Contemporary Christian musician Amy Grant has been named one of the Kennedy Center’s five honorees for 2022.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine ever receiving this prestigious Kennedy Center Honors,” Grant said in a statement. “I cannot wait to celebrate with my fellow honorees, friends, and family. Thank you for widening the circle to include all of us.”
The center plans to fete Grant in its 45th class of honorees that also includes actor George Clooney, singer Gladys Knight, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania León and the rock band U2.
Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein lauded Grant, saying in a statement that she “became the first artist to bring contemporary Christian music to the forefront of American culture, then equally thrived after crossing over into mainstream pop with hit after hit, and today is revered as the ‘Queen of Christian Pop.’”
Over more than four decades, Grant has had album sales exceeding 30 million and more than a billion global streams, earning three multiplatinum albums, six platinum albums and four gold albums. She was the first contemporary Christian musician to have a No. 1 hit on the pop charts with “Next Time I Fall,” a 1986 duet with Peter Cetera of the band Chicago, and the first to perform at the Grammy Awards, eventually becoming a six-time Grammy winner.
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“Baby, Baby,” a hit from her 1991 platinum album “Heart in Motion,” helped spread her fame. As she marked its 30th anniversary last year, she told media it was both an overwhelming and joyful experience.
“It’s like the jumping through the ring of fire,” Grant recalled in the interview. “Pretty hot when you’re in the middle of it, but it doesn’t last that long.”
Center director Deborah F. Rutter told The Associated Press that Grant’s inclusion broke new ground for the Kennedy Honors.
“We’ve had gospel before,” she told AP. “We’ve had plenty of R&B and soul. … We’ve had country music, but we haven’t necessarily had Amy Grant and Christian pop in the same way.”
Other gospel music winners have been Marion Williams, star of the Ward Singers and later a soloist, in 1993; and Mavis Staples, a member of the Staples Singers, who also moved onto a solo career, in 2016.
Other 2022 honorees have been known for their faith connections. Gladys Knight, a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has sung at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas concerts. U2, with lead singer Bono, has been known for its Bible-related lyrics in songs such as “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
Eileen Andrews, vice president of public relations for the Kennedy Center, told media that while Grant is the first contemporary Christian artist to be honored, others have had gospel music connections, most prominently Aretha Franklin, who recorded gospel albums and was celebrated at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1994. (Franklin’s life was the subject of a big-budget film biopic last year entitled “Respect,” currently on Prime Video.)
Grant and the other honorees will be saluted in a celebrity-filled gala at the center’s Opera House on Dec. 4. It will be broadcast at a later date on CBS.
Adelle Banks is production editor and a national correspondent at Religion News Service.
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38 Responses
I will never, ever support Ms. Grant for as long as I live.
She cheated on her first husband (Christian artist Gary Chapman) with country star Vince Gill, eventually leaving him and marrying the latter. Chapman *never* abused or cheated on her.
The silence from the “Christian” community on her conduct was appalling.
The LGBT/progressive activists have a point when it comes to these things: who are we to condemn gay relationships and marriage, when we ourselves oftentimes behave worse than the unbelievers (1 Corinthians 5:1) in this area?
Brian,
The Bible is an amazing book.
It’s even better when you read ALL of it.
Since you chose Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth addressing the issue of the man sleeping with his fathers wife;
In the words of Paul Harvey… let’s read the rest of the story.
This is from Paul’s second letter to the church. Second chapter. Addressing the same incident
“Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.“
Amy has proven herself to be an amazing woman who loves Jesus.
Congrats to her for continuing to break new ground as she represents Christ.
“Amy has proven herself to be an amazing woman who loves Jesus.
Congrats to her for continuing to break new ground as she represents Christ.”
By cheating on and leaving her husband? Or because an institution run by man has decided to honor her?
According to Jesus on divorce, she is committing adultery: Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11–12, and Luke 16:18, the only exemption from marriage He allows is for “sexual immorality” and yes it applies to both men/women per the 10 Commandments.
What you say is true but you only give 1/2 of the story. Her first husband was a serious drug abuser for a great deal of their marriage. Substance abuse is a form of abuse, especially to the partner. From what I understand, she tried to get him help and it continued. She was hurting and vulnerable. I am not making an excuse but I think in this situation, a little grace could be extended. I say this as one who critised her for her affair without giving the whole story in the past.
Adrew,
So, If I’m going to apply your standard, then I need to disregard the following:
Abraham,
Isaac,
Jacob,
Judah
David (which also eliminates the Psalms),
Solomon (Which also eliminates Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon)
I’m guessing that you wouldn’t have wanted to worship at the Temple seeing as how it was funded by an adulterer and built by an adulterer.
Certainly you would want to eliminate the books of Mark, 1 Peter, 2 Peter given the whole denial of Christ incident.
