Lecrae is opening up about one of the biggest spiritual mistakes he says he’s made: turning one of his theological heroes into an idol.
On the latest episode of The Deep End, the Grammy-winning rapper reflected on his decades-long relationship with pastor and author John Piper, admitting that his admiration eventually crossed a line.
“I made an idol out of John Piper,” Lecrae said. “His words became truth.”
For Lecrae, that didn’t happen overnight. After coming to faith, he discovered Piper’s classic book Desiring God and said it completely reshaped how he understood Christianity.
“You would’ve thought I had met the second coming of Christ the way my eyes popped out of my head reading this book,” he said. “It was revelatory.”
His admiration only grew from there. Lecrae eventually collaborated with Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life ministry, wrote songs inspired by his teaching and developed a personal relationship with the pastor. Looking back, he admitted meeting Piper was more overwhelming than meeting celebrities like Michael Jordan, Jay-Z, Beyoncé or even U.S. presidents.
But years later, Lecrae says he realized something deeper was happening beneath that admiration.
Growing up without a father, he explained, left him searching for affirmation from older male leaders. He also acknowledged that, as a young Black Christian immersed in predominantly white Reformed circles, he had unconsciously begun assuming those voices carried a level of authority they shouldn’t have.
“I have this trauma that I’m dealing with that wants to be affirmed by somebody, specifically a man,” he said. “I don’t realize or believe that there’s anything I could teach them… I’m also not scrutinizing their theology, either.”
Lecrae stressed that his comments aren’t a criticism of Piper. In fact, he repeatedly expressed gratitude for the pastor’s influence on his life and faith.
“I’m now at a place where I love that man,” he said. “I’m grateful for that man. I deeply appreciate that man.”
What has changed, he said, is his understanding of discipleship. He no longer believes following every opinion of a respected pastor makes someone a stronger Christian.
“I don’t think me subscribing to everything John Piper subscribes to makes me a better Christian,” Lecrae said. “It’s safer for me to not have to think for myself.”
Instead, he said he’s learned that spiritual maturity means appreciating the leaders who shaped your faith without confusing their interpretation of Scripture with God’s voice itself.
“I think John Piper’s words were my mission,” Lecrae said. “I began to hear his words as God’s truth instead of a man interpreting God’s truth to the best of his abilities.”
He closed the conversation with a broader challenge for Christians to hold their heroes with humility.
“Hold your heroes in the tension of the reality that they’re human,” Lecrae said. “When you start humanizing people, you’re less hurt by them. They can’t be the heroes that you make them out to be and they can’t be the villains either. They become human.”
