I GOT SAVED

Testimony, Jeffrey Craig Fenholt




Paul:....from California. Anointed Christian singer, International Youth Director for Washington for Jesus '96. That was a real trip wasn't it?

Jeff: That was wild. And you were there. And we had it beamed by a satellite. You know, when we went on television, we had a large crowd; and people were asking as the day progressed. From 12 noon to 6 p.m. the crowd was growin'; but, when Christian television, when we went online at 8 o'clock; and the people in Washington, D.C. saw Kirk Franklin and the Family, all these people came out. The crowd just became huge; and it just happened so fast...It was amazing.

Paul: God has used Jeff in many many ways. As I said before, nearly everybody in the world has heard of the great broadway musical Jesus Christ Superstar. How many years ago Jeff?

Jeff: 25. It's been a while, huh?

Paul: Hey, you know what? It just hit me. Jeff, have you done any ministry over in Europe?

Jeff: No not really. I've done a few things, here and there, but not so much. And uh, I started really focusin' on the youth here, in the states about two and half almost three years ago. We really started pushin' a lot of outdoor events, stadiums, outdoor things, and street. Quite frankly, I started feelin' that I was globetrottin' all over five continents. And it hit me that, man, we have a missionary field right here in America.

Paul: Yeah, true. But it's our chance though, Jeff, let's...can we in about twenty minutes...

Jeff: We can do it in two...

Paul:...tell,..

Jeff: I was a dirtball and I got saved. :) [Laughing] Thank you, Jesus. That's it. That's the quick version.

Paul: Let's talk a little bit about Fenholt B.C. - before Christ - you were a bad boy, weren't you?

Jeff: I was kinda, well, that was the problem. I don't know what to tell, because all the stuff goin' on these days. Yeah, it's been a wild ride servin' the Lord; but, I tell you, that it's absolutely the best thing that's ever happened in my life..

Paul: How did you get involved in that great musical broadway show Jesus Christ Superstar.?

Jeff: Well, I was actually in college. I had dropped out of rock'n'roll bands for my senior year of high school. Because I had cut so much school, and my grades were so down. And I really did want to go to college. I wanted to get a musical marketing degree. And I wanted to try and make hit records. And then, I wanted to wind up in the entertainment business. You know, with a label like CBS or something. I had kind of a long-range focus, or whatever; and when I got into college I was there in voice at Ohio State. And I got kicked out of the glee club. We were smoking dope, that's stuff's not good in the glee club...:) [laughing] It's not good anywhere...And I got kicked out; and things started to happen. So, I went and I decided to go out and do some tourin'; and do some rock and roll tourin'; or whatever; and make some money. And I started making some money again. It just seemed I'd get into the rock thing, the crowds would show up.

Paul: You were with a couple of big rock bands, weren't you?

Jeff: Black Sabbath. I went into the studio, and recorded an album; but, that was right when I was comin' out of the darkness. I also was with the Bible Black Tour, which feature guys from Sabbath. I toured that, and a group called Rainbow, Richie Blackmore's Rainbow. And right now I'm in the studio with guys from White Snake and Ozzie Osbourne, and all these groups. They've all gotten saved, filled with the Holy Ghost; and we're in the studio.

Paul: Hey.. Ozzie Osbourne....

Jeff: One of his members, of his band.

Paul: Who was that guy that bit a chicken's head off and ....

Jeff: He bit the head off a bat; but, actually, I talked to his bass player. And maybe I shouldn't let this out on television because they didn't really say I should. But I'm gonna do it anyway. :) Apparently, Ruddy, who's my bass player now, we're recording together, Ruddy was on stage with Ozzie when that happened. He said that Ozzie was more freaked out than anybody, because the bat was thrown up on the stage by a fan thinking the bat would fly. But when they get under the lights, they go dormant. Ozzie apparently, from what I was told, thought it was a rubber bat...thought he'd freak the audience out. When he bit the head off, he freaked.

Paul: It was a real bat?

Jeff: Then he went running. This is the story I was told...maybe I shouldn't have shared it. But that's what it was.

Paul: Well, I think that helps me a little bit. It was an accident.

Jeff: Well, praise God. So that improves you're opinion of rock'n'roll...

