Christian singer unapologetic about accepting White House invitation to perform at tree lighting ceremony

Christian artist Matthew West will be performing at this year's national tree lighting ceremony

The 41-year-old "Do Something" singer is expected to be the only Christian music artist to perform at the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony Wednesday night. He said he was invited after traveling to Washington, D.C. several times for various events such as performing at the National Prayer Breakfast.

During a recent interview with Faithwire, West admitted that he's received backlash from a few of his followers on social media for taking past invitations to perform at White House events and "aligning" with President Donald Trump. For the Christian singer, however, he sees each invitation as an opportunity to spread hope.

"I don't care, regardless of which president is in office, if I'm invited to be a part of an event at the White House, that holds a special place in history and my family would be honored to be a part of any event we're invited to," he said.

"People read into it what they want. For me, I just unapologetically accepted the invitation to sing at the Christmas Tree lighting. I'm excited to be a part of it," he added, explaining that he's "thankful for the open door."

"That's a chance for me to have a voice and impact people on a greater level," West continued.

Although he's expected to be the only faith-based singer on the bill, West said he was asked to perform a non-religious song, "Run, Run Rudolph" at the holiday festival. "I was really curious which songs they would ask me to perform, and sure enough, I was asked to perform the deeply spiritual 'Run, Run Rudolph," West joked. "Of course, I said I'll sing whatever you want me to sing."

"Excited to tell you guys that I'll be performing at the 96th annual @TheNationalTree Lighting at @PresParkNPS on November 28th! Tune in to @ovationtv & @reelzchannel on Dec. 2 to catch my performance. Honored to have this opportunity & be part of this holiday tradition," he tweeted.

Courtesy of The Christian Post

News
More Brits want better palliative care over assisted suicide - poll
More Brits want better palliative care over assisted suicide - poll

A new poll has found greater support among members of the public for improved palliative care than assisted suicide. 

Archbishop of Canterbury will be attending abortion vote in Lords on Wednesday
Archbishop of Canterbury will be attending abortion vote in Lords on Wednesday

The office of the Archbishop of Canterbury has confirmed she will be joining a key vote on abortion in the House of Lords this Wednesday after there was backlash over the suggestion she might be absent due to a planned pilgrimage.

Disestablishing Church of England 'will not be a priority' at next election, says Green Party
Disestablishing Church of England 'will not be a priority' at next election, says Green Party

The Green Party has responded to claims it wants to disestablish the Church of England by saying that this will "not be a priority" at the next General Election. 

AI still too inaccurate when it comes to Scripture, says YouVersion founder
AI still too inaccurate when it comes to Scripture, says YouVersion founder

YouVersion founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald says artificial intelligence holds enormous promise. But when it comes to answering questions about God and Scripture, he believes the technology is not yet ready.