Kanye West’s Sunday Service events keep hitting the news. This time, a pastor at Sunday’s Baton Rouge event reported that 1000 people gave their lives to Jesus during the altar call at the concert.
“If you ever doubted the legitimacy of spiritual impact of this #SundayService project, simply look at this incredible shot taken by @the.smitan during the altar call. YES, I said ALTAR CALL..In a crowd of 6,000 people from all walks of life, all ages, and all races, I witnessed over 1,000 people respond to The Gospel by raising their hands to accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior!” wrote pastor Curvine Brewington on Instagram.
West has faced much cynicism from Christians who seem reluctant to believe that he isn’t proclaiming Christ for publicity. When I saw that West’s new album “Jesus Is King” hit number one, I had to find out why. So I downloaded it. I was blown away by the spirituality and authentic gospel that I heard. If it’s a publicity stunt, and yet it reaches people for Christ, then what is everyone complaining about? To me, it seems like jealousy.
The lyrics for “Hands On” are especially heartbreaking, and every Christian who wants to be critical of West should take notice.
Said I’m finna do a gospel album
What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Feelin’ like nobody love me
Told people God was my mission
What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me
Make you feel alone in the dark and you’ll never see the light
Man, you’re never seein’ home and you never see the domes
I can feel it when I write, point of livin’ in the right
If they only see the wrongs, never listen to the songs
Just to listen is a fight, but you booked me for the fight
It’s so hard to get along if they only see the slight
From the love of religion
What have you been hearin’ from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it seem like nobody love me
I’m not tryna lead you to Visas
But if I try to lead you to Jesus
We get called halfway believers
Only halfway read Ephesians
Only if they knew what I knew, uh
I was never new ’til I knew of
The true and living God
(Somebody pray for me)
I deserve all the criticism you got
If that’s all the love you have, that’s all you got
To sing of change, you think I’m joking
To praise His name, you ask what I’m smoking
Yes, I understand your reluctancy, yeah
But I have a request, you see
Don’t throw me up, lay your hands on me
Please, pray for me
Hold myself on death
Hold it down, all fallen down
Somebody pray for me
It’s shameful that Christians have treated this man with contempt and criticism. Stop it. Whose job is it to judge the state of a man’s soul? You? We need far less skepticism and far more love and serious prayer for his safety on this treacherous journey. We all know what happens to those who try to break away from the culture. It’s going to be a battle unlike anything we’ve seen on the public stage. This man is the most famous rapper in the world in a genre that spreads hatred, vulgarity, and sin as a rule. Satan isn’t going to just let him go.
As for the album, it’s amazing. I grew up in a church with Pastor Dan Willis, who loved gospel music and founded one of the only choirs full of mostly white people who sang black gospel music called the Pentecostals of Chicago. It ended up being the time of our lives, and somewhat of a novelty in Chicago. We were invited to sing at Gospel Fest with some of the greatest Chicago choirs and gospel artists at the time like Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago, Calvin Bridges, Darius Brooks and so many more. Extra points if you can find me singing my heart out with a mouth full of braces in this video. (Hint: my mother and I are wearing matching giant gold bows. Don’t judge. It was the early ’90s. Everyone made bad fashion choices.)
The heyday of gospel music seemed to die out in the early 2000s and was replaced with anything by Chris Tomlin and others who sound exactly like him with repeating lyrics that will put you into a coma. You can count me thrilled to have a real gospel resurgence back on top thanks to Kanye. There is nothing like the energy of a full-gospel choir. West has recaptured that feeling with his new album “Jesus is King.” Not only is this choir rocking but they are spreading praises to God to the whole world. It’s the most exciting thing to hit the music charts…ever. Kanye West is doing for Christian music what no one has ever been able to do: make it popular. It’s revolutionary. Get excited, Christian!
Amazing.
this is it.
Jesus is king.
Thank you Kanye.
Thanks for coming to Baton Rouge.@kanyewest pic.twitter.com/OH9jx4ewds— Dylan Wolfe (@thedylanwolfe) November 2, 2019
Megan Fox is the author of “Believe Evidence; The Death of Due Process from Salome to #MeToo.” Follow on Twitter @MeganFoxWriter
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