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“There Was Never More of a Rebel Than Jesus Christ”: Alice Cooper on Being Saved from Addiction and Rocking for Jesus

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Most well-known as “The Godfather of Shock Rock,” singer and songwriter Alice Cooper made a name for himself with his trademark raspy voice and a stage show featuring electric chairs, fake blood, guillotines, deadly snakes and more.

His dark lyrics and gruesome image coupled with a bad-boy reputation would probably lend one to believe he’s the last person who’d become a Christian… But God.

Jesus got ahold of Alice Cooper, and his life has never been the same.

In an interview with pastor Greg Laurie, Cooper shared that though he may be a rock star, he’s also a Christian man who wants to help others, particularly youth, in the name of Jesus.

The singer started the Solid Rock teen center in 1995 to help troubled teens after seeing two teens exchange drugs in front of him.

“I watched a couple of 16-year-old kids do a drug deal on the corner and I went, ‘How does that kid not know he might be a great guitar player? Or that other kid might be a drummer?'” Cooper asked himself. “And it just struck me right then: Why don’t we open that, give them that alternative to go there?”

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So that’s exactly what he did.

“We’re all Christian guys,” Cooper said of the co-founders of Solid Rock. “And Lord told us to do it. So we just obeyed. That’s all.”

The painful reality of drug addiction hits close to home for the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer who was delivered from the grips of cocaine and alcohol addiction through the power of Christ.

“I knew that there had to come [to] a point where either I accepted Christ and started living that life, or if I died in this [sin], I was in a lot of trouble,” he said. “And that’s what really motivated me.”

Pastor Laurie posted various clips of Cooper’s interview on Twitter, giving viewers an insight into his faith journey.

“It’s a little intimidating to preach in front of Alice Cooper,” said Laurie just prior to the interview. “But here’s the thing a lot of people don’t know about him. He is a full follower of Jesus Christ and has been for many years. Alice was raised in a Christian home. In fact, his dad is a pastor. We all know that he went off track and got himself into a lot of trouble, in fact, almost destroyed his life through alcohol and drugs. But he made a recommitment to Christ. And he’s been walking with the Lord for many years now.”

When he first got saved, the ‘shock rock’ singer admits he considered giving up his identity as ‘Alice Cooper,’ but a profound statement from his pastor made him change his mind.

“I went to my pastor and I said ‘I think I’ve gotta quit being Alice Cooper now,'” he recalled.

“Look where he put you,” his pastor replied. “What if you’re Alice Cooper, but you’re now following Christ, and you’re a rockstar but you don’t live the rockstar life. Your lifestyle is now your testimony.”

Laurie confirmed that Cooper’s platform is, in fact, unique and just as valuable for Kingdom purposes as that of a pastor.

“Today, you have your band the Hollywood Vampires, Joe Perry, and Johnny Depp, and you hang out with these guys, and you told me you gave a Bible to Marilyn Manson,” said Laurie. “They respect you because you’re you. You have this platform to reach people that a guy like me who’s a preacher, they’d never listen to a guy like me, but they’ll listen to a guy like you.”

When asked if he was ashamed to say he believed in Jesus Christ, the rock star replied with a confident “no.”

“People talk about Alice being a rebel,” said Cooper. “There was never a rebel, more of a rebel than Jesus Christ. You want to talk about a rebel. He was the ultimate.”

Kelsey Straeter
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Kelsey is an editor at Outreach. She’s passionate about fear fighting, freedom writing, and the pursuit of excellence in the name of crucifying perfectionism. Glitter is her favorite color, 2nd only to pink, and 3rd only to pink glitter.

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