The very public discord currently tearing apart the Lambs of the Daystar Television Network is a sad development for a family that has given such hope, joy, and light to people and the nations for such a long time. I have not always agreed with their stance on issues, but I recognise the network’s importance to the body of Christ.
This situation does not bring glory to the Kingdom of God, it is only giving fodder to the devil and those who already have negative opinions of the Kingdom of God. It is something that is playing out in the natural, but is there a divine hand in it?
It is a complex story, replete with allegations of sexual abuse, abuse of power, spiritual abuse, over-indulgent wealth, ambition, family discord and a range of other issues. According to the Roy’s Report, Jonathan and Suzy Lamb allege that they were fired from their positions for a combination of factors, chief among them, seeking justice for their 5-year-old daughter who was allegedly sexually abused by a family member. Additionally, the young couple said, on biblical grounds, they objected to the marriage of Joni Lamb to Sex Therapist Doug Weiss, who divorced his wife of 30 years and later married Joni.
If the allegations made by Jonathan and Suzy Lamb about the assault against their daughter and Suzy herself and the subsequent alleged cover-up are true, that would be a serious crime and an inditement on the leaders in the family who profess to know God. It would reveal them as hypocrites, not living the faith and not reflecting the God they profess to know. On the other side of the coin, allegations have been made that ambition is what is driving the younger Lambs, because the presidency of the company was not given to Jonathan, but instead given to his mother.
The Proper Response of Christians
Christendom is salivating and sensationalising this story just like the world’s gossip mill. How the story is being handled by the Christian media and commentators is no different from the world. Whether this is God’s judgment or the work of the devil, we as Christians are still expected to love the Lamb family and the employees at Daystar and care about their well-being. Imagine the place you work going through turmoil and you are gripped by the fear and uncertainty.
Even as we pray for God’s will to be done concerning Daystar and the Lamb family, we must pray for healing, reconciliation, and restoration for them. It is not about getting caught up in the accusations and the salaciousness of the whole saga. It is not about pointing fingers and joining the chorus of accusing voices. I saw an image of Joni Lamb in what looks like a coliseum with stones of accusations being thrown at her. What is happening has been allowed by God, but it does not mean he has left and abandoned the people involved. Therefore, we as Christians must see these persons with the eyes of truth but tempered by compassion.
It is about using discernment and a willingness to avoid tearing down an institution that God has not determined to be torn down. He may require changes, but I do not believe God is tearing down Daystar.
The Sexual Assault Allegations
If such an horrific thing happened to a five-year-old, it would be heartbreaking; I remember that baby on the set of Daystar. No child deserves to be abused, and their innocence stolen.
I was really appalled at the reports that Marcus and Joni Lamb did nothing to assist their granddaughter, but instead covered up her assault. But then another layer was added to the story, Suzy reported she too was assaulted by a Chiropractor while at Daystar. I cannot recall her saying whether it was sexual assault or physical abuse. I just remember her saying she was left in pain after the encounter. I have never been to a chiropractor, but if their job is to put body parts back into alignment, would that not cause some discomfort? It was also reported that there was always someone else in the room when the chiropractor was around. Then Joni Lamb revealed an alleged incident in the supermarket of Suzy muttering under her breath that someone was looking at her when the person was on his phone. I am not sure what it all means; but does it show a pattern of unfounded suspicion, narcissism and attention seeking? Only God knows the truth.
The Leadership of Daystar
In all fairness to Joni Lamb, she built that company alongside her husband, Marcus Lamb. She sacrificed to build it just as much as her late husband. So, on the face of it, it was quite in order for Joni Lamb to have been made President. It would not have been appropriate for her to have been passed over in favour of a son who may not have been ready or may not even be the right person to take the reins of the organisation. There was nothing wrong with Joni Lamb sitting at the helm of the organisation while allowing the children (whether the son or a daughter) to undergo a further period of processing, preparation, and maturity for future appointment, if they are deemed qualified then. A subsequent interview by Joni Lamb also refuted the claim that the late Marcus Lamb offered Jonathan Lamb the Presidency of the network.
The Bible says that good parents leave an inheritance for their children. However, at times, in an effort to support the growth of their children, parents end up creating entitled children. Promotion without process is never good. By virtue of being the heirs of the founders (generally speaking), the children are given positions for which they are not necessarily qualified. Promotion is in fact the right of the parents to determine; they worked hard to build something so that their children did not have the same struggles they had. However, it is not the right of impatient and entitled children to wrest power from their parents.
As I wrote this, I came across a video of a twenty something youngster who was in court suing his father for not buying him the luxury car he promised. The young man’s argument was that he did good in school and was overall good, so his father should have bought him a Porche, Lamborghini or another vehicle of that calibre instead of the regular electric car he gifted him. His father was in court screaming how ungrateful and entitled he was, when he (the father) “had to sacrifice and work hard for all he had.” I have seen too many stories of wealthy parents being killed by their children for material things. Usually, after they kill their parents, they spin a narrative of how evil their parents were. The same parents who only showed kindness and gave them everything.
