Recently I sat down with Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr., known to many as "Kanye West's pastor."
Wilkerson Jr. burst into the limelight as the hottest holy man around when he officiated the wedding between Kanye West and Kim Kardashian last year. Today, Wilkerson and his wife DawnCheré have a new book; Sandcastle Kings: Meeting Jesus in a Spiritually Bankrupt World (Thomas Nelson, Nov.); a new reality TV show on Oxygen, Rich in Faith; and a new church, VOUS Church, in downtown Miami.
With all the lights, cameras, fast cars, and pop stars, some critics complain that Wilkerson is all cover and no content. Despite the celebrity profile and media attention, the 31-year-old pastor insists that his work is not all style, no substance. “The book, the show, the speaking, the preaching—it’s all growing out of my heart as a pastor of a local church where people can find a place to belong,” he told PW.
Yet, the people he feels called to work with are not your run-of-the-mill church folk. Where some ministry leaders might head to third-world countries, Wilkerson believes his mission is elsewhere.