Kanye West and Evangelism

Who Is Kanye West?

Kanye West is a popular rapper that just released his 9th record. This record is different than his previous records because it’s all about Jesus. In fact, the title is Jesus Is King. The record is at the top of the Billboard charts in spite of people telling Kanye a Gospel record would “kill his career.” People from all walks of life and all sections of popular culture are talking about Kanye and Kanye is talking about Jesus.

Some Christians are wondering if his conversion is authentic, he even references that issue in the song “Hands On.”

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

Sorry about that Kanye, we should know better.

Some in the music industry say it’s just clever marketing, I disagree.

Kanye has professed Jesus as Lord for most of his life, his mom raised him as a Christian, but something has changed. Now he seems to want to live his life to glorify God rather than himself.

On a recent record, he declared himself a god. Now he says that he was blasphemous and wants to change his ways. I can’t make a judgment on Kanye’s heart but I have watched several interviews with him and he consistently refers to his previous life as sinful and something to be left behind. It sounds like repentance to me.

He has even asked his celebrity wife, Kim Kardashian, to dress more conservatively. Not because God is upset with her if she doesn’t, but because of the kind of example it sets for their young daughters.

I’ve seen several fashion media outlets discuss the impact of provocative clothing on small children as a result of the West’s conversation about clothing.. The discussion is centered around Kanye and Kim’s very public marital issues, but the context of the public conversation is whether or not certain clothing is a good example for kids or not. New York fashion week hasn’t been too concerned about their impact on kids, but now it’s being discussed.

That may seem like a superficial issue, but I see it as a seed. Kanye and Kim’s public discussion about honoring their bodies as the temple of God is causing conversations about godliness is sections of culture that would never talk about Jesus.

The conversation over that particular issue isn’t over the lordship of Jesus, but it may cause enough of a pause in some people’s lives in that industry to turn to God and think about their influence on kids. God only needs the slightest crack in the door to invade someone’s heart.

I pray those seeds, no matter how shallow they may be, are watered by kind and loving Christians so the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to bring an increase in their lives…unto salvation.

You may not have been around very dark places or sections of culture, but trust me, the smallest light is incredibly noticeable in those circles.

Kanye’s impact on the fashion world is just one example.

Why Talk About Kanye West?

I have paid attention to the media coverage, all different kinds of people are talking about Jesus because they’re talking about Kanye. He’s popular right now, so people are going to talk about him, so he’s using that influence to point the conversation to Jesus.

One interviewer told Kanye that it seems like he wants to convert people to Christianity, as if that were an un-politically correct thing to do. Kanye’s response was, “that’s all I want to do.” The interviewer couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that Kanye was being bold and wasn’t making room for people to believe whatever they wanted.

Kanye is forcing the conversation, and he’s doing it with the Gospel. Kanye isn’t telling the world they’re sinful and they need to repent, he’s telling them who Jesus is. He’s telling the world that Jesus was sent by God to die for them because God loves them. He’s telling they need to be and can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

Believe it or not, millions of people still don’t know that. Their only encounter with Jesus has been through judgmental Christians that give them condemnation rather than mercy.

Think about how many celebrity Christians are radical for Jesus. Not many right? We see lots of public figures profess their faith or acknowledge Jesus, but how many high profile people are radically evangelizing the world for Jesus?

Most people that are famous walk their faith back a bit. They'll acknowledge Jesus but make a concession for other beliefs. Especially politicians, most of them don’t want to offend people or lose votes so they don’t use their platform to encourage people to receive Jesus and be born again.

Millions of Christians obviously do this, we’re sold out for Jesus, but I just don’t see many famous people radically using their platforms to bring people to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

What if there were 1000 Kanye’s?

Kanye is at the very top of the music industry right now, what if other people at the top of their industries were radically sold out to Jesus. And of course, what if you were? I’ll let the Holy Spirit work that one out for you and move on.

Just for fun, let’s list some people at the top of their industries and imagine what it would look like if they were using their influence to preach the Gospel and bring people to Christ. I’m praying for these people.

