By Tee Harris // Controversy // EEW Magazine Online

Social media posts about Elevation Church Pastor Steven Furtick usually contain sermon clips, inspirational quotes, and occasionally points of contention about theology.

This time, the contemporary and sometimes controversial 42-year-old multi-site megachurch leader is going viral for another reason—endorsing and celebrating his teen son’s new music that “celebrates guns, sex and designer clothes,” according to a Christian Post report.

Both the pastor and his wife, Holly Furtick, have been condemned for applauding what some Christians view as an inappropriate music project, Teen Machine, produced by their 16-year-old, Elijah Furtick, whose stage name is “dothedash!”

While a brief intro brands the songs on the project as “some dimension of the author’s experience or personality,” and the video says the experiences are “fictitious, exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek or otherwise wildly inaccurate,” this has not stopped the outrage machine from churning in the faith community.

Of particular note is a music video for a single called “No Hook!” In it, CP says, young Furtick drops lyrics about oral sex, drinking alcohol, and his “bro” carrying a blicky—slang for a handgun.  

Despite the edginess of the Hip-Hop melody, in an Instagram post esteeming his son, Pastor Furtick, a fellow songwriter and music lover, said he was “proud” and “inspired” by the budding producer’s “courage.”

“You already know how proud I am of you,” wrote the Charlotte, North Carolina based preacher whose multi-ethnic church draws visitors and online viewers from around the world. “Believing in your own voice, lyrics and melodies enough to hit record and make your own project. This is the part that inspired me the most.”

Furtick, who is not one to toe the line in his preaching, has dropped references to rappers like Kendrick Lamar and The Migos in his sermons and does not shy away from Hip-Hop, pop culture, and what some may deem secular. The charismatic leader will likely never be the cup of tea of ultra conservative, orthodox Christians.

And anyway, whether everyone agrees with his son’s music does not seem to be of primary concern for the dad who seems more interested in uplifting the talented youngster for having “the courage to conceptualize and execute an entire project.”

Mom Furtick also said she is “so proud of this project.”

As negative voices grow louder among some Christians that passionately disagree with young Furtick’s lyrical content, so far, no one from the family has addressed the issue further.

However, in a March 9 Facebook post, Pastor Furtick wrote, “In order to see what God has really put in you, you'll have to outgrow the need for everybody to like you or validate you.” Perhaps that gives a bit of insight into his feelings surrounding the uproar.

Listen to “No Hook!” below.