ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603080039
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: The Back Pew
DATELINE: LEXINGTON
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
It's just after noon on a Wednesday, and Greg Pearce isn't looking much like a Southern gospel singer.
He's wearing a white jacket that bears the marks of several elements of the luncheon menu at the Washington and Lee University dining hall.
On his head is the tall, white hat that is a tradition among chefs around the world.
The only music here is the rattle of silverware in time to the din of a couple hundred students talking with their mouths full.
Though Pearce can arrange meats and vegetables and fruits and starches like so many sections of a symphony orchestra, composing a menu doesn't mean as much to him as producing the tight harmonies of the Higher Call gospel group.
Pearce is executive chef at Washington and Lee, supervising the kitchen for a clientele that is used to the service, selection and quality of some of the nation's finest restaurants.
It's a challenging, satisfying job for a man who grew up learning the secrets of being an executive chef from his father. It's one he apparently does well.
But it is not his first love.
It may not even be his second love, though Pearce, like me, is a man whose waistband cannot conceal his attraction to good food.
Pearce's first devotion is to the Christian ministry, a commitment he demonstrates by being pastor of CornerStone Baptist Church in Arnolds Valley and manager of Higher Call and the newly formed Kingdom Heir Productions.
Pearce voices a precise and practical observation of the fine line separating - and at the same time joining - the ministry and the business sides of gospel music.
"A lot of people have the impression that there is a lot of money to be made in gospel music," Pearce said. People who enter the field for that reason "have questionable spiritual character," he said, and are likely to be disappointed.
``It's a big job keeping a group financially solvent" and to maintain strict financial integrity. "We've never seen a nickel of profit. Every dime goes back into the ministry," Pearce said.
Ron Bradberry, husband of Higher Call vocalist Karen Bradberry, serves as the group's business manager. Like even the best-known and most successful Southern gospel groups, Higher Call depends primarily on the sale of items such as audio cassettes for the bulk of its financial support. Like most similar groups, it has no set fee for a performance, depending on "love offerings" from churches that sponsor concerts.
There is an essential element of business in gospel music - in which Pearce hopes his group will be successful enough to be self-supporting without their other jobs. But Pearce insists that a truly successful group must be motivated by the Gospel of Christ, who conducted a ministry not noted for its financial success.
Pearce hopes Kingdom Heir Productions will be a refuge for groups who may have soured on the misdirected commercialism of some other promoters. The company will produce and market Higher Call and other groups.
Pearce already is involved in the formation of a national organization to support fledgling gospel performers with financial and career advice. That organization will not be motivated by profit, he insists, and he plans an awards program based not only on musical talent but on recommendations by pastors who endorse the groups' ministries.
Finding and encouraging talent at home will be part of Kingdom Heir's mission as well, Pearce said. This summer in Buena Vista, winners of a talent search will receive 10 hours of studio recording time.
For a group that held its first anniversary concert this weekend at the Stonewall Theatre in Clifton Forge, Higher Call seems already to have many of the hallmarks of success, including not only a quality sound but a firm, realistic sense of mission.
Many gospel performers approach their audiences as if they constitute a roomful of potential converts, instead of recognizing that most of those who attend concerts of Christian music are already committed to the faith.
While Pearce said the vocalists and musicians of Higher Call are open to the possibility of bringing new believers to the faith, they know that's not their main function.
"We are primarily an edification ministry," Pearce said, "called to lift up and encourage believers" to be better Christians active in their own churches.
And that is a refreshing perspective.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Pearce colorby CNB