During this time of global pandemic, violent attacks on innocent citizens of color, and being just months away from a Presidential election, why in the name of God and Yahoo News would the top story in yesterday's news feed be "John Steingard, Singer for the Christian Band Hawk Nelson, Says He No Longer Believes in God"? Some poor guy's crisis of faith being the lead story?  Just, you know, WHY?

My next question is, "Why, if I don't consider this worthy of international news, did I immediately read the article?"  Fair enough.  Perhaps because my daughters have all liked this band. Perhaps because, in the vast wasteland that is Christian rock music, Hawk Nelson was actually pretty talented.  Perhaps because I'm as much a sucker for tabloid-esque journalism as the next guy.  Regardless, I bit.

I've never met Mr. Steingard, but I've met countless others who I believe could, with a few changes in the specifics, say something comparable to his "coming out" statement: "After growing up in a Christian home, being a pastor's kid, playing and singing in a Christian band, and having the word 'Christian' in front of most of the things in my life - I am now finding that I no longer believe in God."  The key phrase in this sentence is, "Having the word 'Christian' in front of most of the things in my life..."  With no judgement intended to John Steingard or his family, I think I know exactly what he's getting at.  'Christian' was never meant to be an adjective.  In fact, the three times it's used in scripture, it was always a derogatory word used by religious or political leaders, not unlike calling the early church "Jesus freaks" (back before that was the title of a best selling Christian rock CD, of course.) Yet we stick the word everywhere as an adjective. Unclear exactly how it modifies the nouns, we talk about Christian music, Christian TV, Christian fiction, Christian video games, and, yes, Christian juggling.  Sometimes it feels like the contemporary church's motto could  be, " Anything you can do, we can do five years later and not nearly as well."

Although I can't pretend to know the details of Mr. Steingard's story, I've been around this same American Christian culture enough to surmise how things might have been for him.  Did the fact that his father was a pastor force him into appearance based Christianity at an early age?  How many people have I known who have been told verbally that we're saved by grace, not by works, when what has been modeled for them looks more like 'God only loves you if try really really hard to be good (or, at least, avoid being bad.)'  Sometimes it might even be better stated, "God accepts you just as you are, but Mom, Dad and Sunday School Teacher like you a lot more when we keep you under the Law."

  Was Hawk Nelson's front man coerced into an early pseudo-conversion experience by well meaning VBS leaders, Sunday school teachers or parents?  It happens all the time.  After all, we want our kids to be ready; clearly the anti-Christ is ready to rise up and take over at any moment. Getting kids to unthinkingly recite a 'sinner's prayer' (Also a concept not in Scripture) and couple years later take a purity pledge will spare them from the world-wide tribulation of Satan, or worse, becoming sexually active.  Statistically - yes, there are people who research this -neither sinner's prayers nor purity pledges make any lasting difference in young people's lives.  Perhaps Hawk Nelson's leader simply saw the vanity of trying to create a move of God through the efforts of man. And, by heading up a world renowned Christian band, perhaps he saw himself as perpetuating the problem.

I don't know the details, but I know the culture that has let him down.  To a degree, it's my culture, too.  I pray for him, for his "Christian fans" (I have a hard time even typing that phrase without the image of idol worshipers popping into my minds-eye.) I pray for his family and band mates. And I also pray for me, my family and my church.  May God open our eyes to discern the difference between fads and faith, trends and truth, culture and Christ.  And I pray that well meaning believers can give Mr. Steingard the space he needs to process the difference between these things without  gossiping, arguing or condemning.  Even though he seems to have been let down by family, friends and church, no doubt they have done their best by him, and God is faithful. Perhaps this is exactly where God has brought him in order to do a real work of the Holy Spirit in his heart.