Lecrae Explains Why Christians Should Create: Reflect God’s Glory
By Movieguide® Contributor
Christian rapper Lecrae shared why Christians should glorify God through creativity and discussed his upcoming role as Gabriel in the nativity musical JOURNEY TO BETHLEHAM on Matthew West’s podcast.
“I think we are supposed to be innovators. I think God, you know, is the most innovative being in existence and we’re His kids, and so we reflect that innovation and creativity. So, let’s strive for that, let’s push for that, let’s push to make people go ‘Wow,’ like, ‘Woah, what did I just encounter,’” he said.
“A lot of times, especially as Christians, we can get lazy, you know, cause we give a lot of participation trophies out for the message. It’s like, ‘Oh man, great message man,’ but it’s like, ‘But was is good?’” he added. “Did you find a creative way to say that? And so, I don’t want that. I want people to be blown away because they encountered – it’s not me, obviously. It’s me inspired by God to put something in the world. I want them to encounter that. I want them to feel that because that’s what inspires people and drives people and pushes them.”
While Christians sometimes push back against the idea of creating culturally meaningful work, Lecrae told Faithwire, “Historically, [Christians have] been known for creating culture — we’ve been known to be culture creators, and we serve the greatest Creator of all time, and so that should be inspiration for us to go out and do amazing things.”
This dedication to creating to glorify God is present in everything Lecrae does. He recently took his first real foray into acting, playing the angel Gabriel in JOURNEY TO BETHLEHAM, which releases later this month.
While the rapper is comfortable on a stage in front of thousands of people, he hasn’t acted much before. In order to give a high-quality performance, he hired an acting coach to help him get to a level he could be proud of.
“Of course, I’ve done some cameos and something quick where it didn’t take much work, it was like, you’re in a film, you’re onstage rapping, you know. It’s like you’re playing yourself in a sense,” he said. “But never like, you’re another character that’s way far away from who you are.”
“So, you gotta step into that,” he continued. “Like, I have to make people forget Lecrae is there and become Gabriel. And that’s thing, you know, it’s like that was work man. That was work.”
JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM hits theaters November 10.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Akin to HAMILTON and recent upbeat, critically acclaimed musicals, JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM takes the genre to a new level of storytelling and stars Antonio Banderas, Joel Smallbone, Lecrae and Fiona Palomo.
The movie’s synopsis reads: “A young woman carrying an unimaginable responsibility. A young man torn between love and honor. A jealous king who will stop at nothing to keep his crown. This live-action Christmas musical adventure for the entire family weaves classic Christmas melodies with humor, faith and new pop songs in a retelling of the greatest story ever told, the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. A unique new entry into the collection of holiday classic movies, this epic Christmas musical is unlike any before it.”
Grammy award-winning artist Lecrae recently sat down with Movieguide® to talk about the musical and his role as the angel Gabriel.
“I play the angel Gabriel, who gets to deliver the news to Mary, and for me, that was a massive opportunity because [what] better news to deliver,” he said. “So you know, just to be able to carry that weight, was encouraging to me.”
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