Religion/ Spirituality

Kanye West is going right back to work after dropping his much-anticipated album, "Jesus Is King," this weekend ... following it up with a good old-fashioned Sunday Service.

Ye held his weekly spiritual concert Sunday the Forum in L.A., where he, his choir and even Kenny G were in the building ... performing tracks from the new record -- which just dropped on Friday. From the looks of it, Kanye got things started with his Chick-fil-A song, "Closed on Sunday" ... ironic, considering the Forum's doors were very much open.

Folks had to pay $10 to get in for this Service, but we're told the proceeds are being donated to charity. Not bad for a front-row seat to see Kanye and co. in action.

Speaking of that, Kenny himself took to the stage to help play out "Use This Gospel," on which he had an epic sax solo after Clipse gets through their two verses with Ye on the hook.

BTW, the Forum looks pretty much the same in style and set design from when Kanye held his listening party there last week ... the tall grass meant to resemble a field, etc.

The big question now ... is this the official start of his global 'Jesus' tour, or just a victory lap to celebrate the new album? We know Ye's gonna follow the Sunday Service format for his upcoming tour, and he did say he'd get started on it "right away."

It's unclear ... all we can recommend for folks in L.A. is that ya come and catch him while you can, however you can. Kanye's definitely bound to be on the move soon.

Kanye West is going to push boundaries, travel the world and redefine everything audiences expect to experience when showing up to a concert.

Sources close to Kanye tell us his upcoming tour for "Jesus is King" will be unlike anything anyone has seen. We're told the Sunday Service format will serve as a pillar to the production, but it's only a part of the larger picture.

Our sources say the tour is meant for all types of venues -- whether inside or out -- and will be versatile to fit the space.

While Kanye hasn't announced a start to the tour, or any official dates, we're told it'll be a global event ... for fans all around the world to enjoy.

We got a happy Kanye out in NYC Friday who announced the tour would start "right away." Interestingly enough, when we asked about stage design, Kanye was quiet ... but only said it will be different than the floating stage design featured during his Saint Pablo Tour.

Kanye started his Sunday Service in a field in Calabasas ... but has since taken it across the country -- making stops in Utah, Chicago and at Howard University -- even spotlighting at Coachella this year.

Kanye West is on a mission to God, and a flood of unfavorable album reviews certainly won't get in the way of that ... he's not going back to his old stuff.

Sources close to Kanye tell us he's 100% serious when he says he'll never perform his old music in its original form again. We're told he's hell-bent on his newfound faith -- and will continue to create the music HE wants -- which hasn't been well received so far.

"Jesus is King" dropped Friday, and many complained the project feels incomplete ... like a bunch of song demos all lumped together on one album. The whole thing is 11 songs and runs just 27 minutes.

Our Kanye sources say he's not concerned with the below-average reviews ... he's making music for God and is a changed man.

One thing fans of the "Old Kanye" can hold onto ... while we're told he'll never perform his old tracks in their original form again ... fans can expect to hear familiar beats and rhymes, but with altered and more "G" rated lyrics.

In fact, Kanye said as much when he sat down with Big Boy for a lengthy interview just prior to the album's release.

Kanye West is heavy into gospel now -- we all know that -- but bet you didn't know he's been talking to perhaps the most famous pastor in America ... Joel Osteen, and we've learned Ye may be making an appearance at Osteen's famous Sunday Service.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Kanye and Joel speak from time to time on the phone ... as recently as 2 weeks ago. We're told Joel has invited Kanye to take a trip to Houston and experience his megachurch, Lakewood, where 45,000 people show up to pray every week. The Sunday service reaches 100 MILLION homes in America and tens of millions more around the world.

We're told Ye told Joel he'd love to attend a service, and he wouldn't be the first celeb to do so. Oprah, Tyler Perry, the Clintons and many others have attended.

The question ... would Kanye perform at the service? Our sources say Joel never asked him because he didn't want to put Kanye on the spot ... BUT if Ye wants to sing, Joel would be thrilled.

We're told Joel genuinely likes Kanye and believes his life is rooted in faith and love. During their conversations, they talk a lot about faith and Joel's proud that Kanye has traversed his sometimes difficult journey, and has come out believing in a higher power.

Nicki Minaj wanted a familiar face to help her tie the knot ... so she brought in her pastor from the other side of the U.S. of A. to officiate the ceremony.

Sources close to Nicki tell TMZ ... the singer flew out her pastor, Lydia Woodson-Sloley, from Brooklyn to Los Angeles for her nuptials with Kenneth Petty.

We're told Nicki and Pastor Lydia -- who fancies herself as a poet, author, Christian life coach and music producer -- go way back, so Nicki just had to have her as the wedding minister.