Paul: [laughing] Right, right. Anyhow, take me to the beginning of Jesus Christ Superstar and ...

Jeff: Well, I met Robert Stigwood, who managed the Beatles. And this was the year the Beatles broke up, so he was right on top of the whole thing. And he, his organization, signed me in management, Peter Brown, who was my actual manager at that time, he also managed the Beatles. And they got me with Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote this new film, now Evita, he wrote all that music. He did Phantom of the Opera, and all that...But Jesus Christ Superstar was his first production. And they asked me if I would do Jesus; and premier it in the world, for this Jesus Christ Superstar project. Because there was a guy that was from Deep Purple, who they had planned to use for the world premiere, but his voice went. He could'nt...the story I was told at the time was, his voice went. So, they had me; and they said come in and do this thing. And the album had sold several million records or so, I think, by the time we opened. And I'm trying to recall, but I believe, we were thinkin' of openin' like a 4 or 5,000 seater; but, because the thing just exploded, we went to a 12[k] or 20[k] or whatever. And then from there the crowds just got bigger and bigger.

Paul: You know, I never, of course, got to see it. And I've heard reports that was it at all even close to an accurate presentation of the life of Christ, and who He was, and is?

Jeff: Well, the original rock'n'roll tour, I personally liked it better than Broadway. That's just my own opinion. I kinda, actually, I felt sorry for Andrew when Broadway opened. 'Cause it became such an extravaganza. And I thought the music was great the way we originally presented it. But, um, when I first did the tour, of course, we're all long haired. And we were just wearin' blue jeans, and silk shirts, and boots; and went out and had a full orchestra. A big orchestra, I forget, but 42-piece or whatever...

Paul: Give me a jist, what was the presentation about, really?

Jeff: Well, it was, the thought behind it, I have to sort of focus on that, the thought behind it for what we were doin' was more the humanist approach. To look at Jesus as the man...

Paul: Not necessarily as divine and...

Jeff: No, definitely not...So...

Paul: Was it blasphemous?

Jeff: Well, uh, the way I did it :) [laughing], I was drunk every night. How blasphemous can you get. But, uh, we'd get out there; and there were a few lines that now that I'm saved, that really bother me. A few that I, the reason that I haven't sung my so-called big song in Jesus Christ Superstar, was there's lines that say. 'I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord. If I die, what will be my reward. Would I be more noticed than I've ever been before. Would the things I've said and done matter anymore. I'd have to know, I'd have to know, my Lord.' And it's really singin' about somebody who doesn't know who he is, or doesn't know what's gonna happen, and he's actually praying to the Lord. It's Jesus, but He's saying, 'My Lord, who am I? What's my reward? What am I gonna receive? It was a little weird.

Paul: Totally denied His divinity then, doesn't it?

Jeff: Yes, and then at the end, of course, Jesus is crucified; and there's no resurrection. When we got to Broadway, we resurrected Judas.

Paul: Oh, really?

Jeff: Yeah.

Paul: I'm glad you're saved brother.

