Is Kanye West really converted to authentic Christianity? It seems too good – and too fantastical – to be true. Here are five important things you need to know about Kanye’s conversion, and some of it is inside information.
I’ve pretty much been dying on the inside for several weeks. I know things. But I can’t really share these things. I can’t share things because (A) it’s not my place (B) hordes of paparazzi that would start underturning stones that are fine the way they are (C) it would take glory away from the only One who deserves it for whatever is happening.
If you have been paying attention, you’ll see that over the weekend West had a Master’s grad (whose church meets at the Master’s University campus) preach at his gathering and also that he retired from secular music. I can’t say much, but what I can say is that these things aren’t a coincidence.
Here’s what I do know that I can share:
FIVE: KANYE IS (CURRENTLY) IN GOOD HANDS
I do know several brothers and/or churches who are working with Kanye, through various venues. I know some of these men very closely. Others I know only by reputation.
However, I am telling you with all seriousness that those who are currently ministering to Kanye and “speaking into his life” are stone-cold, rock-solid, Gospel-preaching, God-fearing, ain’t-playing-around, Bible-believing Christians who share our common faith.
These men are not celebrity-hounds, could not care less about Kanye’s celebrity, are not seeking the spotlight, and are not enamored with wealth or attention.
Furthermore, and this is the strongest possible thing I can say; I would trust these brothers with my life. They are not the attention-seeking publicity-whores and hangers-on who have been parasitising off of Kanye’s fame as he’s been religiously ‘searching’ for the last several years.
I can also say that Kanye’s connection with those brothers (in multiple places) seems to be of divinely orchestrated and otherwise inexplicable encounters.
I can also say that those fine brothers I know who are “speaking into his life” in different places are actually unconnected, or so it seems (even though they all share the same Confession of Faith). More than anything, this has surprised me. It appears as though God has placed him in contact with His men on different fronts, in different places, as a coordinated effort to intervene in the man’s life.
FOUR: IT HAS EXPLICITLY BEEN MADE CLEAR TO KANYE THAT HE MUST GIVE UP HIS LIFE TO GAIN IT.
What I am seeing in Social Media is a lot of discerning Christians listing off the things that Kanye needs to repent for, or at the least, be willing to give up.
You know… he’s made millions from marketing lasciviousness and profanity, his wife has hardly been modest, they’ve been accommodating to Bruce Jenner’s sinful delusions, he’s been sacrilegious, etc.
From what I know, Kanye has been told that he must give up his life to gain it (Matthew 6:25), that gaining his soul is more important than gaining the whole world (Mark 8:36), and that he might have to give up his fans and fortune to follow Jesus.
THREE: IT HAS EXPLICITLY BEEN MADE CLEAR TO KANYE THAT HE SHOULD ‘CHILL’ WITH MINISTRY AND INSTEAD, BE DISCIPLED
For those who seem worried that even if truly converted, Kanye has no business trying to lead a spiritual movement, conduct worship services, or lead others…know that Biblical counselors around him are telling him the exact same thing.
I have no earthly idea if Kanye will heed their counsel, but I can promise you that is the counsel he is receiving.
TWO: INSTEAD OF GIVING VOCAL SKEPTICISM, TRY PRAYING IN HOPEFUL OPTIMISM
I am perfectly willing to concede that Kanye may brush off his Biblical counselors, jump back into a Hillsong-style Christianity, and become some kind of weird hip-hop antichrist. I am making no definitive claim that I know his conversion is real.
However, I also know that if all you can do is voice concern and not be hopefully optimistic that God can save the chief of sinners, we might have more hope that Kanye is saved than that you are.
Do not be the Prodigal’s older brother, with folded-arms, huffing and angry with snorting, cynical skepticism. Have your doubts, while you hope and pray for the best.
For those who say, “I’ll believe it when I see him repent of [such-and-such],” I’m glad I didn’t walk down the aisle at your church, only to hear you hem-and-haw about proving something to you as though you were the judge of the Heavens and the Earth.
ONE: GOD DOESN’T NEED ANYONE. IT’S NOT ABOUT THAT.
God doesn’t need Kanye. If we really believe in the sovereignty of God and his eternal self-sufficiency, we should not care or consider that Kanye is a celebrity with a mass following who is worth a quarter billion dollars.
For the love of all that is good and pure, do not be excited that God has saved (or might save) Kanye West. Be excited that God might save a sinner, just like you.
All men have feet of clay. The angels sing no louder when a hip-hop artist is saved than a hobo.
No matter what, let us not make much of Kanye. Let us make much of Christ.
Finally, I am known (for better or worse) as one of the most cynical, skeptical people on the Interwebs. If even I can tell you to take a breath and watch to see what happens without pelting somebody with stones first, you might just want to listen.
[Editor’s Note: Contributed by JD Hall]
