“These ‘Christian’ gospel [artists] need to stop compromising,” someone posted. “You don’t have to collaborate with sinners to reach a generation. If God said for them to do the record that’s fine, but where is the discipleship? … Are we truly walking with Christ, and reading the word? Cause that’s a thin line.”
Other people said Christians should stop judging. “You’re not God. You’re not perfect,” one person told critics of the gospel artists. Another comment read, “It shows that anybody can call on the Lord. No matter your walk of life.”
Someone else wrote, “Jesus frequently ‘collaborated’ with ‘sinners’ (the woman at the well). We have no idea what God has called these artists to do. Christianity is about sharing the good news of the Savior to those who need it most.”
In an Oct. 11 YouTube video, Nick Vaughn Jones expressed dismay at the “mind-blowing irony” of “Rain Down on Me.” The rest of album’s lyrics are “as explicit and vulgar and disgusting as it gets,” said Jones. “You celebrate sin and glorify sin for seven songs, and then all of a sudden you want to insert a praise break as if that’s going to save you. You need to repent.”
After telling listeners to put their kids to bed, Jones read aloud some vulgar lyrics from the album’s other songs. The YouTuber also played a recent interview in which Kirk Franklin addressed collaborating with other artists.
“It’s still something I guess I’m trying to figure out,” Franklin said. “I’m just always grateful that people want to work with me.” Saying there’s “not one set formula for every individual,” the musician added that he always tries to determine what he can contribute to a project “that can either elevate it or inspire it.”
ChurchLeaders reached out to Franklin, Moore, and Maverick City Music and will update this article with any replies.
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