Jeff: Yeah, it was weird. And when I was doin' the thin', you know, all of a sudden, I was like this guy from Ohio, who was just kinda, who God had given me a voice. I should have been singin' for the Lord all the way through; instead of pretendin' I was Him, you know, I was saved or whatever...But, um, the weird thin' was that, some of the strange parodies that I've never really talked about is that, almost bled to death in my final performance of Jesus Christ Superstar. Which I think is weird. Here I was playin' Jesus; and he shed His blood for us...And people kept comin' to me, and they kept drawin' these weird things....you have to understand, I was unsaved; I was doin' drugs; I was runnin' around; and doin' all this crazy stuff; and I was hangin' with all the crazies, you know? And the Stones were there one night; and the Nixon would be there another night. Not necessarily that he's crazy, but all these different people. And I was meeting all these rock'n'roll guys. But people were tellin' me that the guy that played King of Kings, whose name was Jeffrey Hunter; and they were trying to say, that I was gonna die. The newspapers would write curses; and say, 'You know the guy that's playing Jesus does this, and that, and the other thing. And, um, then one night backstage, I don't think I've ever really shared this on television; but, one night backstage I was getting ready to go on and I felt sick. I thought I had the flu; and it's maybe a little gross to talk about, but all of sudden I started vomittin'. And it was bright red blood [Paul: Eww], and it started comin' out of my nose. I was chockin', it was all over me. And I was coughin' this blood all over the place back there. And believe it or not, the stage manager came back [and I won't name him, but he's a great guy], but he came back; and I told him I was vomittin' blood. And I said, 'Look at this.' There was blood all over. And he said, it was something you ate. He said, 'You gotta get on in like ten minutes.' I said, 'Get my understudy, you know, Ted.' Whose a great guy, Ted Neely, he's actually out doin' Jesus Christ Superstar now; and they're sellin' a lot of tickets. He was my understudy on Broadway. And I really liked Teddy a lot. And I'm really glad he's doin' well. But anyway, I got sick; and I called home. And Reeni called the doctor, my personal doctor, Doctor Linder, Arthur Linder. And he said, "If he's vomitting red blood, tell him not to wait for an ambulance. Tell somebody to get him in a cab, and get him to the New York University as fast as you can.' Turns out that I had broken an artery in my stomach; or somethin' like that. I was just bleedin' like crazy. So they had to start transfusions, which is weird to think that was my last day of playin' Jesus. 'Cause I was bleedin' to death on a stretcher. And, I survived it. And the dirt ball got saved. That's it.

Paul: We've got about six minutes.

Jeff: Oh I thought you were lookin', 'cause it was time to end....

Paul: No, no, no.

Jeff: Whenever it's time to end, I'l just say, 'The dirt ball got saved.' :)

Paul: I want you to expand on the saved portion. Take us quickly to that moment when Nick Disipio,...

Jeff: And you have met Nick, haven't you?

Paul: I think I did, not to long ago.

Jeff: And you've seen, first hand, how it's hard to say no to Nick Disipio.

Paul: I met him, I think, in New York there; or back in D.C.; or somewhere.

Jeff: Well, this guy is from Italy. He came over here from the Old Country. And he was workin' with the Mob. He was buildin' homes, and doin' construction for a mob-backed company. And he got saved. So, you have to picture this Italian guy, thata talka lika dis, that was big and um short but real big, fat. And he came to my estate out in Long Island, where I was livin' at the time. And I was bein' managed by Deep Purple's manager at that time; and signed a, I think it was a, ...label. And he came out, and he confronted me. And he was doin' a construction job on the house. So, my wife, who was Catholic, she had hired him. Because she knew I was havin' these demonic problems. It was to where, I couldn't sleep at night; plus I was stoned, I had passed out. I couldn't fall asleep. And she said that, I used to growl in my sleep. And do stuff that would weird her out, like I'd start growling. And doin' weird stuff. And I growled when I was awake too. :) [Everyone laughing] But, um, anyway, Nick Disipio comes into the room. Or, actually, I walked into that part of the house. And Nick said, he looked at me, and I will never forget. He goes, I said to him, I said, 'I wanna talk to you.' And he looked at me. And I had my hair all down; and all, you know, crazy all over the place. And he looked at me; and I said, 'I wanna talk to you.' And he goes, real smart alecky, he goes, 'You wanna talka to me?' He goes, 'No, I wanna talka to you.' He said, 'You a bigga rocka star. You played Jesusa Christa Supastar.' He goes, 'Now are you ready to meet the real Jesusa Christ.?'

Paul: Whew.

Jeff: And that thing that was in me...I had really gotten some demonic problems. Because I had gotten into the occult, and all this garbage. I'd been livin' with Salvador Dali and his wife Gala; and all this surreal stuff, and all his friends, and all his crazy artist lifestyle that I'd gotten into. And I had some real problems. And I remember this thin' or this fear came on me; and I ran out of the room. And three hours later, I came back. And I just, I had just had it. I mean, I had everythin' I wanted; I had my mansion paid for; I had all my cars paid for; I had money to live. I was told, I could live the rest of my life, if I hadn't gone into evangelism. :) [laughing] That is for those...who think I'm tryin' to work my way up the ladder of success. And, success is different, when you get saved, isn't it.

Paul: Yes, yes.

