Religious Bullying

By Larry Acheson

12/01/2024

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lthough I am not a regular viewer of the Daystar network, nor do I share a lot of their beliefs, I have definitely paid attention to the current family fallout debacle as it unravels on the Internet. I've listened to the entire audio that was secretly recorded in July 2023, in which Daystar president Joni Lamb and a pastor named Jimmy Evans rake her son and his wife, Jonathan and Suzy Lamb, over the coals because, during a certain telecast, they chose to not read a viewer comment congratulating Joni and her new husband on their marriage. I don't know the details of why Joni's husband had previously divorced his wife, nor am I really interested, but apparently it was troublesome to Jonathan and Suzy—troublesome to the point that they would not read the viewer comment over the airwaves. Suzy was fired during the recorded meeting and Jonathan was terminated on November 16, 2024.

     Due to their unwillingness to go against their convictions, Jonathan and Suzy were told they were stubborn, rebellious, and that they had opened themselves and their family to demonic activity, bringing a curse on themselves and their children. I listened as Jonathan exhibited what I can only describe as one of the meekest attributes, almost crumbling under the intense pressure applied to his spirit. Suzy was more on the defiant side, if that's a proper description, as she made it plain that she was willing to submit to Joni's authority, but not if it required going against her convictions.

     My heart broke for this couple because I was in a similar position nearly 40 years ago, when I was the editor of our church's newsletter. I was vaguely aware of an unspecified controversy involving a certain husband and wife, who were actually co-founders of the church, but I also knew their 25th wedding anniversary was coming up. I was excited for them and wrote up a short piece congratulating them, which I was going to run in the newsletter. Before I published it, however, I wanted to make certain I had the couple's blessing, so I let them know what I was about to do. The man, whose name was Paul, was very appreciative of my efforts, but he cautioned against printing the notice in the newsletter due to potential backlash. I told him I couldn't see how anyone could possibly have a problem with it, and he told me to go ahead if I wanted to do so. So I did.

     A week later, I was called to a special meeting of the church board. Frankly, I do not remember what all was said. It's a blur to me now. I went into the meeting thinking there might be a discussion about some upcoming program they were planning or some special news that they wanted me to publish in the newsletter. I feel as though I walked into that meeting as meekly as Jonathan Lamb did with his. Was I ever in for a shock! I, too, was raked over the coals, the pastor and elders demanding who gave me authorization to publish that piece about the couple's upcoming wedding anniversary. I was made to feel horrible and as low as a worm. I do remember defending my decision, but it was to no avail. I was guilty of the horrible act of printing a notice of a couple's upcoming 25th wedding anniversary.

     The only thing I remember saying at that meeting are the words I flatly stated as I walked out: "Shame on you all!"

     I also know the hurt Jonathan experienced by his mother's rejection, except Jonathan's hurt has to be ten times greater than mine. In my case, three months into our observance of the weekly Sabbath, I received a two-page letter from my mother. I don't cry very often these days, possibly due to all the battle scars I've experienced since my decision rest on the seventh day of the week, but I cried that day, and just the memory of that letter hurts my heart to this day. The very first words were, "What's the matter with you, anyway?!" As you might imagine, the tone didn't get any better with the remaining portion. Those were the days when I farmed with my dad, and my mother made it clear that no real farmer leaves a tractor and plow idle on Saturdays. Somehow, in spite of this stressful rift, I was able to continue farming with my dad for three difficult and trying years.

     Along my pilgrim path, I've encountered kind people and I've encountered some very cruel people. Only the other day, when I decided to discontinue pursuing an online discussion with a certain unfriendly man because I knew it would be a waste of precious time, I bowed out, allowing him to get in the last word. And boy, did he! His last words were a challenge for me to respond. He wrote, "But do squirm some more. I enjoy liars panicking when being exposed." This came from a self-professing Christian, by the way. I suppose he wanted to tempt me to retract my commitment to allow him the last word. But that's what's out there, and with no moderators to help maintain civility, I tend to shy away from controversial discussions such as that one (abortion).

     But what Jonathan and Suzy Lamb experienced on that one secret recording alone was far worse than anything I've ever been subjected to. And just think—Jonathan held on to that recording for over a year, obviously hoping the Daystar culture would change for the better so he wouldn't need it. But it did not. I shudder to think of what else Jonathan and his wife had to endure between the recording and his subsequent firing 16 months later! I've read online criticism directed towards Jonathan about secretly recording the meeting, and frankly, those criticisms are wrong. Oh, how I wish I would have recorded that board meeting of 39 years ago! Without the recording, no one would have believed Jonathan's word over his mother's, and if you've watched his mother's video "termination announcement," you know she tried to completely turn the tables on him, accusing him of running a "smear campaign," presenting him as a disgruntled, spoiled brat of a son who couldn't handle her being president instead of him. But the secret audio recording makes it clear he had no aspirations of removing his mother from her role. As much as my own mother hurt me so many years ago, she never lied about me, and I never EVER heard her use inappropriate language. I cannot say the same for Joni. The words she used were disgusting. And she considers herself the representative of the Almighty at Daystar?

