{"id":1284,"date":"2026-07-14T06:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/?p=1284"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:57:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:57:44","slug":"testify-to-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/testify-to-what\/","title":{"rendered":"Testify to What?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2><em>Why Love Isn&#8217;t Love<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/testify-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1285\" width=\"564\" height=\"752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/testify-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/testify-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/testify-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/testify.jpeg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 564px) 100vw, 564px\" \/><figcaption>L<em>-R: Michael Passons, Melissa Greene, Ty Herndon<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/testify-to-what\/\">Testify to What?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/07\/just-a-spell-too-far\/\">Just a Spell Too Far<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/9-12-2001\/\">9\/12\/2001<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/23\/the-nuclear-family-the-standard-we-stopped-defending\/\">The Nuclear Family: The Standard We Stopped Defending<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/fathers-are-coming-home\/\">Fathers Are Coming Home<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I absolutely love this song. Their performance is incredible. I have no problem with anyone, including gay people singing Christian music. This article is in response to a specific statement made by one of the singers of this song.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Spending my first 15 adult years in the music business in Nashville, I encountered many things I thought I\u2019d never see. Of those remains to be the number of Christian music artists that were closeted homosexual. Keep in mind, to those of us in the industry, it wasn\u2019t that closeted. On 16th and 17th Avenue in Nashville, they wore their identity without apology. But the instant they stepped beyond that sanctuary, they slipped into a disguise, pretending to be someone they weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Realities of the Music Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The reasons are clear. If the rest of the world, especially the Christian music listeners, were to learn of their favorite singer\u2019s homosexuality, they would stop listening. This affects the financial bottom line. As a result, there was an unwritten code that artists were to keep their homosexuality on the <em>down-low<\/em> and everyone made money. If their homosexuality were to become common knowledge, sales would go down, managers would get less, publishers would get less, the artists would get less, there would be no tour. It\u2019s financial ruin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There has typically been the same unwritten code in country music. So when Ty Herndon was discovered by law enforcement committing a homosexual act in public, his label did their best to cover it up, minimize, and even alter the narrative surrounding the events. This couldn\u2019t get out. But for different, yet similar, reasons. Those buying records were conservative, God-fearing, country boys and girls who did not want their favorite singer to be gay. Again, the fairness of this can be debated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could make the argument as to whether this is fair or not. For Christian singers, they adhere to what the Bible says. For country music, the clientele buys the records. If they don\u2019t buy, you don\u2019t have a job. In both cases, it was mostly economic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>New Take On an Old Song<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Insert the new single by Ty Herndon, Michael Passons, and Melissa Greene. The song, \u201cTestify to Love\u201d, is a cover from the Chrisitan group Avalon, of whom Michael was a member of at one time. Michael left the group in 2003, citing other opportunities. Then in 2020, Passons came out as gay, recanting that leaving the group was involuntary due to his sexual orientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the song comes out (no pun intended), it quickly becomes a hit. The initial reason is clear, they are amazing vocalists. Quickly, this begins to stir the airwaves, claiming this is \u201cthe first hit by an openly gay Christian artist.\u201d For this reason, they received criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Melissa Greene and Michael Passons took another step. Their claim was that \u201cChristian music was built on the backs of gay people.\u201d This is the statement that got my attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-1 is-vertical wp-block-group\">\n<h3><em>Christian Beliefs<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\"><em>Before we can continue, we have to clarify certain things. For the sake of this conversation, it must be noted that the Christian tradition believes that people are to be loved, but sins are not. And that homosexuality is considered a sin (missing the mark, not God\u2019s design). Christians believe that love isn\u2019t love, God is love. You can debate that on another day. Today it\u2019s about the statement made by Greene and Passons.<\/em> <\/pre>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2>Exploitation vs. Good Business<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By their statement, they are saying that there were\/are many gay people in Christian music and that it was exploitative to demand they keep this knowledge a secret. There are a few problems with this thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, if they are going to go by the Bible, they should not be engaged in a homosexual relationship. They have abandoned that reality. Now, they choose to sing in the Christian music industry. It\u2019s worth nothing that many in Nashville believe some people enter the Christian music industry because they can\u2019t get signed in Country or Pop. Essentially, that\u2019s unfair. However, there have been many cases where that was the clear truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, they should know that if they don\u2019t abide by the rules of the industry, they will not have a job. This is no different than the Dixie Chicks debacle. In 2003, The lead singer, Natalie Maines, said she was \u201cashamed that the President of the United States was from Texas.\u201d Outrage ensued. People were literally burning their records, t-shirts, and pictures. Their tour sales suffered greatly. They virtually tanked, dissolved, and were ostracized by the entire industry. But why? Because their clientele were the ones buying the records and going to the shows. And their clientele didn\u2019t want to hear disrespectful things about their president. It\u2019s free market capitalism 101.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why the statement by Greene and Passons that \u201cChristian music was built on the backs of gay people\u201d, hasn\u2019t landed well. If it were to get out that a Christian singer was gay, that group would no longer have a career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The other problem is this remake has usurped the meaning, slapped a concept creep on it, and decided they know what\u2019s best, rather than the God they so lovingly sing about knowing what\u2019s best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>True Meaning Behind the Song<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If the song is to champion the idea that God loves gay people and you should too, then I\u2019m totally on board with this. The message Jesus taught wasn\u2019t a heterosexual or homosexual message, it was a God message. \u201cBy this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.\u201d (John 13:34-35). In that context, I will testify to love too. Because in testifying to love, I\u2019m testifying to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If they are attempting to make the claim that God is perfectly accepting and happy that they are engaged in homosexual relationships, this would be directly against what God has said, and those in the industry knew that, thus the request for secrecy. In that context, I would ask, what is love? If God is love, then the literal translation of the song is, \u201cI will testify to God.\u201d And if we\u2019re doing that, we are asking for grace, mercy, and forgiveness for missing the mark, and noting that homosexuality would be considered missing the mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was no exploitation. There was a business model. And in order to have a career in Christian music, that model needed to be followed. One would either need to find a different path, or \u201cdeny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me\u201d (Luke 9:23). But expecting an entire industry to bow to your ill-informed opinion of what the text of the Bible says about homosexuality isn\u2019t reasonable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There will be a follow up about homosexuals in the church, and it will not be easy to read if you\u2019re a Christian. I\u2019m taking the gloves off for that one. For now\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stay Classy GP (God\u2019s People)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Grainger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Love Isn&#8217;t Love I absolutely love this song. Their performance is incredible. I have no problem with anyone, including gay people singing Christian music. This article is in response to a specific statement made by one of the singers of this song. Spending my first 15 adult years in the music business in Nashville, &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/07\/14\/testify-to-what\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Testify to What?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"categories":[72,12,6,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1286,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1284\/revisions\/1286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidbitsofaudacity.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}