Shocking that God allowed Paul to have any ministry at all in light of the whole murdering and killing of Christians thing… or does that not matter since it’s not adultery? I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself
The ONLY problem that I have with your standard is that in spite of being a totally adulterous scumbag who whored out his wife not just once, but twice to foreign kings because he was scared….. God specifically called Abraham His friend.
And in spite of being an adulterer AND a murderer, God called David a man after His own heart.
But other than that…. I totally see your point.
Adrew, and Brian,
I believe that Julius missed the most obvious and that would be the woman caught in adultery.
I’m not a Bible scholar but if my memory serves me correctly, then the Pharisees were surprised by how harsh Jesus was with her…. even going so far as to call her “Daughter.”
I’m guessing that like you, they figured Jesus had a lot of explaining to do later when the Father asked Him why He was so gentle with her.
Julius – please keep posting. I enjoy reading your posts.
She just had a wedding for two women on her farm. Not representing Jesus at all.
So you will never, ever, support Johnny Cash?
Anyway, most Christian stations stopped playing her music and she stopped being invited to events. It was an enormous scandal so I have no idea what you’re talking about. There’s even an anecdote about CCM sending a reporter to interview her with an ultimatum that she apologize or they wouldn’t ever feature her again.
You’re also leaving out the parts where Chapman was a fan of cocaine and, like Grant, re-married a year after the divorce was finalized. I don’t think he was as broken up over it as he let on.
Ms. Grant has had a long and successful career.
As someone who not only lives in the Nashville area, but who has also personally interviewed Amy twice on my show and spoken to her off air, I can assure you that you have no clue what you’re talking about. Amy has been forthright with what happened in her life and to her credit she has never even spoken ill of her ex-husband and what he did to her. She is one of the most generous and kind people on the planet. With that said, I don’t agree with some things she has done, however, to flat out bash her for things you do not know personally is just wrong. We should rejoice with her for all she has done for the body of Christ, because she has. I think a lot of people would be surprised. I’m happy she’s being honored, she deserves it.
Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to “go and sin no more.” Amy Grant is continuing to live in adultery. I can’t believe what I’m hearing here from some people – how many other people who are proudly living in adultery would you excuse? Faith in Christ must be accompanied with repentance – not excuses for why it’s ok to continue in your sin. And even if she was 100% innocent in divorcing her husband, Vince Gill was not innocent in divorcing his wife. Any Grant is married to another woman’s husband and the adultery continues daily. Shame on all of you who are making light of this and trying to use the saints of the OT to excuse sinners today. Jesus made the standard of the NT church clear so you have no excuse. The Corinthians allowed terrible sexual sin to go on – and it was only after the man REPENTED that Paul counseled them to show mercy and accept him back into the church. While the man was still involved in the sin, Paul commanded them to excommunicate him. Those of you who are excusing this sin that has not been repented of are turning the grace of God into lasciviousness.
Are we really refusing to let go of events that happened over 20 years ago? And what should happen to Amy’s children from her current 22-year marriage? Shall we cast them out as bastards “in the name of the Lord”?
Ms Grant’s repentance and apology are between her, her family, and the Lord. She owes the rest of you NOTHING.
It’s a shame you’re letting your perceived entitlement to all the details of her personal life overshadow the impact Ms Grant has made to the music world – both Christian and secular – and the church as the body of Christ. Her music was the soundtrack to my years in Christian school, and I am overjoyed it is being recognized.
I am also overjoyed God is my judge and not some of the posters on this thread.
All,
Joseph Stanley is correct. There is a difference between sin, and UNREPENTANT sin. End of story.
So I’m interested in what repentance looks like in this case. Should Amy leave her current husband and father of her children to reunite? What would that mean for her current husband and children? Does Amy need to apologize publicly to all Christians everywhere in the world for something that went on in her private life? And what about her ex husband, whose drug addiction led to the demise of her marriage? Interesting that NO ONE is calling for his repentance. And how do you know she has not apologized to him? Does anyone know Amy personally to proclaim she has not?
I believe Amy’s life – repeatedly stating she regrets what happened in her first marriage, not repeating those mistakes in her second marriage, and continuing to have a life and career that honors God – is a statement in and of itself. (And I don’t need or desire an apology from her)
I also won’t get into the selective calls for repentance from Amy Grant from the same people who have excuse after excuse for the unrepentant Donald Trump, who is on his THIRD marriage (and had a very public affair with his second wife Marla while married to his first wife Ivana), and has openly stated he does not need forgiveness from God (hence why he has not asked God for forgiveness). Just an interesting observation.
Marin, I always look forward to what you post. Thank you for your critical thinking and eloquent writing about so many issues and not being afraid to “call a spade a spade.”
