Donnie McClurkin 

 

Donnie McClurkin was born Donald Andrew McClurkin Jr. in Amityville, New York on November 9, 1959.

Donnie McClurkin Quote:

"We all claim to worship the same God, so why don't we fellowship together? ... The only thing that keeps us from fellowshiping together are the church buildings, the organizations." From Thinkexist.com

Donnie McClurkin - The Early Years:

Tragically, Donnie McClurkin did not have a picture-perfect childhood. Instead, his was a childhood of sexual abuse and confusion. At the age of eight, two days after the funeral of his baby brother (who had been hit by a car), he was first raped by his great uncle. Five years later, he was raped by his great uncle's son. The sexual abuse against him and two of his sisters was only one symptom of a family coming apart. By this point, his family was battling severe drug and alcohol abuse problems. Church was his only escape from it all. McClurkin's aunt, a backup singer for Andrae Crouch, introduced him to the Gospel legend after Crouch performed at the Bethel Tabernacle in Jamaica, New York. That introduction lit the fire that fanned his love of music, but it did much more. Crouch became his mentor, encouraging him in his music, corresponding with him and sharing Scriptures that helped him in ways Crouch couldn't know.
Donnie formed the New York Restoration Choir and they performed on street corners and in prisons. At a gospel music workshop and seminar, he met Rev. Marvin L. Winans and the (then) 24-year-old impressed Winans so much that he invited him to Detroit to help start a ministry.

Looking Up and Falling Down:

In 1989, six years after first meeting Marvin Winans, McClurkin made the move to Detroit and became an associate minister at Perfecting Church. When not at his home church, Donnie performed at churches across the US. Then, in 1991, the bottom seemed to fall out yet again. At 31, he was diagnosed with leukemia. His doctor wanted to begin chemotherapy immediately, but Donnie wanted more than modern medicine - he wanted a miracle. With Rev. Winans praying over him and with him, Donnie stood on faith alone. In interviews with Ebony Magazine and Gospelflava.com he admits that he had a lot of fear in his mind because he let "facts interfere with faith," but after a month, doctors could find no trace of the disease. His symptoms remained for another two months, but doctors never found any medical reason as to why. He believes that it was all God showing him that facts don't always tell the whole story.

The Healing of a Heart Begins:

At this point in the Donnie McClurkin story, you would think that having overcome all of the tragedy, he would be unbreakable. Sadly, real life doesn't work that way. Even though things looked great from the outside (record labels, constant tours, a growing relationship with a beautiful woman), Donnie's past battles continued to fester in his heart. Five years after overcoming leukemia and almost 30 years after being first molested, he broke down on a plane ride home from Los Angeles. As he pleaded with God to tell him why He had picked Donnie for such a path, he says God answered him by saying, "What do you do when you've done everything? How do you handle the past and that guiltiness, preaching to everyone else but still remembering what you've done? How you do deal with the shame?" The song "Stand" (Purchase/Download) was born and although Donnie had been sharing his story with his church for years, he took the first steps (through the song) to share it with a much larger audience. After getting his mother's blessing, he wrote Eternal Victim, Eternal Victor (Compare Prices). He released a movie, From Darkness to Light: The Donnie McClurkin Story (Compare Prices) about his life in 2004. By sharing his story of sexual abuse and the homosexuality that he fell into afterwards, he let others know that they are not alone.