• President Donald Trump

• Bill Gates

• George Soros

• Cristiano Ronaldo

• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

• Barack Obama

• Mark Zuckerberg

• Nancy Pelosi

• Sam Harris

• All the heads of state of every nation

• Who is on your list?

It may “seem” impossible, but what if?

Let’s Make Jesus Popular

Pop culture responds to what is popular. Most of the church would say the world is too dark or too far gone to be predominantly Christian or be receptive to Jesus. Many Christians believe the world is going to get darker, the church is going to have to hide in caves and the devil is going to take over the planet. I think the spirit of God in the hearts of his people is more powerful than that. I think we can actually be effective. More importantly, I think the kingdom of God will not be denied. Jesus was the seed that God planted in the earth and he will continue to grow until his kingdom is all that’s left.

Don’t forget, Jesus wins!!

People knowing the true Gospel and having a real encounter with Jesus is what makes the difference. It’s the kindness and goodness of God that brings people to repentance.

Christians are praying for a move of repentance but aren’t focusing on the “kindness of God” message. It’s time to change our approach, lead with kindness, love, and mercy.

Romans 2:1 You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that GOD’S KINDNESS LEADS YOU TO REPENTANCE?

People encounter God’s kindness through other Christians and the Gospel. Our kindness toward the world and our bold declarations of the Gospel will be the catalyst for a massive move of repentance.

Evangelism and You

What does evangelism look like for you? To me, it’s a unique expression of your relationship with Jesus. It looks different for everyone. Evangelism is like art, it’s personal and from the heart. Evangelism is most effective if it’s the fruit of a personal relationship with Jesus rather than an obligation.

Many of us walk back our faith because of life’s circumstances. We’ve been through some hard things and we’re just trying to do the best we can. So many of us are in debt, are sick or are in pain, and it robs our drive to live beyond ourselves and be radical witnesses for Jesus.

I want to encourage you to spend some time with God and ask him what he wants you to do to proclaim his Gospel to others. No more excuses! Be ready in season and out of season.

You can trust that the Gospel will bear fruit in people’s lives. Take some time to revisit your understanding of the simple message of the Gospel and simply tell others about it. People are dying to hear about Jesus and his love for them. You can do it, step out a little, ask God to lead you, share the Gospel!!

Listen to this free series entitled The Power of the Gospel

The Little Things Build A Legacy

You don’t get to decide your own legacy. You set your goals, you live your life but history will judge your legacy. Funny thing is, your legacy is less about what you’ve done and more about how you treated people. Even if you’re known for what you do, it’s still judged by how what you did affected people.

History will judge your legacy but God will judge your works. Your deeds and actions matter. God will judge your works at the resurrection. The good news is your salvation is determined by your faith in Christ alone, but your works determine your rewards.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

We’re not 100% sure what the rewards are but I think it’s safe to say God will still get all the glory for what you allowed him to do through you.

By the way, don’t forget about this passage when reading about the judgment of your works…

1 John 4:16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

You don’t have to be afraid of any future judgment because you are just like Jesus as far as God is concerned. Meaning you’re his beloved child whom he loves. You’ve been adopted by God into his eternal family because you believe in Jesus as your right-standing with God.

Back to my point about deeds and legacy…

Many of you know that my mom recently passed away. I’ve talked to so many people about the impact she had in their lives. The overwhelming majority of people who came to her memorial or contacted me said she was kind, loving and accepting. Many have stories of her helping them, her being there for them when they were going through a difficult time. That’s mom’s legacy, she’s someone who helped people when times were tough…including me.

There’s another facet to her legacy — my ministry. Let me give you a little background, mom was a believer but we didn’t go to church when I was young, it just wasn’t part of our lives. I got saved from a bad substance abuse experience in my late teens and began seeking God on my own. I would speak with my mom about Jesus during my years of searching but she just didn’t know much. Her influence would manifest another way.

