Michael Brown’s hatred for LGBT people surfaced yet again in his Oct. 27 column, in which he praised a Christian musician for hating them as much as he does:
Although Skillet is one of the best-known Christian rock bands ever, I only became aware of them when John Cooper, the band’s longtime frontman, wrote a strong response to former Hillsong worship leader Marty Sampson. Since then, John and I have become close friends, often interacting about the compromised state of so much of the contemporary church. In fact, Skillet’s great song “The Resistance” is the theme music for my daily broadcast, the “Line of Fire.”
Most recently, John has been involved in the controversy the erupted after “Former Caedmon’s Call singer-songwriter, Derek Webb, went to the [Dove] awards in a dress, alongside openly queer Christian artist Semler, and drag queen Flamy Grant. Webb also posted a picture of the trio on social media with the caption, ’54th annual dove awards, here we come.'”
Webb is a former contemporary Christian music artist who turned away from the faith and has partnered with “Flamy Grant,” a drag queen (and former worship leader named Matthew Blake) whose music was No. 1 on iTunes for Christian music in 2022. I am not making this up.
Nor am I making up the reference to the “openly queer Christian artist Semler,” as if one could be openly queer and follow Jesus at the same time. Not a chance.
John has rightly rebuked this destructive behavior, but other leaders in the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry, have taken issue with his comments, calling him out for his alleged lack of love. They have been joined by many social media commenters who claim that Jesus is using these “drag Christians” to help us be more tolerant and inclusive in our attitudes.
In fact, Cooper apmly demonstrated his lack of love, sneering that not hating LGBT people as “libertarian tolerance” and “moral relativism,” maliciously likening them a equivalent to Hitler, slaveowners and racists, which Brown approvingly quoted:
“Sincere question: Were Christians not acting like Jesus when they spoke against slavery? Or stood for civil rights? Was Bonhoeffer a judgmental Pharisee when he was warning the church against Hitler?
“More sincere questions: If people attended the Doves dressed in KKK hoods, would ‘love for Christ and being about the Father’s business’ demand silence from Christian artists? After all, God is the judge, not us, right? ‘What’s a little racism in our midst?’
“So, will you support folks attending in blackface? What if a section of CCM artists began promoting ‘shout your abortion,’ and praising the killing of the unborn as an act of love. Does Jesus respond to that? Or does He just love people so much that He stays silent about calling good evil and evil good?
“What if folks came to the Doves promoting segregation between blacks and whites. Or promoting the end of laws that bar minors from entering into consensual sexual relationships with adults. Spoiler alert: There’s no way that you or the other folks in the industry would stay silent if those things happened at the Doves. “You need to ask yourself – why would I be more bothered by racism than sexual immorality? Your take on what it means to love Christ and others is sentimental, not biblical.
If you’re likening gay people to Hitler and the KKK, you’re not being sincere — you’re being maliciously hateful. Nevertheless, Brown concluded by gushing: “Preach it, kid brother! This is why I love John Cooper and Skillet.