Marin Heiskell,
Donald Trump never claimed to be a Christian during his old life. He does NOW. If he were sleeping around, cheating on his wife while in office, you would have a point. He hasn’t.
Amy Grant has claimed to be a devout, born-again evangelical from childhood. Her lifestyle has not matched that. Okay, fine, she sinned (severely) against her first husband and now is forgiven… if her faith was real to begin with. That’s an entirely fair observation and question.
Gordon Jansma has it right: we have a joke of a witness and example to the world–and that’s not because of Trump.
I’m still waiting for you to answer what her repentance should look like, especially since her ex-husband has gone on to marry someone else.
Admitting her sins in her first marriage isn’t good enough – and she actually didn’t owe any of US that. That is between her first husband and God, but you know how we Christians LOVE demanding apologies as if we were wronged too.
Being faithful to her second husband – refusing to commit the same sins from her first marriage – isn’t good enough. I guess we would have preferred to see her stay in the same sin and cheat on him, too?
Raising Christian children isn’t good enough. I guess a Godly legacy means nothing to us.
Having a career that honors God isn’t good enough.
So again – what would YOU like to see?
I bet there’s NOTHING Ms Grant could do to EVER gain forgiveness and respect from those who are SUPPOSED to be her brothers and sisters in Christ. We’ll make sure she NEVER EVER EVER forgets her past. What a shame. So much for the cross, huh?
Marin Heiskell,
Tell me what you expected Gary Chapman to do. Was he supposed to live the rest of his life as a monk? He was the victim of abandonment by his wife, not the perpetrator. Are you saying he’s responsible for her leaving him? He wasn’t. I really don’t want to hear about the drug use either. For all we know… how do we know he didn’t start using in part due to the stress and torment of an adulterous and toxic marriage? (I’m not excusing it, just pointing out that the chain of blame here is not necessarily confined to one person).
It’s up to you whether or not you want to support Ms. Grant and her music. I don’t have to, and I do think the way the evangelosphere in general hand-waved her was a black spot on our witness.
Oh yes, Donald Trump, noted Presbyterian and Protestant. Such a devoted follower of Christ he said he had never asked God for forgiveness.
But don’t let him distract us from the real harm to Christian witness and unity: Amy Grant. Ask 10 unbelievers and all 10 will will tell you, ever since Amy Grant got a divorce, they vowed never to darken the door of a church again.
Mark Gunderson,
“Oh yes, Donald Trump, noted Presbyterian and Protestant. Such a devoted follower of Christ he said he had never asked God for forgiveness.”
Trump wasn’t claiming to be saved at that time. And, what is your reference point for comparison? Trump’s opponents, who are so chaste and moral that they march around in hats modeled after female private parts?
Has he ever espoused even a vaguely Christian doctrine of salvation? If you can find a point where he does, please share it. I’m not saying it hasn’t happened, I’m saying every time I’ve heard him speak of Christianity it was in a disturbing way. Bonus points if he’s not also narcissistically bragging about how much evangelical Christians love him.
I find it odd you’re so quick to denounce megachurch pastors but I haven’t heard you say much about Trump’s choice of a religious advisor, Paula Cain-White.
You know, the noted female prosperity gospel televangelist who met her second husband two years before marrying her first husband. And then after she divorced her second husband, was seen entering and leaving a hotel room holding hands with Benny Hinn, who himself got a divorce that same year. Before marrying her third and current husband, the rock star she was seeing while he was still married to his second wife.
But please, continue to tell us how scandalized you are by the contradictions of Amy Grant’s faith.
Brian –
I’ll play along, noting you NEVER answered the question of what you expect Amy to do, and cleverly deflected to her ex husband.
As for me, if her ex husband has lived a life of repentance by being (and staying) sober and faithful to his next wife, that’s showing a turn away from sin and towards God. That’s all I expect, knowing that any apologies are between Gary, God, and Amy. Gary owes me nothing else.
I’ll now await your answer on what you expect of Amy. Or do you not have one?
Mark – you nailed it.
Brian conveniently ignores that TODAY, as a professed Christian, Trump continues to live and flaunt the sins of pride, dishonesty, factions, dissensions, filthy and foul speech, and not reflecting the fruits of the Spirit as defined in Galatians 5.
But the problem is Amy Grant? No, it’s Christians turning a blind eye and showing selective grace to those you prefer (Trump deserves grace, Amy Grant…NO!)…also called favoritism or idolatry. The world is watching us do that and laughing.
Mark Gunderson, Marin Heiskell,
Ever hear of the “Sons of Thunder”? Ever hear of a few guys named Jacob, Samson, Paul… Jesus? With the exception of I AM, the Lord in human physical flesh–all of those men were rough around the edges and had significant and obvious flaws and failings–and ALL of them brutally, ruthlessly called out the hypocrites, frauds, and tares that misled and oppressed the people of their day.