     Personally, for all you "Trekkies" out there, I think Joni performed a great impression of the Borg queen who, along with her drone, tried to assimilate Capt. Jonathan and his first officer into the Borg hive. In the end, Joni found that resistance is NOT futile.

     I wasn't going to comment on my personal take on all the Daystar drama, but I happened to listen to a video commentary by a woman named Laura-Lynn, who exhibited tremendous insight into the unfair, heart-wrenching brow-beating Jonathan experienced at Daystar. She stated, "I have choices right now. I can just be completely silent on all of it, or, as I've had to go on my face before [the Almighty] and say, 'Why have you got me here for this hour and what do you want me to say?' and I think the thing I feel most in my heart personally is that to be silent in the face of wrong would make me complicit. And I will not be silent. And what I see is a young man and a beautiful young woman definitely trying to be respectful while grappling with their conscience and their hearts. And one of the things Joni said to me is, she said, 'Yes, I raised him, I raised him well,' she said the other night, and she did. That is a good son. But all through this, all through this recording you will hear him derided and put down."

     I agree with Laura-Lynn, and I appreciate her tremendous insights, such as wondering why Joni Lamb isn't demanding answers as to why Daystar security put a tracking device on Jonathan's vehicle. After all, if she wasn't responsible, wouldn't she be making those demands for answers? So it's pretty clear she was distrustful of her son to the point that she had a tracking device secretly planted on his vehicle.

     Many of us have been treated unfairly in our lives, some of us more than others. I've described other unfair treatment I've experienced at the hands of professing believers elsewhere on our website. Those who know me well know what I'm talking about. It's happened before and I know it will happen again, all in the name of righteous religion.

     Thank you, Laura-Lynn, for speaking out and allowing your voice to be heard. I appreciate your tremendous insights into the spiritual and verbal badgering to which Jonathan and his wife were subjected. As I mentioned earlier, I, too, know what it's like to be rejected by a mother. Yes, the letter she sent me was very mean-spirited, but Joni was waaay more inflammatory with her words. The hurt I experienced has not dissipated after all these years (38 years ago), but I am nevertheless thankful that my mother and I later reconciled. We do not have to agree on things to be respectful towards each other or to love each other. Like Jonathan, we must put the Almighty first, and we should never demand that someone say or do something that goes against their convictions.

Provoking Our Children

      In the audio recording, there is much talk about how disobedient, stubborn and rebellious Jonathan is, even invoking the fifth commandment, which they apparently don't believe was "done away" with the other commandments. Reference is made to Ephesians chapter 6, where the Apostle Paul reinforces a very sound reason for obeying it: To have a long life. Here's how it reads:

1 Children, obey your parents in Yahweh: for this is right.
2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

     To be sure, Joni and her accomplice made it clear that Jonathan was disobeying the fifth commandment. I, along with many others, disagree. Moreover, I am persuaded that Joni did not hearken to the next piece of advice given by the Apostle Paul in that chapter:

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of Yahweh.

     While I agree that Joni is Jonathan's mother and not his father, I'm certain Paul's advice was intended for mothers as well. The Greek word translated "fathers" is pateres, which, of course, is plural. This word, in its plural form, can be translated "parents," and really should have been translated that way in Ephesians 6:4. Let's just say Joni exhibited no regard for Paul's advice.

     An additional concern, which is actually a huge one, involves how this public fiasco will lead to more and more theological skeptics, as in more people turning away from the Faith. This is at least the second major mega-church scandal this year, and I'm only referring to the local DFW metroplex. It seems as though more and more individuals and groups mock religion in general, and with each new scandal, agnosticism and skepticism only intensifies. This calls to memory my study titled The Jubilee Cycle, which sprang out of a disagreement I had with a (former) close friend back in 2009. I'm persuaded the Jubilee Cycle consists of 50 years, he insisted that it's 49. To me, it wasn't a big deal since I'm not quite sure how I would observe a Jubilee Year anyway, apart from not planting a garden. But my friend took it a step further by claiming that a Jubilee year would begin in the fall of 2015, and that Yeshua the Messiah would return during that time frame. I have long advised against setting dates for the Messiah's return, and I had cautioned my friend to keep his view private, as we already had enough skeptics in 2009, and if he went public with his prediction, more skeptics would arise. Well, he didn't take my advice, and as we all know, 2015 came and went, the Messiah still hasn't returned, and I haven't seen or heard anything from my former friend since that time. His website no longer exists. For all I know, even he is now an unbeliever.

     The disagreement I had with my friend was relatively small scale compared to the Daystar disaster. All this really does is bring us ever closer to the End Times, when Yeshua's big question will loom very large:

And shall not the Almighty avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" —Luke 18:7-8

     Shall he?