an open door.” And a song.
The folks file out of the church to strains of “Oh, Happy Day!”
