Daystar's Spiritually Abusive Farewell to Joni Lamb

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:04]As you likely know, hundreds gathered at Dallas Area Gateway Church on Monday to remember Dayar co-founder Joanie Lamb.

[00:00:12]Despite the scandals, despite the abysmal way Joany's son, Jonathan Lamb and his wife Susie have been treated, I truly hope this might be a time of healing. Instead, it turned into a passive aggressive confrontation of a grieving son and his wife and even spiritual abuse. And I don't use that term lightly, but Jensen Franklin's message was one of the worst cases of spiritual abuse I have ever seen. I would put it on par with Jimmy Evans telling Jonathan in a now infamous meeting that Joanie was the voice of God to him. I've wanted to address this for the past several days, but had just been too busy to get to it. But I just felt so grieved and upset about what happened that I just had to jump on a video and discuss it. But before I do, there are several indignities of Jonathan and Susie that deserve mentioning at that funeral. First, Jonathan was the only Lamb family member not asked to speak at Joony's memorial. And the first speaker to even acknowledge Jonathan wasn't either of his sisters, Rebecca Lamb Weiss or Rachel Lamb Brown. It was President Donald Trump. Also, Jonathan and Susie were seated to the far right of the stage, out of the view of cameras and separated from the rest of the family. I'm told they were also behind a camera, so their view of the stage was obstructed. It's unreal to me that a son would be treated this way at his own mother's funeral. But perhaps the most heartbreaking, no one from the Lamb family invited Jonathan to his mother's burial. This is so unbelievably sad.

[00:01:43]Whatever your disagreements as a family, I would hope you could put those aside when a family member passes. But it's also telling. It's in moments like these that people reveal who they really are.

[00:01:55]Jensen Franklin proclaimed in his message at the funeral that Dayar will be even more anointed than it's ever been. I have no idea what he's basing that on, but from what I observed during that funeral, Dayar unfortunately continues to be run by a family that not only refuses to own its own sins, it punishes and abuses those who call it to repent. This is not behavior that God blesses with anointing. It's petty. It is cruel. And it is wicked. It reminds me of the church in Ephesus that God confronted in Revelation 2. He told them that they have forsaken their first love. And he challenged them to repent and do the things that they did at first. And he warned them, "If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." I said this in my last video about Dayar.

[00:02:44]It is sadly not a ministry as it claims to be. It is a family business that enriches those at the top. And what's even worse, it's now a tool that's being used to crush a grieving son and his wife. My heart breaks for Jonathan and Susie. In contrast to how his family behaved and treated him, Jonathan posted the following the day after the funeral where he was treated like an outcast. He writes, "I wanted to thank everyone for honoring my mom, Joanie Lamb. She had a deep love for the Lord. She carried a real passion to see souls saved, always praying for people and believing God could change their lives. I loved how excited she get when she saw the Holy Spirit move and lives were transformed.

[00:03:28]She showed that same heart and how she loved me, too. I'll never forget when she took the time to help me move into my college dorm room. She spent hours doing a deep clean, organizing everything, and setting it all up just right so I'd feel at home. We also had many fun battles over the years.

[00:03:45]Cornhole in the backyard, Tetris on the couch, and those long intense Scrabble games where she'd usually beat me and then laugh about it. She was crazy competitive, and I loved every minute of it. At the end of it all, it always came back to her love for the Lord and her passion to see souls saved. That's the legacy she leaves with us. I love you, Mom. It will be a beautiful reunion to see you and Dad again in heaven one day.

[00:04:12]That was a beautiful thing for Jonathan to say about his mother, especially knowing all the tension that was between he and his mother at the time that she passed. All I can say is kudos to Jonathan for not sinning in his pain and anger. I honestly don't know if I could have done that, but then again, I don't think I could have remained as respectful as Jonathan did when Jimmy Evans was berating him and saying that Joanie was the voice of God. He consistently showed such composure in moments like that. And if you're unfamiliar with that reference, I encourage you to listen to the audio of the July 2023 meeting between Jonathan and Susie and Jimmy Evans and Joanie, which is posted on our YouTube channel.

