Former Kansas lead singer John Elefante to perform 3 services at LaCroix church

Members and visitors of LaCroix United Methodist Church, who are fans of classic rock, are in for a treat next Saturday and Sunday, when John Elefante, former lead singer of the band Kansas, will speak and perform at three of the church's services.

On Saturday, Elefante will appear at the 5:30 p.m. service, and, on Sunday at the 9:30 and 11 a.m. services.

Though most churchgoers usually don't hear songs such as "Dust in the Wind" and "Wayward Son" during worship services, they are part of the lineup for his appearance at LaCroix, as Elefante will be perform both those iconic Kansas tunes.

"It's not going to be your average church service," Elefante, 56, told the Southeast Missourian. He has performed at church services in the past, and, he said, the look on the faces in the congregation when he starts singing is priceless.

"People really like it," he said.

After leaving the band Kansas in 1984, Elefante has gone on to enjoy a career as a songwriter, producer and singer. He and his brother, Dino, also a former band member, opened a studio, The Sound Kitchen, which became the largest recording studio in the Southeastern U.S., before they sold it in 2002.

During these unique services at LaCroix, at 3102 Lexington Ave., senior pastor Rod Watts will talk with Elefante in a casual question-and-answer format.

A topic that likely will come up is his adopted daughter, Sami, 21, because of a song he recently wrote and its corresponding video. He said after he wrote the song, he decided it was one that needed not just words, but a story.

The story Elefante set to music is one that is very close to home. The girl in the video represents his daughter's birth mother.

The video depicts the story of a 13-year-old girl, who presents herself at an abortion clinic from which she flees in the end, before the procedure is performed.

"I didn't set out to write a pro-life song," Elefante said. "But, other people said as they started to hear it that it was going to be controversial, very controversial."

His daughter has known for many years that she was adopted, Elefante said, but it wasn't until she was older that Elefante shared the details about her birth mother's pregnancy. It was a conversation he said he began with, "I want to tell you how special you are."

Since making the video, he has been featured on many conservative radio and TV programs discussing the song, the video and its content.

"I was kind of thrust into it," he said. "My talking point is just the truth."

He said his intent is not to debate abortion, though he said he has received backlash from the song and video. "There have sure been a lot of people that didn't like it."

"My daughter was very close to being aborted. She almost didn't make it," Elfante said of Sami. "In my opinion, she could easily have become a statistic, and, like the video says, God said, 'No. You're not taking this one.'"

The video of the song, called, "This Time," is available on Elefante's website, johnelefante.com.

Although Elefante has enjoyed a lengthy career in contemporary Christian music, he said he has not found a single Christian radio station that will air the song.

Elefante said his daughter seems to be very proud of the video and frequently shows it to others.

When asked which of the many Kansas songs is his favorite, his first response was that he didn't have just one because there were so many that he liked. He said his favorite changes from day to day.

"Ask me on a different day, and I'll give you a different answer," he said.

On the day of this writing, however, he said, "The Wall," written by Steve Walsh and Kerry Livgren was his favorite.