When I was 21, mom met a lady in her shag dance club that invited her to church. Mom then invited me to church. That was December 0f 1994, the church was Faith Cornerstone Church in Dunwoody, GA, pastored by David and Erline Michael.

After listening to Pastor David for a few months I knew that I was going to be in ministry somehow. I didn’t know what a “calling” was, I didn’t know I was supposed to “live for Jesus” but it was clear to me I would someday do what pastor David was doing, I just knew it in my heart. From that point on, every decision I made was a step in that direction.

It’s the little things that build a legacy…

What if mom had not invited me to church? What if the lady that invited her hadn’t invited her? Would you be reading this email? I can’t say for sure but probably not.

I want to encourage you, do the little things that seem insignificant. It’s a reality that our deeds will be judged, but those deeds can also make an eternal difference in people’s lives. Your actions matter. I think following his leading to invite someone to church is one of the kinds of deeds you’ll be rewarded for. There are probably millions of small deeds that people will be rewarded for on that day.

It’s the little things that build a legacy. It’s the little things that build a life. It’s probably the little things that God sees in secret for which he will reward you openly. All the bad deeds will burn away and never again plague you, but that’s another conversation.

I want to encourage you to do good works. Not because you’ll be judged, but because they make a difference in people’s lives. Mom inviting me to church at 21 years old mattered it ended up defining my life. She would have never guessed what would come of her inviting me to church. She would have never imagined that Sara and I would one day plant a church that reaches people all over the world and has been used to lead people to Jesus.

I thank God for my mom, in a way she saved my life. I hope you have someone in your life who did the little thing that changed your life. I hope you get the opportunity to do something little that will change someone else’s life.

Like last week, I want to encourage you to open your heart to God to be led into someone’s life that needs a little nudge toward Jesus. It doesn’t take much, just a small seed will suffice. Be willing, be bold even, do the little things and watch God turn them into eternal rewards!!

Feeling Each Other's Pain - How to Carry Mercy and Grace from God's Throne to the Hurting

Have you ever been through something so difficult it felt like no one understood how bad you were hurting? I just lost my mom and it hurts, it’s hard to explain to people the emotional and mental struggle of losing a mom you’re very close with. I know where she is, I’m thankful she’s out of pain, I know I’ll see her again, but it still hurts.

One of the more reassuring things people did in this process was share their stories of losing their mom. There’s something comforting about knowing you’re not alone. Lots of people say nice things trying to help, but the most meaningful support came from people who have lost their mom. Those who have been through this knew what I was feeling and could specifically speak to and do things that were helpful because they’ve been there.

This lesson made me think of how Jesus is there for us and how we can be there for others. Jesus can empathize with our pain and suffering because he’s been through it as well. We can go to him for mercy and comfort when we’re hurting. And then we can help others experience mercy and strength from God in the things we’ve been through. He comforts and strengthens so we can in turn comfort and strengthen others with the love God has shown us in our weakness.

Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jesus empathizes with our weaknesses, pain and suffering because he’s been through it too. God became human for a few reasons, one of which was to feel what we feel and face what we face. Jesus is a high priest over the New Covenant, interceding on our behalf, from a place of empathy and mercy.

The one who holds the authority over our eternal destiny is not judging us based on our weaknesses, he stepped into those weaknesses and conquered them for us so he could then turn to us and help us through.

We can do the same thing for others. We can turn and help others out of their weakness and pain. If you’ve been through something, you can minister to others because you know what it’s like.

Sometimes we need others to help us hold firmly to our faith. Sometimes we need others to help us experience God’s mercy. Sometimes we need others to remind us to keep our hearts open to God to receive grace and power when we’re weak. It’s better to receive that kind of input from people who have been through what we’re struggling with at the moment.

If you’ve been through something, ask God to lead you to people who need your help. One of the best ways to move past a painful experience is to help someone else who is in the middle of the same thing. Just being there and sharing your story is comforting.

Don’t minimize your experience, people need you to empathize with them. Share your weaknesses and struggles with others, especially those who are going through something you’ve experienced.

Jesus did it for you, you can do it for others.