[00:04:52]It's breathtaking, not just in what it reveals about Jimmy Evans and his hubris, but again about Jonathan and his character. But Jonathan, as we've seen, is a tremendously respectful and gracious human being. And that's why watching these recent events has been so painful. It's literally watching someone in real time be abused. And again, I don't use that term lightly, but the way that Jonathan was treated at that funeral was absolutely abysmal. And I haven't even gotten to the worst part of it, which was Jensen Franklin's message.

[00:05:24]Two friends of Jonathan and Suz's, Kenyan and Katie Coleman, called Franklin's message passive aggressive, which it absolutely was. But I would go even further and call it spiritual abuse. And by the way, Kenyan, who's a former Dallas Cowboys defensive end, and his wife Katie, will be joining me for YouTube live on Tuesday at 700 p.m.

[00:05:44]Central time. This couple, who owns a coffee house in Grapevine, Texas, has had a front row seat to what's been happening at Dayar, and they've held their tongue until now. But they're going to describe what they witnessed at the funeral, which honestly just blows my mind. And I'll leave that for them to describe, but you are not going to want to miss my interview with them. not just to hear what they witness, but also their heart and passion for the Lord.

[00:06:08]And their prophetic perspective is so insightful. Again, that's Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Central time right here on YouTube. But I want to return to Jensen Franklin's sermon, which was shameful.

[00:06:22]And if you haven't heard it, just go to Dayar's YouTube channel. Dayar has made several short reels out of the talks that people gave at Joany's funeral.

[00:06:29]There's one from Donald Trump. There's one from Rachel Lamb Brown and Rebecca Lamb Weiss. But there are no less than eight reels, eight of Franklin's message. So clearly this is a message that Dayar really wants the public to hear. And what was that message? Well, it's essentially this. That Joanie was appointed by God to lead Dayar. And if you criticize her, you are God's enemy.

[00:06:53]Essentially, Jensen Franklin repackaged Jimmy Evans claim in that 2023 meeting that Joanie is the voice of God. And if you opposed her, you opposed God.

[00:07:05]Friends, that is spiritual abuse.

[00:07:07]Nowhere in scripture does God say spiritual leaders are above criticism.

[00:07:12]Nowhere. Nathan confronted King David for sin with Basheba. The Apostle Paul confronted Peter publicly for refusing to eat with the Gentiles. But according to Jensen Franklin, Joanie apparently was greater than King David or Peter because she was untouchable. And remember the context of this. Who accused Joanie of spiritual abuse? It was Jonathan and Susie Lamb who accused Joanie of covering up the sexual abuse of their young daughter, Jonathan and Susie, who accused Joanie of misusing Dayar funds to pay for her honeymoon.

[00:07:45]Jonathan and Susie. So, absolutely, this message was aimed at Jonathan and Susie and anyone else who cried foul. The people weren't named, but who Franklin was targeting was very clear. If you don't believe me, just listen to this reel that Dayar posted.

[00:08:00]>> And to criticize is the smallest size, especially when somebody's touching the world, especially when somebody's preaching Jesus in the city, Jesus in the streets, Jesus to the nations.

[00:08:17]Who do we think we are? At some point, we will give an account of every idle word.

[00:08:25]I'm not mad. I'm happy, but the Lord told me to preach this at Joany's funeral.

[00:08:33]>> I just want to point out that Franklin here isn't just claiming that Joanie is above criticism. He's also saying that God told him to preach this. So, if you and I say, "No, I don't think so. I think Dayar told you to preach that."

[00:08:46]Well, then we're opposing God. Who do we think we are? Again, this is textbook spiritual abuse. It is using your spiritual position and/or scripture to control and silence people to shame disscent to protect leaders and institutions from accountability to instill fear of God's judgment for questioning someone. This message would be shameful in any context, but preaching this at a funeral as an indirect attempt to attack a grieving son and his wife is beyond the pale.

[00:09:17]Jensen Franklin should absolutely publicly apologize and repent for what he did. and so should Dayar for posting reels of this message. They should also take down the entire message from the funeral that they've posted on YouTube.

[00:09:30]What they're doing here is so painfully clear and self- serving. It is gross and disgusting. But Franklin continues his spiritual abuse by likening the woman in Mark 14 who anointed Jesus's feet with oil to Joanie. He also is indirectly comparing anyone who criticized Joanie with those who criticized the woman in Mark 14. Take a listen.

