In a mere moment, Christians are shaming other Christians because they might be suspect of Kanye West’s recent conversion. Suddenly, doubting Thomas is being called out and slighted by his own brotherhood and sisterhood and spoken of despairingly because he may have a differing opinion about the most recent celebrity conversion.
Already, Christian leaders (even Apostolic men and women of influence) are loudly proclaiming their love for the recent release of Kanye West (Jesus is King). Comparisons are being made between the Apostle Paul (once Saul) and Kanye West. Sure, Yeezus can shift toward Jesus, but the fever-pitch for which we are seeing men and women of faith jump onto Kanye’s bandwagon is deeply concerning.
First, many of these very men and women who are touting Kanye have spent little, if any, time defending and advocating for their own brothers and sisters in the Lord. No, quite contrary. They have been demeaning them on forums, talking about them to other friends, and generally touting negativity about those who labor alongside them in the Apostolic faith. Think about it! We are quick to condemn our own brethren, but quick to laud and celebrate another celebrity conversion while shaming our own brethren who may not see eye to eye with us and who are just a little suspicious and simpy want to see how things turn out before a wholesale adoption of everything Kayne.
Second, while many continue to swoon over Kanye West and suddenly act like the name of Jesus has never received global attention prior to Kanye, consider the artist collaboration that Kanye assembled and let’s just focus on TWO of the artists being featured on one of his tracks.
- Ty Dolla Sign (verified)
- Nicki Minaj (unsure if a line was dropped in a song, though it was promoted initially that she would be added to “New Body.”)
- Ant Clemons (verified)
Honestly, I would avoid doing a YouTube search of some of these names because, frankly, you will be introduced to pornographic rubbish that accompanies vulgar and filthy songs that glamorize violence, drug use, greed, and the objectification of women (among other things). But, go ahead and shame your Christian brothers and sisters when they voice skepticism about Kanye’s new Sunday church model that is sweeping the post-modern Christian world. Go ahead and drop pithy quotes and statements about your brothers/sisters lack of love, compassion, and evangelism when they have enough sense to be cautious about such celebrity conversions.
In the blink of an eye, we are now discussing what our favorite songs from Kanye’s newest album are and, with impressionable minds attuned to social media and influential voices, we are giving everyone the go-ahead to adopt Kanye West into our featured playlists as a bonified Christian artist. Hey, we proclaim, “Kanye is the modern Apostle Paul and how dare you do anything except throw your arms open wide and bring his voice into your homes!”
Forgive me if I adopt a position of carefulness. Forgive me if I am not enamored by another celebrity who has suddenly adopted Christ as their Lord and Savior who, in turn, is playing around with biblical paradigms I hold so dear. Forgive me if I am suspect of a “Christian album” that features artists I NEVER want my children to learn about or search on YouTube following their introduction to Kanye’s album drop. Hey, fervent supporters, where has your support been for the recent porn stars who accepted Christ and left the porn industry? Where was your fervent support for Snoop Dogg when he dropped his Christian album?
You see, there is a reason to sit back and WAIT and allow time to be the telling agency in the life of Kanye West. We could be observing a man’s faith journey or we could be observing one man’s continuing Messiah complex. Best we pray for him instead of promote him. Let time unfold this path before we allow ourselves the frenzy of promotions. But, don’t take my word for it and feel free to continue to shame those who are reluctant to dive into this latest conversion with gusto. Kind of negligent to accept a tree before it has produced any real fruit. Can God change people? Absolutely! Do we all hope that God miraculously gets ahold of Kanye West and his wife Kim and their children? You better believe it! Should we become immediate promoters of his message, his methods, and his claims? Answer that question honestly…
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*image credit Amazon Music
**thank you to reader who pointed out Nicki Minaj is not (though I’m not sure) on album. Nevertheless, Ty Dollar Sign and Ant Clemons are involved.
***updates added 10/30/19