LTRP Note: The following news story is posted for informational and research purposes.
By Michael Foust
Christianheadlines.com
The lead singer of the Christian contemporary group Hawk Nelson said in an Instagram post last week he doesn’t believe in God and “can no longer stand on stage” and sing the band’s songs because of his new stance.
“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,” Jon Steingard wrote in a lengthy Instagram post.
“[I]t didn’t happen overnight or all of a sudden. It’s been more like pulling on the threads of a sweater, and one day discovering that there was no more sweater left,” he wrote. “… I am stunned by the number of people in visible positions within Christian circles that feel the same way as I do Click here to continue reading.
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Photo: Hawk Nelson Facebook Page
Stephen Blaine
The Lord can now work in this man’s life. He will join himself to the world and get chewed up and spit out. He will be beaten down so mercilessly that he will see what the world is like and The Lord will be there ready to save him when he finally calls. Like Job this will be how he discovers The Lord for himself. Also, it should open the eyes of church leaders to see that music is ministry not entertainment. That’s the problem today. To many churches want to please the youth with entertainment like the world and all it does is leave everybody empty, broken & divided. You cant write great praise n worship songs or songs of encouragement until you’ve been through trials and tribulations. If you want to entertain the youth then study the word. There are amazing things in the word you will never hear in churches. The Divine counsel, The feasts, the covenants, Why there was a flood, The Tower of Babel, Israel, prophecy, the beast system, the Mark, etc. All these topics if studied are far more interesting than any Hollywood movie, concert or sporting event. Indulge in them and share them without fear and you will see how great our Lord is and how much He loves us. You will be entertained and the churches will develop a hunger and thirst for more. The musicians will begin to write great new songs from the heart that have life and substance and hopefully stop playing the same U2 song they’ve been playing the for the last twenty years. By the way, this is a great website. Love it
CW
Yes, the parable of the wheat and the tares, too. Thank you for bringing that out. 🙂
Rita Chamberlin
Ii agree. Many times Christians are so ready to celebrate someone , especially someone in the public eye as a Christian because the person said the right words- usually it includes Jesus. But their actions seem a bit off in how they “ glorify” God.
We all need to surround ourselves with those who will hold us accountable to our words and help us grow in God’s Word. Some of these “ no longer believers” seem to lack good solid accountability.. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us…” 1 John 2:19
Melissa
It would appear to me that he never knew, very possibly never was taught who is, the God and Lord Jesus Christ of the authoritative, inerrant Word of God. I too have failed with 3 out of 4 of my children who are now adults. Much of the christian faith today is pure emotional “do-good-er” feel good activities fed to our children and youth that have no basis in Truth. I believe The Marxist driven social gospel has pretty much destroyed the visible church and it breaks my heart, (and I confess and repent of it) to think how many years and how much precious time and money I invested in it over the years. Woe is me!! God have mercy on your Church.
Joey
So true CW…it always leads right back to The Parable of the Sower and the Seed in Matthew 13: 1-23 and 24 -30 The Parable of the Tares . If one doesn’t understand those two parables, one needs to ask the Lord God for wisdom and understanding so their eyes will be opened and they will be able to understand the scriptures.
James Gray
Sadly, many young people who have been fed the teaching of people like Bart Erhman and others do not have a firm foundation in their lives to ‘build’ upon…just ‘Bible stories’ and such things that draw their minds to ‘tickling’ of the ears but away from the truth in Christ Jesus. Only the grace of God can convict a soul of their need of salvation and many young people (and older) have never had a true conversion experience and encounter with the risen Christ, but a ‘feel good’ experience that will wear off sooner or later. Pray for our youth!!
John J
Thanks, Brittany, for speaking your mind; you are right on target. Believing in God and saved once and for all time by the finished sacrifice of God incarnate, Jesus Christ, are no gambles; born-again Christians can’t pick and choose from these so-called “stars” to decide which ones are born-again. You watched/judged by his fruit; good for you. Ans when one is emotionally low, anything might sound ‘christian,’ and these bands know it. A born-again Christian does not need CTM at all; the reverse might be true.
CW
“The thing is, were these things not provided to him, or did he not listen?”
Good question. Did he ever have ears to hear? The Lord God knows.
I’m not big into contemporary music these days (some of which may be true to God’s Word, but I’ve heard a good bit which wasn’t), so I did not know about this guy or his band. The things you shared here reveal the state of his heart and mind. 🙁
If he has never been saved, I pray he will see that, will be filled with “godly sorrow which leads to repentance not to be repented of”. (1 or 2 Corinthians, which explains the difference between sorrow which leads to death, and godly sorrow)
Rhonda
I was thinking the same thing and also praying the others come forward and stop pretending so we can pray for them also…
Yes, his questions sound like a person who has never been taught the true gospel…guess it shouldn’t surprise us now. Sad. So very sad.
