For those of you who kneel at the altar of rock and roll, Megadeth‘s bassist David Ellefson will do you one better. He is studying for his Lutheran ordination at the Concordia Seminary in Clayton, Missouri. “Most people want to become a rock star,” said Reverend Jon Bjorgaard, pastor of Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church, where Ellefson worships. “David’s a rock star who wants to become a pastor.”
Religion has always played a large role in Ellefson’s life. “I came from a good family, not a broken home,” he told St. Louis Today. “That became a model for me, and I saw church at center of it.”
However, Ellefson soon jumped on the rock and roll train–he moved to Los Angeles, started Megadeth, and began to rock professionally. By the time he was 25 his life had become untenable. Ellefson entered a 12-step program, cleaned up, moved to Arizona to start a family, and returned to God. Last year he enrolled in Concordia’s Specific Ministry Program.
“Some people want to morph things together into one, but I have a hand in both worlds,” he said. “I love praise and worship music, and I love heavy metal.” Well said. Ellefson will be eligible for ordination after two years.