UNASHAMED

Lecrae Moore is writing to tell his story. He had, to say the least, a rough childhood and life as a young adult. Then he was introduced to the Lord. Lecrae wanted to voice truth in a world clouded in falsity and selfish ambition. He opens up about his past, and how that has been used to grow him, then put behind him.

Lecrae is a hip-hop artist/ rapper. He strives to make music that is "life-giving and inspires people to hope, but it isn't just for the super-religious. (Lecrae wants) to address themes that people who aren't Christian can appreciate."

Lecrae wrote the book "Unashamed" to detail how to be exactly that: unashamed. He writes of his struggles in not having a father, dealing with drugs and abuse, and more. He writes on how to find purpose in a world whose standards are ever-changing. And he writes to anyone willing to read about how to live out faith in Christ unashamed despite rejection and being on the outside.

Lecrae's central claim is that all we need can be found in God. That He is our validation. Our strength. That purpose and salvation is in Christ. And relying on the Sovereign King, we can live the unashamed lives we were designed to live.

Lecrae also elaborates on some of the marvelous aspects of who God is. He created us all with a need to be wanted, to be loved by someone. While the support of family and friends is great and it is healthy, only a perfect God who IS love can fully satisfy our hearts.

• Lecrae begins his book with an anecdote about his experience at the Grammy Awards and how society acts toward who they consider "religious".
• In his first chapter he details his childhood and how not having a father or constant male role model had deeper consequences than he could've ever realized as a kid. He explains all the holes he tried to fill with hip-hop, pleasing people, and being rough.

Moore proves this by proving the opposite is false; he proves that our security and identity cannot be found in people or things around us. That kind of security is quickly fleeting. The world's standards are constantly changing and the adoration of people never lasts the way humans need to be noticed. As Lecrae says in this book "If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection."

In the subsequent chapters, Lecrae details specific events from his young adult and early adult life. He explains how early childhood issues developed into bigger problems as he grew older. He faced abuse, drug problems, being suicidal, and (in extreme paraphrase) a constant instability and a yearning desire to be be noticed and validified.

Throughout the chronological order, Lecrae details how, looking back, each hole he was searching to fill pointed to a good God who wanted to fill them, but that he was ignorant to this truth, and searched for anything else to fill them: women, drugs, and especially music.

After becoming a drinking, partying, gangster, crime-committing and thrill seeking teen, Lecrae's mother encouraged him to read a Bible that they had. He said he tore out pages and threw the book on the floor. He "couldn't wrap my hands around this being true or real." Later, with the influence of his grandmother and an invite from a friend, Lecrae started to attend a Bible study. He said what drew him in was the love they showed. They were like him- the same culture and similar pasts- but their character was different. He met his future wife there and accepted Christ at the age of 19. He noted that it "wasn't overnight" and he still spent "a lot of time making bad decisions." Yet, he was finally able to taste freedom. And he would grow to know where security is found.

APPEALS

• To logic: when Lecrae says you will die from rejection if you live for acceptance it states a logical flow of reason. If you're denied the one thing you're living for, where do you turn to?

APPEALS

• To emotion: Lecrae uses strong diction, metaphors, and similes when describing his childhood emotions to appeal to readers' emotions and be able to relate to them. These phrases include "I grew up empty" and "shattered like a window pane."

APPEALS

• Ethos: Lecrae establishes his credibility by being open and honest. He tells his story and even admits that at first, he had no desire for God or faith in Christianity. But then he tells of how the Lord got a hold of him and changed him permanently for the best.

This book let me get to know one of my favorite artists better. Through Lecrae's life experiences, I learned more about the awesome God I live for. It shows how He has a plan through all things and is a refuge and healer. It was refreshing to read of where true joy is found and gave me more information about the word of God to grasp truth a little better.