Should Suzy and Jonathan Have Gone Public?
Could Jonathan and Suzy lamb have sought justice privately? Sure. Love covers a multitude of sins. They could have reported the sexual abuse allegations to the police and sought justice not just to cover his parents but more so to protect their child. They could also have taken legal action to resolve the issue of their tenure at Daystar and the alleged stalking and harassment. Could they have done so without throwing Joni Lamb to the wolves and negatively impacting her and her ministry? Sure. But I suspect that a spirit of anger and offence has taken root on both sides. Jonathan and Suzy seem to have taken the decision to render evil for evil, which is never God’s way.
Jonathan and Suzy’s action could be perceived as a bit more than a quest for justice. It could come across as a revenge tour driven by a need to inflict the deepest wound on his mother and the ministry, because they too are disappointed and hurting on so many different fronts. In a few of the interviews, I observed Suzy coming across as almost flippant and piling on in airing the dirty laundry of the family. This is a distinct contradiction, given the seriousness of the allegations, including about her daughter.
Did Jonathan and Suzy commit a grave error in the sight of God by dishonouring his parents, even tarnishing the name of his late father? Was their handling of the situation the Christian way? If the allegations against the parents are true, Marcus and Joni will have to answer to God and the courts (in the case of Joni who is the only one of the two still alive). God has a heart for children, and He does not like when they are hurt. Yet, he is also a just God and a vindicator of those unfairly treated or accused.
The Bible does ask us to honour our father and mother so our days may be long. In Genesis, when Noah got drunk and exposed his nakedness, two of his sons walked backwards to cover him. They would not look upon his nakedness out of respect. They would not expose him to ridicule. One son, Ham, looked and went and told the others. God cursed him.
Although Saul was not David’s father, he was, at that time, still God’s anointed king and a father figure to David. He committed great injustice against God and against David, even attempting to kill him on several occasions. But when David got the chance to kill Saul in his sleep, he refused to do it, instead cutting off the corner of Saul’s garment. Even this small act of retaliation against Saul grieved David’s heart, because despite Saul’s wickedness, David honoured him, and importantly honoured God.
Later in life, David’s own son Absalom revolted against him and dishonoured him, attempting to take the Kingdom from him by force. It was a painful and humiliating time for David, but it was a consequence of his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. In the end, God delivered David from the hand of Absalom who was judged severely. Absalom was very ambitious, and through the very position that his father gave him, “stole the heart of the people” and turned them against his father. While God used the uprising of Absalom as a judgement against David, Absalom’s actions were still deemed unjust by God.
The Marriage and the Recording
Are Jonathan and Suzy driven by ambition or are they standing up for their convictions and the defence of their daughter? The Bible is clear about divorce and remarriage; in cases of a spouse’s death or infidelity. Were biblical principles violated in the marriage between Joni Lamb and Doug Weiss?
There are other views proffered by other teachers based on their interpretation of the Bible. They cite neglect or abuse as other valid reasons for divorce. On the surface of it, if the chronology of events as outlined by Suzy and Jonathan, is true, it does raise questions about the union. But only God knows the circumstance of the previous marriage, the hearts and motives of the people involved, and He alone can determine whether His principles were violated. He alone can decide if they heard from Him or were deceived.
A great deal has been said about the recording of the meeting with Joni, Suzy, Jonathan and Jimmy Evans. In the meeting, Joni seems harsh, frustrated and desperate. People have pointed to her negative words, and have opined that the badgering of Suzy and Jonathan was a sign of spiritual abuse. In fact, the attitude on display does not come across as positive and healthy leadership.
I will get back to that, but we must also bear in mind that Jonathan and Suzy knew they were taping, Joni and Jimmy did not know. Jonathan and Suzy could have been putting on a performance and managing their responses. Was this contrite and principled stance their usual way? Or was it an act for the recording?
More than anything else, the audio recording shows a family not engaging each other with love. We heard Suzy being fired on the spot for refusing to read a viewer’s comment commending Joni’s wedding. On the surface of it, we heard what sounded like the younger Lamb’s being browbeaten, silenced, bullied and dominated. If that happened in a secular organisation it would not be acceptable, but even more so for a Christian organisation. That kind of autocratic leadership is not in vogue, as trends are moving more towards consultative and collaborative approaches to leading organisations. Still, the Bible does set a standard of submission to leadership, but that is not a blank cheque for spiritually abusive speech or actions.
