Let me clear the air right out of the gate: I love Jennifer Knapp. Her music has been an incredible inspiration for me, and when I heard she had a new album out I was very excited.
Jennifer Knapp burst onto the music scene like a rocket, and then in 2003, disappeared. Seven years of silence. Speculation abounded, of course, and one persistant rumor: she was gay.
Jennifer Knapp took time to chat with ChristianityToday.com’s Mike Moring about her new album, Letting Go, and her now public same-sex relationship.

She explains that her sexuality was not the reason she left music, but now that she’s back it’s something she felt she needed to address – not because she was struggling with herself, but because she was struggling with the church:

“The struggle I’ve had has been with the church, acknowledging me as a human being, trying to live the spiritual life that I’ve been called to, in whatever ramshackled, broken, frustrated way that I’ve always approached my faith. I still consider my hope to be a whole human being, to be a person of love and grace. So it’s difficult for me to say that I’ve struggled within myself, because I haven’t. I’ve struggled with other people. I’ve struggled with what that means in my own faith. I have struggled with how that perception of me will affect the way I feel about myself.”

Later on, she says:

“At a certain point I find myself so handcuffed in my own faith by trying to get it right–to try and look like a Christian, to try to do the things that Christians should do, to be all of these things externally–to fake it until I get myself all handcuffed and tied up in knots as to what I was supposed to be doing there in the first place.”

I think Jennifer Knapp discusses her situation very eloquently and allows other believers to at least have the opportunity to understand how it feels to be on the other side of the Christian/homosexual debate.
Personally, I don’t know why her sexuality would matter. You either like her music or you don’t. She’s still an eloquent songwriter and musician, and her faith in God is still very evident. And the reality is that the issue of homosexuality is much more prevalent in Christian music than anyone really wants to admit. So her “coming out” just means you know for sure she’s gay, where other artists still keep their orientation hidden.
Anyway, be sure to check out the Jennifer Knapp interview at ChristianityToday.com. I’ve love to know what you think about the interview, and about Jennifer Knapp’s long awaited musical comeback.
RELATED POSTS:
Video: Christians and homosexuality – Do you really love gay people?
Christian artist Brian Bates shares his thoughts on how to respond to Ray Boltz, Clay Aiken coming out of the closet
CCM veteran Ray Boltz comes out of the closet and confesses he’s gay
Gospel/R&B artist Tonex opens up about his sexuality in a revealing and personal video interview
Got a gospel or Christian music news tip? Send me an email!
Click here to subscribe to Gospel Soundcheck by email and have the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!