I’m not offended that Trump called out CNN, the FBI, China, Fauci, NATO, Merkel, McCain, and everyone else that he did–I am GLAD. Every word he dropped was a truth bomb. None of the respectable, proper, “moral” GOPers like Bush or Romney or Ryan were willing to point out the emperor’s lack of garments, so God used someone unorthodox, someone who would be a stumbling-block.
You call out Trump for having a female pastor you object to in this thread. In a thread about Saddleback or complementarianism within the SBC etc., you will excoriate those who *disagree* with female pastors. It’s the old game of left-wing hypocrisy.
At the time, Amy’s divorce and remarriage was a bit of a scandal.
However a couple decades later, church people get divorced and remarried at the drop of hat.
This is not even an issue anymore in most evangelical churches. Imagine a pastor pushing back on divorce and remarriage. There are so many remarried people with blended families, most pastors will not even bring up the subject.
Needless to say…. the witness of the U.S. evangelical church to overall society is a joke.
The data do not support this conclusion. Divorce rates have fallen consistently since 1980, including within the church. Marriage rates have declined more rapidly, but those that do marry are less likely, not more likely, to divorce.
Very true, Mark. However, a lot of this is due to the increase in cohabitation and unmarried couples having children. I have had to “defend” the relevance of marriage in this era to many friends; and I lost count of the scoffs and stares I got when I mentioned waiting until marriage to have sex. And this is even in “Christian” circles.
Well, I never knew anything about Ms. Grant’s personal history. I probably ignored any a performances that she gave. Contemporary Christian music has always been something of an oxymoron (!) to me. In fact those other performers. I never considered very musical either.
Since most contemporary Christian music has neither rhyme nor meter, it falls under the category of being pagan and noise to me. Sometimes I catch some of it on video links of church services, but still I have the great advantage that I can turn the sound completely off!
While some of the phrases I read may be Christian, thhey are repeated too often and rather slmplistic.
After reading the latest comments from Jim, and Brian, et al,
I want to apologize for not being more wise with my comments.
With the benefit of hindsight, and in retrospect, I realize that my comments were not in accordance with Proverbs 9:7-8, or Proverbs 29:9.
I take responsibility for my secondary posts and make no excuse for my misunderstanding and failure to better recognize the situation.
Please rest assured that I have repented and will not engage you again as I seek to follow and apply the wisdom of Solomon and bring my life into better alignment with the full counsel of God.
Julius cracks me up.
I’m guessing those he was speaking to didn’t bother to look up the verses.
Keep posting brother. Some of the best stuff on here by far!
These are standard criticisms of CCM, though I have no idea what you mean when you say it lacks rhyme and meter. Though I don’t really listen to CCM music these days, I once listened to a great deal of it and both rhyme and meter were present. It makes me wonder if you are offering criticism of something you aren’t very familiar with.
And they shall know we are Christians by our love for one another?
Some of the comments betray a harsh moralism, rather than Christian sentiment. But I do detect a mechanical moralism in much American Christianity which seems often to be free of grace and Paul’s imperative to care.
David Green,
I must be following a totally different American Christianity than you. Outside of rural/small-town, red-state America, what you describe borders on nonexistent. I see much of the opposite–hip, trendy megachurches slapping a Christianese seal of approval on whatever the greater secular culture is doing, refusing to preach the Word lest it offend anyone.
So rural/small-town, red states are the only places where Christian love and sentiment is displayed?
How…politically convenient. What data do you have to back this up?
What a slap in the face to the Black church, which has risen up incredibly impactful evangelists, leaders, and gospel singers for GENERATIONS. The Black church – and its Biblical teaching on such issues like gay marriage – is one reason why the Black community tends to be among the most socially conservative (often mislabled as “homophobic”, but that’s another thread) AND attends church at higher rates.
Oh, but I guess it doesn’t count because it tends to be in urban, blue areas. THIS is why the church will continue to be segregated.
Wow.
Marin Heiskell,
I was specifically referring to THIS comment by David Green:
Marin Heiskell,
I was specifically responding to *this* statement by David Green: “But I do detect a mechanical moralism in much American Christianity.”
THAT was where the small-town, red-state Christianity matter came in. THAT is where I can still buy some girl getting shamed for getting pregnant, that sort of thing. I can see that happening in a country church in rural Texas or Alabama. This attitude is extremely rare in mainstream-American urban, suburban church culture in 2022.
Please go back and re-read my post and the immediate preceding one.
I find it fascinating that, as far as I can see, I’m the only one in this thread who has actually interviewed Amy twice about her life and career. Yet some of you cast stones without even talking to her. Says a lot about you.
Stacy Lynn Harp,
You could have interviewed Hybels, Zacharias, Haggard as well. Would doing so take away from their moral [failings]?