Faith matters for Oct. 10, 2009

• By TERRY ROBINSON
• Advocate News Features staff
• Published: Oct 10, 2009

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Church didn’t play a role in Calvin Brasley’s early life.

“I didn’t like church,” the 40-year-old said. “I hid from going to church.”

That all changed for Brasley as a teen.

“I got saved when I was 16 years old. I was called into the ministry at 17 years old, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” he said.

Now Brasley plays a key role as an associate minister at Ever Increasing Life Ministries.

But his role also goes beyond ministering from behind the pulpit. As a playwright, Brasley uses roles in his own gospel stage plays to minister to people, many of whom avoid church like he once did.

“People may not go to church, but they will come to a stage play,” Brasley said. “That’s my opportunity to get them back into church.”

Brasley gets his next and perhaps biggest opportunity on Oct. 24 when he presents “Preaching to the Pastors” at the Baton Rouge River Center. Show times are 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The performances will be the first of a six-month tour through Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

“Preaching to the Pastors” stars Leon, known for his roles in the films “The Five Heartbeats,” “The Temptations,” “Little Richard” and “Waiting to Exhale,” and features music from Melvin Williams, the six-time Grammy Award nominee of the Williams Brothers.

Brasley, the director, producer and leader of Elohim Productions, will also appear in the play. His other acting credits include “Ray,” “Glory Road” and “The Toy.”

“This play is designed to give people an opportunity to look into the eyes of the preachers and the opportunities, successes and the failures, and the chances the preachers take,” he said. “Men and women of God are on a different grading scale. They are held to a higher level of accountability than we are and we need to know that.”

The play also serves to encourage ministers.