Jennifer Knapp makes case for being ‘gay and Christian’ in new book
Four years ago, when musician Jennifer Knapp declared to the world that she was in a lesbian relationship, conservative Christians around the country released a collective gasp. They had traveled from far and wide to hear her sing and purchased more than one million of Knapp's albums. But the Grammy-nominated musician's revelation tested their loyalty. At the time, Knapp had already been on a seven-year professional hiatus and declared she was not interested in being a poster girl for the gay Christian community. Neither did she feel equipped.
"I'm in no way capable of leading a charge for some kind of activist movement," Knapp bluntly told "Christianity Today" in 2010, adding, "I'm not capable of getting into the theological argument as to whether or not we should or shouldn't allow homosexuals within our church."
But her sense of readiness has apparently changed. Simon and Schuster is preparing to release a book by Knapp in October titled, "Facing the Music: Discovering Real Life, Real Love, and Real Faith."
According to the publisher's website, Knapp is "now an advocate for LGBT issues in the church" whose memoir tells the story "of her troubled childhood, the love of music that pulled her through, her dramatic conversion to Christianity, her rise to stardom, her abrupt departure from Christian Contemporary Music, her years of trying to come to terms with her sexual orientation, and her return to music."