“All Gospel singers are not Gay as I don’t have a sissy bone in my body.”

Deitrick Haddon typed these words on Twitter today during a rant about the now-infamous interview between Lexi and Tonex, in which Tonex acknowledged his same-sex attractions.

I’m not going to use this post to bash Deitrick, but really to ask that all of us, as CHRISTIANS, take a moment to examine our hearts and live life more carefully.

As I’ve stated before, I disagree with Tonex’s position as it relates to his interpretation of Scripture, the term “fornication,” and the things to which he feels entitled as a result.

But I don’t care how wrong we believe Tonex is in his lifestyle choices– the standard of holiness that we’re trying so hard to uphold does not give us a free pass to use hate-filled words.  Quite the contrary, WE are responsible for LIVING OUT the standard of holiness by addressing people in love.

God is not pleased with the anger we exhibit, and the venom we spew, just because we say “I’m doing it for YOU, Lord.”  We condemn other religions for committing hateful acts in the name of God, we have seen (as a nation) racial oppression premised on people’s errant interpretation of Scripture.  And we’ve not liked it.

Yet here we are.  And we’ve become so engrossed with judging every little thing that happens on this Earth that we easily become distracted from the greatest commandment– LOVE.  I’m willing to guess that God would rather we simply keep quiet than demonstrate hatred in His Name.  It’s not okay.  Why?  Merely because I never ONCE saw Christ do it.

Our task, then, is to humbly throw ourselves at the Father’s feet and say “Lord, I see injustices and I see things that displease You.  They make me angry too.  I hate what you hate.  But in response, teach me to LOVE the way YOU LOVE.”

Let’s do better.

I’m gonna declare it– we have not seen journalism like this in the gospel music industry in a long time, if ever.  Oh, and lemme say KUDOS TO YOU, Lexi, for not having some churchified intro music!

In her premiere episode of her new show, Lexi has a heart-to-heart with Tonex.  I don’t think it necessarily contained brand new info, but it allowed us to hear things straight from his mouth.  And that was refreshing.

I cannot possibly recap all that he said (and I’m nervous about recapping what I’m about to, lest any of it be taken out of context), but I do wanna highlight some points he made…

Tonex shared that he was molested twice, at age 3 and age 6–once from a family member and once from a preaching friend of the family.  He made it clear, however, that he doesn’t believe that his sexual explorations, as an adult, were due solely to that molestation.  He accepts responsibility for what he’s encountered in his life.

When Lexi asked if he struggled with homosexuality, he responded “not struggled. It wasn’t a struggle.”  But he did clarify that the reason for his divorce had nothing to do with adultery or sexual exploration on either of their parts.

He went on to say: “There’s still times where I’m like, ‘hmmm… I do want kids and I very much love women.’  But at the same time, I think we have to be honest with ourselves as to what it is that we have affinity for at the time.  And I think, because of the situation that I experienced with the first marriage, that I would have to say that I lean more toward the same sex.”

He seemed to acknowledge that he’s in a journey of living and learning. He said “before I say ‘this is what I am, this is the only thing I’ll be,’ I’ll say AT THIS STAGE, this is what it is.  So everyone can just breathe and relax on your show and say, Tonex said, ‘yes, he’s attracted to men. Yes, he has experienced gay sex before.  But that’s the least of who this man of God is.”

“I’m saying this is my life, here is my cards, this is where it’s at.  Now you can either pause here, and judge, or you can keep watching to see… Watch.  And pray.”

In the end, Lexi wrapped up the show by stating that “It is my belief that man is made for a woman, and woman is made for a man.  I believe the Bible speaks clearly about this.  However, as a journalist, it is my job to tell the story.  And as a Christian, it is my job to LOVE unequivocally and unapologetically.”

On a personal note: Tonex, I applaud you for being as honest and open as you are and I WILL pray for you as you live this walk out in front of us all.  I don’t think I can think of more than a handful of artists who are willing to do that for the Body of Christ.  I don’t agree with every stance you’ve taken, but I can definitely appreciate your transparency and your journey.

So yeah… I think the interview was BRILLIANTLY done and I can’t wait for next Saturday (it’s on The Word Network… check local listings)!

Who else caught it and what did you think???

Remember when I posted some trailers for the upcoming season of The Lexi Show?  The interviews looked so explosive that most of us couldn’t WAIT for the show to premiere… click here for a refresher.

Well, the time has come– The Lexi Show premieres THIS SATURDAY on The Word Network.  Check your local listings for airtime.

Set your recorders NOW… you won’t wanna miss it.

One day last week, I was singing this song in my head every coupla hours and I thought to myself “I wonder if the GospelPundit readers even know about it.”

If you slept on Lexi’s albums, you shouldn’t have.  But if ya did, you prolly didn’t know about her track “Not Until,” featuring Kim Burrell on the vamp.  It’s got a great jazzy groove and Lexi works the heck out of it on her own…  Kim is icing on the cake.

Makes me wanna go to a jazz concert TONIGHT. I love that track!

WOWWWWW.  I saw these trailers last night and my mouth DROPPED.

Lexi is known as an incredibly gifted vocalist and, lately, we’ve seen that she’s a talented reporter, correspondent and host of various shows.  Well, her latest endeavor, The Lexi Show, will premiere on The Word Network on September 5th… judging by these trailers, YOU DO NOT WANNA MISS IT.

She’s not holding back and she’s not playin’. LOL

Peep ‘em here (and make sure you watch them BOTH!) :

What do y’all think???

The food wasn’t stellar (pun intended), but I enjoyed myself.  The Nominee Dinner is just a time to acknowledge all the artists nominated.  They get certificates and what not.

The program was hosted by Darius Brooks and Angela Spivey, two Chicago-bred gospel artists who had way  too much fun.  LOL

I got to talk with Jonathan Nelson (who agreed to check out the blog) and Lexi, arguably one of the sweetest ladies in the gospel industry.  She, too, said she’d check us out after exclaiming “I’m a pundit, too!”  Yes, you certainly ARE!

A highlight of the dinner was a performance by James Fortune & FIYA, whose single, “I’ll Trust You,” has been dominating the #1 spot at radio for the past 22 weeks!

As we left the dinner, I got to speak with the fellas from 21:03.  Very cool, humble and genuinely kind guys.  Refreshingly so.  No time to linger, though, cuz we had to make it to the next event!

Next stop, the Urban Soul Cafe at B.B. King’s…