Steve Harvey introduces Jesus

June 21, 8:36 PMMethodist ExaminerJames-Michael Smith

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Often when celebrities start following (or return to following) Jesus, they have a hard time integrating their faith with their career or previous body of work.  Whether it's Bob Dylan's "Jesus-years" music, Rene Russo's dilemma over doing nude scenes, or Mason "Mase" Beetha's collaborations with 50 Cent, celebrities who claim to be born-again Christians are always scrutinized with a much sharper lens than the average Christian is on his or her daily job. 

One celebrity who in the past few years has decided to get serious about the faith he grew up with is Steve Harvey.  Harvey was one of the Original Kings of Comedy and was known for being incredibly funny...and incredibly profane.  However, over the years, like Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy who came before him, Harvey's work gradually changed from R-rated blue material to mainstream family friendly material.  Unlike Pryor and Murphy, though, it seems that this was party due to his gradual return to faith. 

Perhaps the clearest expression of this change was Harvey's now-famous "Introducing Jesus" routine that he closed one of his stand-up shows with.  It wasn't meant to be funny (though many who don't share Harvey's faith may likely laugh at it); rather, it was meant to be an acknowledgment of the God who Harvey had become reacquainted with:

It's impossible to fully know the inner state of a person's soul, especially their relationship with God.  But whether or not one doubts the authenticity of Harvey's conversion, what cannot be doubted is that should he ever stop doing comedy, he'd be received enthusiastically in the pulpit of many a Gospel church...