Growing up in the church, Hammer says that even though he would go to church every Sunday, or stop by now and again for bible study, he could best be described as being "around" the church and not "in" it. He would sit in the congregation but his spirit was very far from the God that was being preached and worshipped. This attitude continued as he grew up into adulthood and, into fame. As his fame grew, his spirit grew cold towards the things of God. He saw church as more like a distraction and a chore; something he had to oblige his wife, Stephanie, who was very faithful and spiritually strong.
The turning point came when he could no longer stand the deterioration that plagued his family and friends; Mc Hammer’s close associates were dying off and the ones left were either "loosing their freedom" or were in some kind of trouble. Hammer contrasted all that was going on around him with the love of God in his life, manifested through the gift of music, and how he was raised from nothing and placed in his position. At that point, he knew that he needed to make a change, that it was "time for me to get back to being the man that God would have me to be and I simply returned home and to church".
MC Hammer says that "being on the road most of the time without really being accountable to anyone but himself, and inadvertently making personal decisions, free-will decisions, not to be in church is more responsible for his personal problems than fame itself. He says,"You can either tame fame or let fame tame you, or shape you". He refuses to agree with the hip-hop stars who blame fame for all their personal woes and addictions by saying that, "my fame in itself is not the object, but free will, the choices I had to make". For Hammer, music is his job and there are millions of people all over the world who hold jobs, but who still choose to live for Christ. He believes it’s really up to him, to choose the kind of life he wants to live while doing his job as a musician.
Stephanie, Hammers wife of 13 years remained faithful to the Lord all through the highpoints of her husband’s career and as he rode the fame and fortune wave. Hammer credits the prayers of Stephanie as, "a great part of the reason that God allowed me to come back into my right mind, and be obedient to His spirit and be led by His spirit". Now that he has re- connected with God, Stephanie is happier than ever before and their relationship is much stronger.
One of the prices he’s had to pay for his fame has been the financial highs and lows that come with living a celebrity lifestyle. Hammer says that he has been from "low to high and lost a lot of money but God has been merciful in how He’s blessed me financially and I’m doing fine financially now." Through all of the financial highs and lows, God has shown Hammer that, "finances doesn’t determine who you are and finances doesn’t determine how you should respect a person."
Contrary to the hip-hop culture, Hammer says, "I don’t want you to respect me more because you know the balance of my checkbook, neither would I want you to consider me a better Christian because you know the balance of my checking account". Hammer believes that one should be assessed based, "Upon first of all humanity, which is the essence of God’s love, and secondly, upon the contents of who I am as a person".
Mc Hammers’ latest album "He Brought Me Out" is a gospel piece and he intends, " to utilize it as platform number one, to go out and spread the goodness of God, His mercy, His grace, to help expand the kingdom, and just to live a life that is acceptable before God".
At this stage in his life and career, Stanley Burrell says he doesn’t feel any pressure or obligation anymore to conform his music to any audience because he says, "God has blessed me not only spiritually, but financially, intellectually, business-wise, God has blessed me with a lot of talents, so what I want to simply do is take my talents and apply them to expanding the kingdom of God. I am not looking for validation from men or women. I’m not looking for any kind of empathy or sympathy or any of those things because God has blessed me".
