the album Jesus is King is groundbreaking and catalytic. Innovative and unprecedented. I believe Kanye’s conversion and commitment to use his creative gifts for God’s glory is the beginning of something huge! I’m so encouraged by what the Lord is doing. We’ve all been praying for revival for years. Folks, this is what revival looks like; addicts, criminals, influencers, even Hollywood, coming to Christ in radical ways. A huge wave is rising! It’s going to be a wild ride. I see a whole new level of evangelism and worship being birthed by the Holy Spirit. The Lord is raising up people of influence who once worshipped and exploited the culture but now live to worship Jesus. God is getting our attention. It’s time to wake up! You don’t want to miss the harvest! I, for one, stand with him as a brother in Christ. I am for him, not against him. The criticism from some in the Christian community plays right into the devil’s hands. It displays a judgmental Church so consumed with motives that it can’t see beyond its assumptions. I’m very thankful no one was assuming my motives when I became a Christian. When I think back to my early days in the Lord, I remember my boldness. I was unapologetic about my faith. I still am. But sometimes my passions got jumbled up and the pendulum swung too far in both directions. Through discipleship, I learned how to check my motives and let the Holy Spirit purify my passionate heart. I remember one time when my motives got mixed up. I had been working with the recovery community and befriended several recovering addicts that were homeless. I brought them to church with me and was dismayed to see that a small group of church goers were not happy to see these people in our church. I was so angry at their judgment that I vowed I would bring as many of the homeless as I could to spite them. I labeled it as righteous anger and knew my actions would be endorsed by God. However, He had a slightly different reaction. First, He showed me that I was judging people for judging people. Second, although my motives had been pure in getting them to church, I had allowed my motives to morph into proving my point. I challenge every Christian to check their own motives. We tend too often to point out the plank in someone else’s eye while we have a log in our own. We all need grace. Kanye has been quoted as saying some crazy things since he’s come out as a Christian. I think of Kanye as a garden hose turned on full blast, twisting wildly all over. The Gardener will regulate the water pressure and the hose will be used His way to water the garden how and where He wants it to. Kanye will reach people that most of us never could in a world most of us will never know. But not all the “quotes” are exactly as Kanye said them. For example, I researched some of the statements made by Kanye and came upon an article in the Washington Post that quoted him saying, “I’m the greatest artist God ever created.” I was like Really, Kanye? Come on. Some humility please. But then I watched the quoted Joel Osteen interview and saw the context of the conversation. It was actually said more tongue and cheek about his admitted arrogance. It put a different light on things for me. Most articles like that don’t bother to describe the context or quote the other statements he makes that convict culture and glorify God. It wouldn’t go with the narrative they are trying to create. I encourage you to watch the interviews themselves instead of reading the articles. Does Kanye come across as prideful? Yes, sometimes he does (but why point fingers?). He doesn’t get everything right, neither do we. But God will work that out. He is faithful to finish the good work He’s started. He typically works on one or two character defects at a time. If Kanye doesn’t submit to God’s chiseling, He will intensify the pressure like He does in all of us. He’ll get to it all over time. I think some of that bold brashness is being used by the Lord to help Kanye speak on a platform where he’s the target of massive scrutiny and criticism. Most people wouldn’t be able to endure it and I sincerely hope and pray he will. What the enemy means for evil, God will use for good. Part of the speculation is that Kanye is too “bad” to have had such a dramatic and sudden conversion. It doesn’t seem possible to most. But remember, Jesus changed Saul to Paul— it can’t get more sudden and dramatic than that! I’m not sure why people think He can’t change Kanye West. We either believe Jesus changes lives or we don’t. Let’s pray for and believe in the gold in Kanye, just like we want people to pray for and believe in the gold in each one of us. Praise you, Jesus!