Lydia founded "Life in Its Poetic Form Christian Ministries" way back in 2000, and Nicki's a huge supporter of her work -- even thanking her in front of millions of people at the 2015 VMAs after accepting the award for best hip-hop video.

Nicki and Pastor Lydia also joined forces in 2017 to rebuild a village in India, making sure people there gained access to clean water.

We broke the story ... Nicki and Kenneth got hitched Monday in L.A. in a low-key ceremony, rushing to the altar because their marriage license was set to expire at month's end.

Nicki and Kenneth are following the blueprint of Justin and Hailey -- no-frills nuptials, followed by a church service and blowout celebration -- so it's a good bet Pastor Lydia will continue to be involved moving forward.

Kanye West just revealed the tracklist for his highly anticipated album, "Jesus is King" ... and it's a radically different version than the one Kim shared back in August.

Though there has been some skepticism based around previously missed album deadlines, Kanye is assuring everyone 'JiK' will hit at midnight.

The 11-song tracklist Kanye revealed is one song less than what Kim put out ... but there are a whole lot of song titles that have changed. In fact, only 4 of the titles Kim shared remain on Kanye's list.

Of course, the songs themselves may have stayed the same -- with only a title change -- but it's also possible Ye scrapped 8 records altogether.

Some of the new track names include ... "Follow God," "On God," "Everything We Need," "Use The Gospel," and "Jesus is Lord."

As we reported ... Yeezy held a massive album listening event at The Forum in L.A. Wednesday night. Fans were treated to a screening of his "Jesus is King" IMAX project and then a full preview of the album.

Brandon T. Jackson says he was on "thin ice" with God for playing a gay character in "Tropic Thunder" ... but says wearing a dress in "Big Mommas" was worse for him.

Jackson famously played Alpa Chino in the 2008 Ben Stiller flick -- a closeted actor who accidentally revealed feelings for a guy named "Lance" ... it was a hilarious scene.

But, Jackson is now a pretty religious Black Hebrew Israelite -- and playing gay doesn't jive with his religious beliefs.

"I was on thin ice then with the father," Jackson said on "TMZ Live" ... "But, he had his mercy and his grace was there."

Jackson says the bigger issue is when he wore a women's dress for his role in the 2011 Martin Lawrence flick, "Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son."

Jackson says he broke a religious law prohibiting men from wearing women's clothing -- "And, when you break a law you get punished."

So, what went wrong? Jackson says his career and his personal life took a serious hit and he even uses the word "curse."

"If you don't follow all the commandments that the Torah says to do, you'll be cursed."

Kanye West turned one of L.A.'s most famous indoor venues into an outdoor oasis as fans gathered to hear his new album, "Jesus is King."

Yeezy faithful flocked to The Forum Wednesday to get a listen to Ye's latest project ... the floor of the arena was covered in long grasses to resemble the field where he first started Sunday Services.

The event -- which was a no-phone zone (except for Kim) -- started out with a screening of Kanye's "Jesus is King" IMAX film ... a 30-minute glimpse inside the Roden Crater with sounds from a gospel choir.

Then, Kanye appeared on a makeshift stage in the middle of one of the patches of long grass to play his album. Fans went nuts, crowding around Ye to vibe to the new music.

As for the album ... the production is top-notch, as expected, but the lyrics are noticeably different than Kanye's other stuff. It's totally gospel-based, with mentions of Jesus and being saved throughout ... there's also minimal -- if any -- cursing.

And yes, there was merch ... fans lined up deep to grab $170 sweaters and $45 hats.

Kanye West has gone international with his Sunday Service ... this time the destination was Jamaica.

Kanye barreled into Kingston Friday for a concert in Emancipation Park, to the delight of a huge crowd that crammed into the space for the 2-hour service.

No sign of Kim and the kids ... they could have made the trip, but they were nowhere in sight.

Kanye did bring along a choir of at least 120 people. He opened the service with the gospel song, "Prince of Peace," and also performed Damian Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock." He closed the show with "Jesus Walks."

The concert was made even better by weather conditions ... it was a cool, breezy night.  Some of the people in the crowd were so overcome with emotion they were sobbing.

Kanye and company were all wearing City of Kingston shirts. He launched Jamaica themed merchandise on his online shop.

Some people on social media, however, blasted Ye for profiting off government logos without paying royalties.

Dear Jesus ... PLEASE SAVE PATRICK MAHOMES' ANKLE!!

That's the message going down in a Kansas City church, where the K.C. faithful are begging the Lord up above to heal up their franchise quarterback after 2 straight losses.

Seriously ... the Asbury United Methodist Church is planning a "healing service" on Sunday morning for Patrick's left ankle -- which he injured in Week 1 and reaggravated this past weekend against the Texans.