Jeff: It's a whole other thin'. But, anyway, I went down; and asked him to pray for me. And it shocked Nick, so bad, Nick Disipio. That he actually stood there for a minute. And I felt so much fear on me, I felt so weird, that I actually wanted to run. So, when he just stood there, I remember screamin' at him. I said, 'Pray!' Like that. Like, you know, 'Do it.' And they came, and they laid hands on me. And I felt this thin' lift off me. That's all I can say.

Paul: That's incredible.

Jeff: This thin' that had been on me for at least nine years. And I can tell the day it came on me, too. But it left. It just lifted off. I felt the power of God hit me for the first time. I literally went down on my knees. I started gigglinn'. Like a little kid, just gigglin'. :) And Nick said, I looked at him. I said, 'What'd you do?' 'Cause I knew that I was, like, free. And you've had to accept Jesus to know what that feels like. I said, 'What did you do?' I knew I wasn't gonna have any more panic attacks. I knew I wasn't gonna need drugs. I just knew it. It was gone. It's somethin' you have to experience. Compared to being clean and sober, that's when you just clean and sober. But when you accept Jesus, it's GONE. You know what I mean?

Paul: Amen.

Jeff: He, who the Son sets free, is free indeed. And Nick said, 'We prayed for you, in the name of the Jesusa Christ.' He said, 'He just set you free from all that garbage that you'd be in.' He said. 'Now will you giva your life to Jesusa Christ?' And I said, 'Yes.' And I got back down on my knees; I prayed the prayer to receive Jesus; I got filled with the Holy Ghost. I didn't have time to hear any of the stuff, why you shouldn't pray in tongues. I was prayin' in tongues within ten seconds. :) [everyone chuckling] And, man, I'm telling you, from that point on even in all the difficult times there's a stability; there's a point to focus on that is alive. It's not dead; it's not visualization; it's not tryin' to focus on my own strength. It's putting your trust and your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a foundation, we have a Savior.

Paul: This program's not only going to go to Europe; It's gonna go to South Africa; and it's going to go to Central America, South America...

Jeff: Should I put my hair back up. :) [Laughing]

Paul: No, no... We like you like you are... It's going to go to Bethelehem. Take a minute Jeff. Two more minutes, three more minutes.

Jeff: You know, you that are out there, I feel such a burden for you that are watchin'. And I want you to know that the Lord loves you. Jesus loves you. Whatever you've been into; whatever your problems are; whatever you've been strugglin' with; Jesus is the answer. And I want you to give your heart to Jesus Christ. The Word of God says, that Paul knows this, we all know this, That all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Word of God says, If you confess Jesus with your mouth; and believe in your heart, that he raised from the death, you will be saved. So, just call on the Lord. And just say, 'Jesus.' First of all, I know that I was bound and somebody had to pray over me before I could even confess the name of Jesus. So, we take authority over every demonic stronghold in your life. We tear it down, in the name of Jesus. We pray against every evil force, and strike it down; and call for clearness of mind, for you to know the truth. That the truth will set you free. Now call on Jesus, say, 'Lord Jesus, I give you my life. I confess you as Lord and Savior; and I believe that you have risen from the dead. My name is written in the Book of Life. In Jesus name, Amen.' Now call the number on the screen [714-731-1000], and let somebody know what the Lord has just done in your life. Praise God. You know what, it never fails. I can be on here, and havin' fun, and just laughin', and everythin'. When we get down to prayin'; and we get down to salvation; I feel such an awesome responsibility to be able to pray, and have a part in what the Lord has done. He's already done it all; but, to be able to pray with somebody, to bring them to Jesus. I mean, what more of an honor can there be? And think of all the people through television that we're gonna hang out with for like a trillion birthdays. Never met them on the earth, but some day joined together. And knowin' all things. And people are gonna say, 'Yeah, I heard that dirt ball's story.' :) [Laughing] You know what, I get a lot on the road? I get a lot of people sayin' that, 'They're really blessed by Jan's chicken story.'

Paul: Yes, yes. Some day it's make it to your home..Here's a miracle chicken. [Jeff laughing]

My Deepest Love,
Jeff
Praise The Lord Show, December 4, 1996


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© 1997, EFI
Updated: April 7, 1999
Created: 7/25/97