“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17 NKJV

“What if I stumble, what if I fall? What if lose my step and make fools of us all?”1 This lyric from Christian group, DC Talk, has been flashing through my mind since the Michael Tait scandal hit the news. It raises a lot of questions for me about mercy, grace, confession, and forgiveness. How do I handle moral failings of other Christians? Is there a difference between moral failings and predatory behavior? What is truth and can it still come from flawed people? And why do his lyrics keep on repeating in my brain?

To understand my obsession, I need to travel back to 1995, when Terry and I met. While dating, we shared Mr. Misty strawberry kiwi slushes at DQ and explored antiques stores. We also exposed each other to new experiences. I brought whimsy, color, and adventure. Terry brought Star Trek, Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart, and introduced me to all different musical artists including DC Talk. This trio with a backup band, had just released their groundbreaking album, Jesus Freak, to the world. Well, maybe just the Contemporary Christian Music world. DC Talk started off as a rap group, and by adding grunge elements to their music, this album went to a new level. The album was a hit, with its self-title release and Between You and Me, debuting on Billboard at number 16. DC Talk released a follow up album afterwards and soon broke up to explore individual projects. Kevin McKeehan became TobyMac, continuing in the rap/hip-hop tradition, and Michael Tait started his own band Tait.

Tait’s second album, Lose This Life, soon became one of our all-time favorites. These lyrics became the soundtrack of our lives, repeating the CD on road trips. The lyrics were deep and thought provoking, looking at the hard realities of life while still pursuing God. Lyrics from Fallen challenged me amid feeling hopeless, to be “hopelessly drawn”2 to God.  Michael Tait went on to become the new lead singer of Newsboys, another popular group. With this new step, he became one of the most influential artists in the Christian music industry.

“So, let our faith be more than anthems, greater than the songs we sing, and in our weakness and temptations, we believe, we believe.”3 A few months ago, Michael Tait abruptly left the Newsboys after 15 years. Rumors followed and a legitimate news story in the Roys Report broke about what has been called “the worst kept Nashville secret.”  Three different men with credible stories, corroborated by others, had been sexually assaulted by Tait, some given drugs or coerced into taking drugs. A few days later, Tait came out with one of the sincerest apologies given by any disgraced Christian leader, pastor, artists, or influencer, thus far. But even his apology held some ambiguity due to legal reasons. He acknowledged his sin and recognized he needed to do some healing and work on his issues out of the spotlight and off the stage. Yet, the stories kept coming, including one of a young woman who was raped by a stagehand while Tait watched.

I have sat with this for a few weeks, reeling with disappointment and struggling with how to handle my love for Tait’s music. Do I stop listening to everything he made to support victims in their trauma and healing? If I take this step, where does it end? Do I stop watching every movie, including Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, produced by Havery Weinstein because he was a sexual predator?  How does this carry over to books I read or songs I worship through when written by questionable characters?

I also struggle with the language some have used when describing this as a moral failure. A moral failure is struggling with addiction or having a consensual affair while married to someone else. What Michael Tait is alleged to have done and admitted to on some level, was prey upon young men in a consistent pattern of behavior with unwanted sexual advances, in essence, sexual assault! What happened to the young woman was criminal behavior, making Tait an accomplice to a crime! Also, this is an abuse of power under the guise of Christianity by someone powerful in an industry where younger people are trying to enter in and make their own mark.

This leads to more questions about the artist itself. Can art still be beautiful and good despite the artist’s lifestyle and choices?  A mantra in our home is that truth is truth regardless of the source. This means despite the moral character or criminal background of a person, if they create something that is beautiful and true, it is reflecting God’s image in them. But does that mean that I financially support someone who can still profit from their work while engaged in criminal and predatory behavior?

“I want to be in the Light, as You are in the light, I wanna shine like the stars in the heavens. Oh, Lord be my light, and be my salvation, Cause all I want is to be in the Light.”4 I must believe that during the beginning of his performances, Michael Tait sincerely believed his own lyrics as he was singing. Why enter the Christian music industry with all its high expectations when entering the secular music industry might be easier with fewer moral guidelines? Maybe he was sincere 34 years ago when DC Talk was performing with soundtracks as they opened for another band in Illinois where my husband saw them. But somewhere along the line, Tait made terrible choices that traumatized the lives of those around him. Yet, he continued to get up on stage and sing the lyrics that he may still believe but was no longer living. Was it all just a performance or was there any authenticity to his art?

After wrestling with this, I still don’t have concrete answers for most of my questions. These questions are added to the other ones I have wrestled with as well in reconstructing my faith. We are messy people with messy faith worshiping a good and true God. We sometimes stand on principles and forget to demonstrate love and kindness. Then we swing to the opposite end and no longer stand on truth.

I remember making a stand almost three decades ago that I wouldn’t attend the baby shower of an unwed mother. I still intended to “bless her with things she needed for this child.” I still intended to support her by offering her help when she needed it. But, somehow, my self-righteous mind thought that celebrating her was encouraging women to be promiscuous. I felt justified in giving her a scarlet letter by my absence from her shower, thinking that principles were more important than kindness and love.

This was an easy principle to keep until I was challenged by some sweet friends of mine who made the tough choices to be single moms. They chose to face the persecution of others in our evangelical circle and raise their precious children. These children are wonderful individuals that I am privileged to know. I am so thankful that I recognized the folly in my so-called stand and chose to demonstrate love and compassion.

It is important to stand for principles, but I must remember who I am standing for and why. Tait, despite his hypocrisy, said it best in one of his last hits with the Newsboys, “I’ll stand right here at the foot of the cross, I’ll stand.”5 Tait failed miserably in his stand, but it doesn’t change the truth of these lyrics. My prayer is that I’ll stand for the one who loved me enough to die for my sins, Jesus, the only place I should stand. And while I stand with Him, I need to remain humble, just as He did, and put my trust in Him.

Citations

  1. DC Talk (1995). What If I Stumble? Jesus Freak. Forefront Records
  2. Tait (2003). Fallen. Lose This Life. Forefront Records
  3. Newsboys (2013) We Believe. Restart. Sparrow Records
  4. DC Talk (1995) In The Light. Jesus Freak. Forefront Records
  5. Newsboys (2021) Stand. Stand. Capitol Records

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