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When Hip
Hop Lets the
Saints In
who’s who of conservative celebrities
gathered in November in Asheville,
N.C., to honor and praise Billy Graham, the famed Christian evangelist,
on the occasion of his 95th birthday.
Inside the hotel ballroom, Donald
Trump and Sarah Palin rubbed elbows
with Rupert Murdoch, Glenn Beck,
Greta van Susteren and Rick Warren.
“Billy Graham, we need you around
another 95 years,” Palin said. “We
need Billy Graham’s message to be
heard, I think, today more than ever.”
At one of the head tables, right
next to Kathie Lee Gifford, sat a
34-year-old rapper who looked out of
place among the mostly older, white
VIPs. Lecrae Moore had not been
raised a Christian, and had not grown
up listening to Graham preach. His
childhood role models had been rappers like Tupac, and he had spent his
teenage years running the streets.
But Lecrae — who was featured
in Graham’s recent “final sermon”
video — has also become an ambassador for Christendom. His delivery
is just a b