For Joni, it came across as all or nothing—accept the man I married, or you are gone. Leaving and cleaving does not mean we turn a spouse into an idol to the point that we reject anyone who questions our relationship. That reaction demonstrates idolatry and coercive control. It also smacks of a need for validation as perhaps Joni too is breaking under the pressure of disagreement about her marriage.
Joni and Jimmy Evans spoke to Jonathan and Suzy as if they were strangers. It seemed as if Suzy was discarded like yesterday’s news, without a discussion, without a hearing or any kind of due process whatsoever. On the surface of it, there did not seem to be an acceptance of Suzy and Jonathan’s right to their opinion and convictions. Rather than showing them respect as senior team members in the organisation, they were treated as expendable minions, who must be robbed of their voices and beaten into conformity. Jimmy Evans kept relegating them to the position of mere employees and was the one in the conversation who kept telling the youngsters that if they did not agree, they should not be there.
Not that it should make a difference to Joni (she is a grown up and can do whatever she wants, answerable to God), but her children do have a right to protect their children, and they do have a right to voice their opinions on her marriage based on their biblical convictions. Joni’s excessive reaction in firing Suzy seemed very personal because she was forgetting one thing—this was her son and daughter-in-law (or daughter-in-love) as she calls it. This was family; that should have meant something.
That said, Joni’s reaction was prompted by her own hurt, and the need for acceptance from her children. Motherly love was thrown out the window, because so much had transpired and so many wounds had already been inflicted. She expressed the belief that her son was under the total control of his wife. I do not know if this is true, but I have observed in interviews that Suzy often controls the narrative, dominates the interview and has the framing and context for everything. Would ambition really drive them to destroy their family? Are the allegations against Pete just a way of disqualifying him and his wife from any Daystar ascendancy?
In the Bible, Ahab wanted Naboth’s field, Jezebel fabricated a story that Naboth had blasphemed. Naboth was executed and his field handed over to Jezebel and Ahab.
Suzy and Jonathan seemed detached from family. Is it because of all they have allegedly been through, or their motive too is about control of the family’s legacy?
The Establishment
Has the institution called Daystar become an idol that has trumped family and trumped God? God chose the Lamb family to steward this gift, not just for their benefit but to the entire world. However, Daystar is now a money-making behemoth that has amassed significant wealth, influence, and power in both the religious and political spheres. It has good programming, but has also become a key proponent of the prosperity gospel.
What started out as a station that brought the family together is now tearing them apart. The love of family is no longer the focus; that seems to have been replaced by a need for control and a quest to protect the network at all costs.
It is symptomatic of how some Christian Organisations, media, or core Christian Ministries themselves, can take on a life of their own. Rather than have people at their centre, these institutions can turn inward and become the focus, with people existing only to serve them in an all-consuming way.
These organisations can just use people as a cog in the wheel of the massive machinery. Accountability, justice, and transparency are often applied with great inequity, with certain persons getting a free pass depending on their relationships or connections to leadership while others are rejected and dismissed at the drop of a hat. At times, the heart for people only exists to the extent that these persons are serving the needs of the institution. If someone is not seen to be of value to the organisation or if it is deemed that they are questioning too much, they will be discarded. In essence, the Institution is protected, but no one cares for the healing or the souls of the person who may be struggling with emotional issues.
Anything that threatens the security, viability and image will be dealt with swiftly and harshly.
Jesus told the Pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. This simply means that the Sabbath was a move of God to give man a time of rest from all his works. But rather than this day being a time of rest, the Pharisees managed to turn it into another tool of enslavement for man. Instead of the Sabbath serving people, they were now being forced to become slaves to the Sabbath.
Service is a requirement of Christians, but there are times when service crosses the line into spiritual abuse and excessive control. Therefore, when there is a gross violation and an occasion arises to take a stand to do the right thing and protect a victim, the leadership sometimes defaults instead to protecting the brand and reputation of the institution.
With the Daystar situation, is God dismantling religious structures that have shifted from their mandate of serving the body to serving themselves and their appetites? I have often wondered. When is the money collection enough? What the network has collected over the years, has it been put to good use to help others proportionately instead of for self-indulgence? Is God uprooting the foundations built on the traditions of men and money, and rebuilding foundations on Him? Is He requiring organisations like Daystar to return to their first love and serve Him and His people? Is He asking them to examine where they went off course and to return to Him?
Only God can give us true understanding about what is really happening in the Lamb family. Only He can know what is truly the motive of people’s hearts.
I have no doubt that Suzy and Jonathan are hurting and would have prayerfully weighed their decisions and counted the cost. Undoubtedly, Joni, Rebecca, Rachel, and the entire family are in pain from the very public dispute. However, hearts can only heal if persons seek God, forgive, and protect the sacred space called family, rather than living for an institution and earthly wealth. It seems so difficult that there can be reconciliation, because so much has happened, so much hurt has transpired. But with God’s help, healing and forgiveness can take place.