Self-proclaimed Christian artist Chance the Rapper announced he is taking a sabbatical to read his Bible.
In an Instagram post with a strong expletive, Chance shared that his nephew was born recently, and Chance needs to learn the Bible to share with the “next generation.”
“I’m going away to learn the Word of God which I am admittedly very unfamiliar with,” Chance writes. “I’ve been brought up by my family to know Christ but I haven’t taken it upon myself to really just take a couple of days and read my bible. we all quote scripture and tell each other what God likes and doesn’t like but how much time do we spend as followers of Jesus to really just read and KNOW his word. I’m definitely guilty of not devoting time to it.”
He continues: So don’t bother me, ill be back soon enough, with five or more books from the bible read.”
Chance, whose real name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, made headlines last year when he turned the Grammy awards into an all-out worship event.
As Alexis Maston previously wrote for Charisma News:
A few years ago, Chance was on a completely different path. When asked about his transformation on The Coloring Book in a radio interview, Chance shared a personal story. “One day during my Acid Rap tour, my grandmother saw me and began to pray. She said, ‘I break off anything in your life that is not God.’ After that, things began to change.”
For the past year, audiences have seen Chance on SNL, The Tonight Show, and now the Grammys alongside Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann, proclaiming his love for his savior, Jesus.
On the Grammys, Chance performed a combination of several songs off his award-winning album. The main songs were “How Great” and “Blessings.” At one point, he exhorted the crowd and told them to stand up for his God because He is worthy to be honored. As tears rushed to my eyes, I began to feel what you feel right before the church altar call. I was overwhelmed by the strong, tangible presence that could be felt through the screen by even the most callous of souls.
I listened to the words and was inspired by the lyrics of Chance’s journey to God, seeking to release worship so high it “would make Jesus come back early” and how his power ultimately endowed him with a super strength like Netflix superhero hit Luke Cage. Wait, how could this be? How could have felt this coming from this artist who has such a visceral tension in his album’s trajectory with God and the world? How could the Spirit be resting and dwelling in him? The Scriptures tell us:
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16).
God created Chance and gave him the spiritual intellect to make this powerful music to reach the masses. Chance’s raw salvation is enlightening; and for us, it represents the true process and messiness of salvation.
God is literally transforming him in the spotlight, and he isn’t afraid of it, either. He lets it be known “I speak to God in public, He says my new stuff jams, and I think we are mutual fans.” Later, he said, “I used to hide from God”.
Chance does not omit God from his music; he includes Him and gives Him his platform. Chance is not the first to do this, but perhaps the first to make such a major impact by conjoining the secular with the gospel. We are watching the true work of the cross on national TV. We are watching a man’s life be transformed by the same God who changed our lives. Not only were the Grammys turned into a worship stage, but so was this independent rapper’s life.
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