[00:09:53]>> The Bible said that she did what she could do, but secondly, she did what she could do in the face of criticism.

[00:10:07]I want to say to you that if God has a call upon your life, you will be criticized greatly.

[00:10:16]>> Get ready for it.

[00:10:18]>> I just want to point out that the woman in Mark 14 was criticized for doing a righteous thing. Mark 14 is about those who are criticized for doing something righteous. And here's the incredible irony here. Jonathan and Susie criticize Joanie not for something righteous, but for something unrighteous.

[00:10:38]That in and of itself is a righteous action. Friends, it is wrong to claim you're the voice of God to silence your son and daughter-in-law when they refuse to bless your marriage to a man who just divorced his wife of more than 30 years.

[00:10:52]It is wrong to cover up the sexual abuse of a 5-year-old to protect the accused family member. it is wrong to spend $100,000 on your Dayar credit card to pay for your honeymoon. Now, in fairness, Joanie claimed that she paid that money back, but according to Jonathan, when he first confronted the spending, Dayar member Tom Calendarer defended it in Joany's presence, and the board reportedly approved it. So, is it wrong to confront financial misconduct, covering up sexual abuse, immoral marriages? No, that is righteous. Again, here's the irony. Franklin is doing the very thing Jesus confronts in Mark 14.

[00:11:30]He is criticizing Jonathan and Suzy for doing something righteous. And he's twisting scripture to do it. That is about as evil as it gets. But he continues to double down.

[00:11:45]>> And whoever thinks that preachers have a life of leisure and we've got it made, I would trade shoes with you if this call was not on me. And I would do stuff in the secular world any day. And all the preachers wives said, "But we can't because we've been called by God. You didn't call us. We didn't call ourselves. God called us. He gave us authority wherever he put us."

[00:12:14]Man, this is so evil. I mean, will preachers who are righteous be criticized? Absolutely. Any Christian who lives for the Lord will be criticized. That is true. But essentially what Franklin is saying is that preachers like him who have been appointed by God, preachers like Joanie who have been appointed by God, that they are above accountability. Friends, that is heresy. If that were true, then 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 would be irrelevant. I mean, why would God give us qualifications for elders and overseers if we were not supposed to hold them accountable? Why would they say they need to be faithful in marriage if they're allowed to marry someone who just divorced his wife of 30 years? Why would he say that they must not be greedy for gain if they can use ministry money for honeymoons and multi-million dollar homes? Why would he say they need to be gentle and hospitable if they can shame truth tellers by claiming they're the voice of God? Or they can passive aggressively paint truth tellers as enemies of God's work during a nationally televised funeral.

[00:13:16]The truly sad thing is that Jensen Franklin's spiritually abusive message has now been broadcast to millions all over the world. That's what Dayar is doing. It isn't just broadcasting the gospel. It's broadcasting spiritual abuse and perversion of the gospel. And this is what is so evil. This is opposition to God. And it's not because I say so or because I'm above accountability. I 100% am not. It's because that's what God's word says. But don't take my word for it. Be like the Bereans. The Apostle Paul commended them because they didn't take what he said, the Apostle Paul, at face value. He commended them because they searched the scripture to see if what he said was true. You see, true Christ followers invite accountability. They get that there is no one righteous except God himself. All of us are capable of falling. But thank God he gave us his word and he gave us each other to hold each other accountable to that word.

[00:14:19]That is a gift to the body to each other to hold each other accountable. And honestly without accountability like Martin Luther said there before the grace of God go I. Right? That's why the Royy's report exists. We believe in accountability and transparency. We believe in confession and repentance.

[00:14:41]And so once again, I plead with Jensen Franklin and Rebecca Lamb Weiss and Rachel Lamb Brown and Doug Weiss and whoever's on the Day Star board, which by the way is not publicly disclosed, which is shameful. Repent of what you have done, all of it, and apologize to Jonathan and Susie for the sins you've committed against them. Wouldn't it be better to lose the whole world and dayar and your platform and everything else than to forfeit your soul? The perks of money and privilege and platform are not worth what you're doing to keep them.

[00:15:14]Friends, thanks so much for listening and God bless.