Kierra Sheard has a response for some of the criticism she
received for attending and enjoying a Jay-Z concert.
On Sunday, Sheard took to
Instagram to post an image of the
rap mogul Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter performing at his current 4:44
tour, which she attended.
"So inspired by the fun and talk that Uncle gave last night,"
Sheard captioned the image.
Several people disagreed with her support of Jay-Z since the
rapper has lyrics that some Christians view as blasphemous
like "Jesus can't save you life starts when the church ends"
from his 2009 hit song "Empire State of Mind."
A number of Sheard's followers told the 30-year-old gospel
singer and fashion designer that they were concerned with her
attending the concert so she decided to defend herself with
Scripture when responding to one comment in particular.
An Instagram follower named tgxfit commented on Sheard's
picture of Jay-Z by writing, "Corinthians 6:14 Darkness and
Light" to which the gospel singer responded with "1 Corinthians
9:20." However, she took things one step further in her
response when the critic asked if any Christians at the event
used the opportunity to share the gospel.
"How many Christians or church goers actually witnessed or
challenged someone last night to give their lives to Christ and
attend a service this morning," the comment reads. "I can
almost guarantee none."
However, Sheard decided to prove the critic wrong.
"Actually I had one right next to me. She was in tears with a
cup in her hand," Sheard replied in the exchange. "I hugged
her, prayed for her, and WE went on rapping and singing. I'm
sure she'll remember that moment and it'll weigh in on her
spiritual decisions."
Sheard said that she didn't initially post about the experience,
but went on to challenge her critic to grow in their relationship
with God.
"Grow in your relationship. The church isn't a building," she
wrote. "It's a body of people. Stop waiting for them to come to
you, live life freely and with accountability, and find yourself
where they are. Be the church!"
The singer went on to call for people to stop making judgments
without being loving to others.
"Stop judging and not displaying love. We act like
condemnation--we point the finger but don't give a solution,"
she wrote. "We should act like the Holy Spirit/conviction--show
the hinderance and give a solution."
Sheard previously said she believes that people feeling judged
contributes to keeping millennials away from church.
"What goes viral is when someone is actually being
themselves and they're being honest with their audience. I
think that's what will encourage millennials to come back [to
church] because we eliminate the element of judging others,"
quick to judge people. I think that our approach is heavy and it
allows us to push people away."