T. I. Miller
No longer believes or never in faith believed?
There is a story about a devout church member a woman in her eighties who had everyone including herself fooled.
One Sunday service the pastor finally gave a message on what being born again is and what it is not. Only then did she realize that she was never saved. She was never a Christian by true faith.
Parents whose children return from college denying Christianity are just like her.
I call it a superficial borrowed faith from their parents who assumed that it was real. i used to think that I was a Christian based upon the fact that I got wet during a baptism and that I was now a church member. years later, after being schooled by the Holy Spirit, i understood what true repentance and true faith really is.
I discovered on line The Puritans Children’s Catechism written test that they had to pass before being allowed to receive communion. The vast majority of today’s adults could not pass it. Sometimes I think we are foolishly loving our children into perdition. ” they said they loved Jesus when they were 5 so they must be saved, right’?
Don’t assume your children or anyone else is saved because they go through the motions. Judas fooled everyone except Jesus.
Don’t be afraid to offend, the gospel IS an offense to those who are perishing. Seeker friendly sermons and Sunday schools are dangerous tools of unintended deception to the lost souls among us.
Jeffry
I had a heart attack a number of years. My wife lost her job and we had no medical insurance. Coming home from the hospital by herself my wife was concerned about me and paying for my hospital bills. She turned on the radio as Mercy Me began to sing Hold Fast. She pulled the car off To the side of the road as tears ran down her face. Some Gospel groups are saved. Sadly many are not.
Brittany Green
I hate to say this, and probably shouldn’t, but, it’s kind of clear that he was not a genuine believer, from his song in 2009, called “California”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boFQwaWgJsY
I mean, there is rebellion against authority (1 Samuel 15:23), sexual deviancy (he’s grabbing his crotch in public in one shot, on the 45 second mark–Jude 19), coveteousness (the song is about moving to California, a place of “fun”, against 1 Timothy 6:6-8 and Hebrews 13:5), and that’s just a few seconds. Admittedly, I am not too big on pop music, so I could not bear this long. But, there was something off about this band.
That said, I would like for him to be saved. For the doctrine on hell, well Read John 3, whole chapter. Also, Luke 16. As for a loving God sending to people to Hell, he didn’t. We choose to go to Hell for 1) being a sinner, and sinning against an infinite God (Romans 3:19-18, Isaiah 53:6, and Ecclesiastes 7:10), and 2) Rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior for eternal life (John 3:17-19). As for doing away with all the evil in the world, well, that means he’d get you and I off the planet. He’s not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 2:8-9. As for things like floods, etc, that is because the creature was subject to our sin: Romans 8:20. There is a lot that could have been spoken about Scripturally on this, quite easily? The thing is, were these things not provided to him, or did he not listen?
CW
I don’t doubt this is a big issue. But I have known of some churches/pastors who refused to compromise the Word of God, and professing Christians were offended and left their fellowship, ended up falling away from God altogether. Christ Jesus’ parable of the four types of soil always come to my mind when these things happen.
CW
“He said there are many people like him in Christians circles who have given up their faith.”
When I saw that in the article, I wondered, so are they still “in Christian circles”? Are they pretending to be Christians so they can enjoy the fellowship (and maybe make money off them, like musicians, comedians, etc)? If so, they are nothing but hypocrites. 🙁
CW
This is so sad; I cannot imagine what his parents must be feeling.
I have never understood why any professing Christian would choose to fall away from the LORD because bad things happen in this world. Have they never read Genesis 1-3, which details the fall of man into sin and the entrance of death which resulted? Do they not know there is a devil whom Christ Jesus said “comes to steal, kill and destroy?” I have to wonder if they ever really knew the LORD. My heart aches for his parents and all Christians who know and love him.
Jeffry
Sadly, another young person gives up their faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. He said there are many people like him in Christians circles who have given up their faith. His father is a Pastor in a church. Some of his questions sounds like Calvinism. He was upset because he said God was sending people to Hell. Did he ever hear the Gospel of the Bible? For God so loved the world. Satan has infiltrated many churches in America and around the entire world. Was reading and studying the Bible important to him? We live in Dark Days. We pray for him and all unsaved people in the world that they all would hear the Gospel and trust The Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
John J
As a musician, I have never, and will never waste time on “Christian Contemporary Music.” There’s no difference between that and something like “Jesus Calling,” as neither has been inspired by the Holy Spirit. A spirit is involved, sure; holy? Nope.
Jerry
No Bible
No church
Laura
So sad! This is a direct result of the failure of the church to expound the hard topics of the Bible. Instead pastors are focusing on the feel good aspects, not sound doctrine. Unfortunately, unless this changes, we will see more and more of our young people falling away.