"With the last two games, we kind of thought that they may need some type of help," a rep for the Church told FOX4KC ... "We knew that his ankle was injured so we decided to possibly have a healing service to help him heal that ankle quicker."

They're even advertising the prayer service on the sign outside the building -- hoping to recruit some extra parishioners to help out!

There's a bit of a timing issue though ... the Chiefs play the Denver Broncos TONIGHT -- so, hopefully, they're putting in some prayer work TODAY too!

Kanye West gave Washington D.C. a taste of his new album -- and also took the opportunity to declare definitively he's a man of God now ... specifically, a converted Christian.

Ye was all over D.C. Saturday with his fam, first stopping off at HBCU Howard University to do his traditional Sunday Service ... then heading over to George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium later in the day for a listening party -- much like in Detroit.

Check out this video TMZ obtained from inside the session ... Kanye was talking to the audience in between tracks -- which sound amazing, BTW -- and said it flat-out at one point ... he's a recent convert to Christianity. Ye got a round of applause for the news.

He also went on to invoke Jay-Z's name during his speech, saying that unlike a line that he attributed to Jay -- from his song "Can't Knock the Hustle" -- Ye isn't here for entertainment anymore ... he's just here to spread the Gospel. How 'bout that?!

He did exactly that too during the get-together -- preaching about what he used to value and hold dear compared to now, while also quoting A LOT of scripture along the way.

The signs have been there for a while now that Ye's fully embraced his faith -- he's been holding Sunday Services since January, and Kim just had the kids baptized in Armenia.

Oh, and if you're wondering what Kanye's gonna rap about from now on and what his music's gonna sound like -- at least for this round -- you get a snippet of that here too. Still no official word on when this thing's gonna drop -- but hopefully soon.

The Catholic Church has blessed the New Orleans Saints ... or so it would seem by what the pontiff himself wrote hours before their game this weekend.

Pope Francis tweeted out a strange message in the wee hours of Sunday, which appeared to be a vote of confidence for Teddy Bridgewater and co. as they were set to face the Jaguars in Jacksonville. It was actually an honest mistake ... but a hilarious one nonetheless.

The big hatted one wrote, "Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new #Saints. They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession."

Kanye West took his Sunday Service on the road again, this time landing at Howard University ... and it's interesting -- one of his lyrics, "13th Amendment, Gotta end it, that's on me."

Kanye, Kim Kardashian, along with North and Saint, showed up at the historic, African-American college Saturday for an 8 AM show, and it did not disappoint.

Grammy-award winning R&B singer Tony Williams led the service, which was complete with a brass band and a choir.

The performance dovetailed with Howard's homecoming, called Yardfest. The University did not announce Kanye's appearance until hours before the event, but that was enough time for students and others to swarm to the quad for the service.

Kanye's making the short trek later today to George Washington University in D.C., where another Sunday Service will go down.

Kim and Kourtney Kardashian took full advantage of the picturesque views in Armenia ... with a family photo shoot.

Kim, Kourtney and the entire fam dressed up in an all-black ensemble during their trip to Armenia. The entire brood joined in on the festivities ... North, Saint, Chicago, Psalm, Mason, Reign and Penelope.

Looks like the family -- joined by a professional photog -- opted for a mountain backdrop near the famed Temple of Garni ... a structure originally built in the 1st century AD by King Tiridates I as a temple to the Sun God Mihr. It was later turned into a royal summerhouse for King Tiridates II's sister. #SorryNotSorryForWorldHistoryLesson

Anyway ... helluva view. And, quite the exclamation point to what was a memorable trip. The family is now back home in California.

Kim and Kourtney Kardashian went back to their roots ... and brought their brood with them for a religious rite of passage.

Kim and Kourtney are in Armenia's capital of Yerevan where they arrived with North, Saint, Chicago, Psalm, Mason, Reign and Penelope. The group made the trek Sunday to the St. Hovhannes-Mkrtich Church of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

It seems Saint, Chicago, Psalm, Reign and Mason are the ones getting baptized -- in Armenian culture, the person getting baptized wears all white. North was already baptized in Jerusalem back in 2015.

The judge who hugged Botham Jean's murderer -- ex-Dallas cop Amber Guyger -- was well within her right to do so, as was the deceased's brother ... so says Iyanla Vanzant.

We spoke to the OWN star and self-help guru -- who's done inspirational speaking alongside Oprah -- and asked what she made of all the criticism over Judge Tammy Kemp embracing Guyger after handing down her 10-year prison sentence.

According to Iyanla ... she finds it pretty hypocritical for folks to be all good with someone swearing to God with a hand on the Bible in court, but then get bent out of shape when a judge actually lives out the values of the good book.