by Marissa GreeneJanuary 7, 2025 7:45 p
The number of ministries parting ways with Daystar Television Network has risen to six as leaders grapple with public allegations of child sexual abuse.
Daystar CEO Joni Lamb and her son, former Daystar Vice President Jonathan Lamb, have shared different sides of the family feud that erupted in November following Jonathan’s firing from the Bedford-based Christian TV network.
Jonathan and his wife, Suzy Lamb, allege their daughter was sexually abused by a male relative, leading to disagreements between the couple and Jonathan’s parents, who founded Daystar Television Network in 1998. The allegations were first reported by Christian media outlet The Roys Report on Nov. 20.
The couple believes Jonathan was fired because he refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement preventing him from speaking about how the network responded to the allegations. In previous interviews, Jonathan Lamb said his parents refused to believe a family member abused their child.
“Our story has a lot to it, but my prayer has been answered in the cover-up being fully exposed — so this is where I rest,” Suzy Lamb wrote in a Jan. 3 post on X.
Joni Lamb denied allegations in a Nov. 25 official public statement, alleging her son started a “smear campaign” against her after his father died in 2021 after contracting COVID-19. Jonathan Lamb was disappointed when he wasn’t named president of Daystar, she wrote.
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She accuses her son of blackmail and not taking steps to improve his work performance, leading to his termination.
“I want to assure you that all the allegations that are circulating against myself, my late husband, and other members of my family are completely false and we have already begun to take legal steps to defend ourselves and will address the accusations in a God-honoring way,” Joni Lamb wrote.
The public back-and-forth has led several ministries that aired programs on the network to make their exits.
Dallas-based pastor Lance Wallnau and Louisiana-based televangelist Jesse Duplantis both announced in early January that their programs will no longer be aired on Daystar, according to The Roys Report.
Wallnau confirmed the departure on X on Jan. 5. He didn’t say why he was leaving the network but called the feud between the Lambs and other church scandals a “spirit of strife.”
“The Lance Wallnau Show” describes itself as a “program that offers biblical insight on current events, politics, and spiritual matters in a truly unique and entertaining style.” It no longer appears on Daystar’s website.
“I don’t even judge people who get involved with these things. There are preachers that are preaching on these scandals. I say ‘Man, I’ll assume they’re hearing God.’ But that doesn’t mean I’m obligated to have a commentary on every one of the seven scandals,” Wallnau said in a video posted to X Sunday.
Duplantis and his wife, Cathy, announced on YouTube Jan. 2 that their programs will no longer appear on Daystar. The couple said on their video titled “Boardroom Chat: Don’t Think About It, Pray About It!” that their reasoning is not related to recent allegations.
“I pray about that. I don’t think about that. Because when you think about that, you get into the flesh of that kinda stuff. You begin to want to take sides,” Duplantis said.
Instead, the couple said they first considered parting ways with Daystar in September but decided to let the contract finish out. Duplantis also denied that pulling its program was related to “financial trouble.”
Duplantis is estimated to have a net worth around $20 million and has previously faced criticism for his lavish lifestyle, including a private jet and a 40,000-square-foot mansion in Louisiana, according to The Christian Post.
Dallas-based Prestonwood Baptist Church’s Jack Graham, along with Nebraska pastors Hank and Brenda Kunneman, also did not renew their contracts with Daystar for 2025, an attorney representing the network confirmed with the Fort Worth Report Jan. 7.
The Daystar Network carries approximately 100 third-party programmers such as “The Potter’s Touch with Bishop T.D. Jakes.” Jakes, whose megachurch is based out of Dallas, oversees Potter’s House campuses in Fort Worth, Frisco and Dallas. “Believer’s Voice of Victory with Kenneth Copeland,” a program hosted by the Tarrant County-based evangelist, also airs on the network.
Historically, Daystar has experienced an annual turnover of a small percentage of its programmers for business and economic reasons unique to their ministries.
“This year is consistent with past years,” said Michael Anderson, an attorney representing Daystar Television Network.
The pastors join several other ministries who have pulled their programs from Daystar. In December, Baruch Korman, who is Jewish, announced on YouTube his messianic teaching ministry LoveIsrael would conclude its relationship with Daystar “as soon as possible.”
The program had aired on Daystar for approximately a decade, Korman said. LoveIsrael reached 190 countries with its English and Spanish programs through its relationship with the network, he added.
Korman said he wasn’t going to specifically comment about the Christian network, but said it was important to “embrace God’s standards” such as “Biblical marriage” and “proper financial stewardship.”
“For us, it was very clear that we cannot be who we are in the Messiah and take the positions that we take in morality and marriage and stewardship and continue to be associated with Daystar,” Korman said.
Canadian broadcaster and author Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson announced in November that she pulled her daily TV program, “Laura-Lynn Live at the Eagle’s Nest,” from Daystar Canada for “ethical deficits.”
“We are in unanimous agreement that there is a deep crack in the foundation of Daystar and we are unable to build on it,” Tyler Thompson said in a Nov. 26 YouTube video titled “Why We Are Leaving Daystar Television.”
Legal steps have already begun over the allegations, according to a November statement from Daystar, though neither side of the feud has filed a lawsuit.