Lecrae Moore, 35, known as the Christian hip-hop artist and record producer Lecrae, has emerged as an articulate voice of reason in the wake of the grand jury finding that disappointed and enraged so many people in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the nation.
His bold stand for Bible-based faith has put Lecrae at odds with many in his industry, but Christians appreciate his outspoken views on how believers should conduct themselves in the face of adversity.
On Facebook, he posted a well-reasoned entry that implored Americans to turn their compassion inward to their own countrymen who are hurting.
“Sometimes I wonder how we get so up in arms and culturally empathetic with people in other countries. But can’t do that in our own backyard. We rushed to Haiti. We adopt in Asia. We empathize with Africa. But struggle to humanize our struggles here in the States. Some people are responding out of hurt and are met with smug responses. If I tell you my brother got killed in a gang war, would you tell me ‘That’s what he gets! Shouldn’t be gang banging!’? Of course not.
“As a Christian I see a Jesus empathize with the most undeserving people ever. He offers a thief on the cross a home in Paradise. He dies for a rioting mob of angry killers. He looks upon a sinful world with compassion. And here we stand saying we believe that and all the while unfazed at the pain of a community. Offering statements that don’t comfort but only add salt to a wound we refuse to see. It’s hurtful. I don’t want anything to do with that kind of ‘Churchianity.’ When ‘I lost respect for you!’ is said toward my expression of pain, all I hear is ‘Get over it!’
“If only it were that easy.
“If you are disappointed in me, well, you clearly can’t understand my pain. This Ferguson case was a mascot for something much bigger. Something people want to hope for.
“A dream. A dream that has been etched in our hearts for hundreds of years. A dream yet unrealized.”
