Megachurch pastor comes to the defense of Kanye West: 'Shut up for a minute, OK?'

Megachurch Pastor Greg Laurie hit back at critics of rapper Kanye West's newfound Christian faith.

Laurie, founding pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, blasted West's opponents and suggested they either shut up or pray for the entertainer instead.

What are the details?

During a recent sermon, Laurie addressed West's incredible transformation and his resulting foray into Christian gospel music.

“Just shut up for a minute, OK?" Laurie said of West's critics. "How about this: Pray for him. Pray that he gets grounded in his faith, pray that he's a seed sown on good ground that brings forth much fruit."

Laurie pointed out that West's own faith doesn't need criticism or analyzation so long as he continues to grow in Jesus Christ.

“I applaud any person that makes any movement toward God," Laurie said. “And I want to encourage them in that, not critique them about that. And I think it's fantastic because he's taking his considerable platform — and he has quite a platform, doesn't he? — to talk about faith."

"It has people talking about Jesus," he pointed out. "I'm happy for that conversation, people that wouldn't normally be talking about the Lord."

Laurie commended West, and expressed his hopes that the award-winning entertainer would continue to be on fire for the Lord and spread His gospel.

“We all have a pulpit to preach from, no matter who we are, no matter what we do," he concluded.

What else?

Last week, West told Apple Music's Beats 1 host Zane Lowe that he intends on taking the message of Jesus Christ's salvation everywhere he goes.

"Now that I'm in service to Christ, my job is to spread the Gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me," West insisted. "I've spread a lot of things. There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me, I was letting you know what the Hennessy had done for me, but now I'm letting you know what Jesus has done for me, and in that I'm no longer a slave, I'm a son now, a son of God. I'm free."

Last week, West dropped "Jesus is King," his ninth studio album, which is headed for a No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 200.

(H/T: Faithwire)