Kanye and Celebrity Christian Conversion

Among the stories buzzing around social media this weekend was the release of Kanye West‘s latest album “Jesus Is King.” Recently, Kanye has opened up about his faith to the point where he has said he will no longer perform “secular” music, focusing only on “gospel” music. At one of his recent “Sunday Services,” Kanye invited a preacher to the stage to proclaim the gospel to the gathered crowd. Even his wife, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, said, “He has had an amazing evolution of being born again and being saved by Christ.”

Celebrity conversions have been a difficult issue for Christians since the days of Saul the Pharisee (later the Apostle Paul–see Acts 9:26-27) and the Emperor Constantine. Are these conversions real, or just for political or social gain? Are celebrity believers really following Jesus, or have they unwittingly joined some wacky cult that calls itself “Christian”? If they are truly Spirit-born, where’s the fruit?

Here’s my take.

To begin with, whenever anyone professes faith in Jesus, Christians should be disposed to celebrate. I’m not saying we shouldn’t exercise any discernment, but we should want it to be real. And absent evidence to the contrary, we should be willing to accept that profession as a true profession. Especially when we’re talking about someone we don’t know personally, why not give the benefit of the doubt? After all, we can’t read that person’s heart. Only the Lord knows for certain whether that faith is real.

However, Scripture does encourage us to look for the fruit of conversion (see Matthew 7:15-20). A heart that truly loves the Lord will desire His Word and submit to its authority, and will want to identify with God’s people and gather with them for worship. The heart gripped by God’s grace in Christ will also repent of sin and look to Christ as the only one able to bring forgiveness of sin.

A word of caution: No Christian does these things perfectly. But if you have experienced the radical and miraculous change that comes through repentance and faith in Christ, these things will be important to you.

Does this mean whenever someone says they’ve become a Christian, we need to bring out the Spanish Inquisition?

No. And our response should be tempered by a number of factors including:

• Do I know the person?
• How does their profession of faith affect my life?
• How much does it matter to me personally whether their profession is real?
• How much good or harm could come to the church from this?

The more removed I am from the person professing faith and the less impact that profession has on me personally, the less reason I have to doubt that profession. I may never know where that person stands on key theological points, or which church has his or her membership. So I give God thanks for His work of redemption and move on.

Otherwise, I rejoice but then watch for fruit. New Christians go through growing pains as they develop in understanding and mature in faith. Perfection in theology and life are not pre-requisite to being a Christian. However, just as a seed doesn’t stay a seed, if the Spirit is at work in someone’s life, there should be growth. And that growth will continue until death (or the Lord returns).

If I were close to Kanye, I would advise him:

1. If you’re not already part of a good church, find one and join it. Submit to the accountability of your church leadership.
2. Leave the public spotlight for at least a year. Give yourself time to come to terms with what it means to be a Christian. Get involved with your church community in as low-profile a way as you can.
3. Read your Bible and pray. Daily. Become a student of God’s Word. And don’t be afraid to ask your pastor questions.
4. Don’t assume because you’re a public figure that you are automatically qualified to preach and teach. If that’s something you want to do, see #3. A good theological training (whether from your church leadership or at a faithful seminary) now can save you and your church a lot of trouble later.

I know I haven’t addressed everything that could be said, but I offer this as some food for thought.

Do you have insights to share or questions to ask? That’s what the comments are for!