David Paul Pelsue - Kids in the Way
David Paul Pelsue, lead singer and co-founder of Kids in the Way said ...Do you ever wonder why the world finds it so easy to dismiss Christianity as a joke? I believe it's because we constantly set ourselves up by reacting in such ways. To address the issue, I believe the Kanye cover is done in poor taste. Simply, if this offends you, don't support the magazine. Don’t support Kanye. I think dragging the parties involved into the street and beating them with fingers of judgment and horror is embarrassing. Is that the Christian thing to do? That’s not our job. I believe God is quite capable of handling someone's spirit. I don't know Kanye's heart personally. I don't know what exactly He believes. I do know that he has some spiritual thoughts and ideas simply from his music and public statements. Maybe someday, in a quiet place, God will convict his heart and Kanye will realize this might not have been the smartest choice. Maybe not. But that's up to God. I believe in accountability and keeping people in check with their actions, but to throw a complete stranger that you don't even know inside and out on the chopping block is unnecessary. We live in a real world where people don't respect our beliefs and aren't considerate of them. It’s time to stop acting so shocked and appalled. Honestly, Rolling Stone probably banked on this kind of response to occur. They knew there was no way the Christians would allow their bubble to be popped. If we didn't call out the army of the Lord every time another Harry Potter book was written, maybe the world wouldn't take jest in pushing our buttons. I’m tired of lynch mob mentality in the "Christian" world. What happened to turn the other cheek? What happened to not judging your brother? And remember the one thing Jesus died in the name of...love? In no way am I saying we need to lie down and let people walk on us and our beliefs, but there are certain things you just take care of amongst yourself. Don’t buy the magazine. Don’t agree with Kanye and Rolling Stone. End of story. Again, if this offends God, let's not insult Him by thinking He can't take care of the judgment that's needed.
Emily Cobb
Emily Cobb of Proper Management said ...My comments represent only myself and not Proper Management or any of its artists. While I do find this cover 100% offensive and wish it had not been created, I feel like this may become another “Target - Happy Holidays” sort of issue for Christians. In my opinion, Jesus has already conquered the world and He has conquered even blasphemous images such as this. If all that non-Christians out there see us Christians doing is complaining about other peoples choices, then why in the world would anyone else want to follow Jesus with us?
In this moment, I am fired up about many in this world not having food and many dying by the minute from AIDS. And mostly I am fired up about wanting God more than anything else in life and trying to stay in His Word and in prayer with Him daily. I have a choice today, I can either spend time being upset about this worldly cover and try to figure out a way to change peoples minds about it, or I can love people like Jesus right where I am and lift up a prayer for all who may see this image or any other terrible images and ask God for protection of their hearts and minds. I choose the latter.
