Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

In a candid revelation, Michael Tait, former lead singer of the Christian rock band Newsboys, has publicly confessed to substance abuse and sexual misconduct with men, expressing deep remorse and a commitment to personal transformation.

Singer Michael Tait, renowned for his role in the Grammy-winning Christian rock band Newsboys, has openly admitted to engaging in substance abuse and making sexual advances toward men during his tenure with the band.

The revelations, emerging from a two-year investigation by The Roys Report, include accounts of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as non-consensual sexual behaviour involving multiple individuals.

The report alleges Tait’s predatory patterns date back to 2004, and involve three men “groomed and sexually assaulted by Tait between 2004 and 2014. They were all 22 years old at the time.”

Tait acknowledged the allegations were true in a candid statement titled “My Confession”, posted to his Instagram account on Tuesday, 10 June.

He expressed profound regret for his actions, describing them as sinful, “reckless”, “destructive” and “violating everything I was raised to believe by my God-fearing Dad and Mom.”

He added, “While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael Tait (@michaeltait)

As reported by CBN News, America’s largest Christian radio network, K-LOVE, will pull all music from the Newsboys and DC Talk – which Tait co-formed in 1987 – from its stations.

Tait’s Deceptive ‘Double Life’

Tait’s confession details continual misconduct dating back more than twenty years. “For some two decades”, he writes, “I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol, and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way.”

“I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it – sin.”

Taking full responsibility for his sinful choices, he continued, “I don’t blame anyone or anything but myself.”

“I’m ashamed to admit that for years I have lied and deceived my family, friends, fans, and even misled my bandmates about aspects of my life.”

This duality became an emotional, spiritual and physical burden he could no longer bear. He expressed,

“I was, for the most part, living two distinctly different lives. I was not the same person on stage Sunday night as I was at home on Monday.”

“I was not healthy, physically or spiritually, and was tired of leading a double life.”

King David’s experience, often thought to be the result of his adultery with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah’s murder, is described in Psalm 32:3–4.

David’s sin affected not just his spirit, but his entire being. With poetic yet powerful words, Israel’s leader wrote,

“When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat.”

It’s a hauntingly familiar experience for Tait – one he tragically identifies with.

‘Horrified and Heartbroken’: Newsboys

Tait left the Newsboys in late January this year, surprising unsuspecting band members and fans.

But nothing could have prepared the high-profile Christian band or its followers for the real reason behind his departure.

The remaining members of the Newsboys – Jeff Frankenstein, Jody Davis, Duncan Phillips, and Adam Agee – publicly expressed their shock and heartbreak upon learning of the allegations in The Roys Report, writing,

“Our hearts were shattered when we read the news alleging drug abuse and inappropriate sexual actions by our former lead singer, Michael Tait.”

The four band members continued,

“The four of us are husbands and fathers. Between the four of us, we have fourteen children. Our wives and children have made many sacrifices while we have dedicated our lives to playing music together that glorifies God.”

“We are horrified, heartbroken, and angry at this report and in many ways, we feel as if we and our families have been deceived for the last fifteen years.”

“When he left the band in January, Michael confessed to us and our management that he ‘had been living a double-life’, but we never imagined that it could be this bad.”

Current Newsboys members Jody Davis, Adam Agee, Duncan Phillips, andJeff Frankenstein. Image credit: The Carolina Opry Theater.

Seeking Rehabilitation

Tait’s confession clarifies that his desperate need for rehabilitation prompted his “abrupt” departure from the Newsboys.

But it was not just a search for a sweeping turnaround that caused him to split from the band he had toured with for over two decades.

It was a drastic decision to prevent the 59-year-old’s premature death. “I spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah”, Michael wrote, “receiving help that may have saved my life from ultimate destruction.”

But while he believes he is past his most critical point, that does not mean the road forward is coming to an end. In reality, it is only just beginning.

Nor will this journey be easy, with Tait acknowledging that while for the past six months he has been clean and sober, “I still have lots of hard work ahead of me.”

“Even before this recent news became public, I had started on a path to health, healing, and wholeness, thanks to a small circle of clinical health professionals, loving family, caring friends, and wise counsellors.”

They “saw my brokenness and surrounded me with love, grace and prayer.”

The Promise of Eternal and Ongoing Forgiveness

The Bible is clear that all have sinned – meaning every person has rebelled against God and broken his laws (Romans 3:23).

The former band leader poetically but pointedly put it this way,

“Sin is a terrible thing, taking us where we don’t want to go; keeping us longer than we want to stay; and costing us more than we want to pay.”

The Bible teaches that anyone can have the blessed assurance of knowing God has eternally forgiven our sins the moment we trust in Jesus Christ (John 5:24).

The truth and hope of the good news about Jesus is well expressed by Martin Luther, who said,

“When I look at myself, I don’t see how I can be saved. But when I look at Christ, I don’t see how I can be lost.”

The Bible also promises that God will forgive us, on an ongoing basis, when we confess our sins to him (1 John 1:9). King David recorded this reality, revealing that when he confessed his sin, God forgave him (Psalm 32:5 ).

He then offered this hope:

“Therefore, let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately…

You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble.

You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:6–7)

Confession restores our relationship with God – a promise as marvellous as it is undeserved.

But while these assurances are wonderful, the Bible never guarantees that God’s forgiveness of confessed sin means the consequences of our actions will disappear.

The Warning of Sin’s Consequences

While all have sinned, not all have sinned equally – or face identical results.

Tait, a visible figure and Christian role-model, will face a road more difficult – and with more consequences – than many.

Paul’s wise advice to Timothy thunders a warning call for all Christians – but especially those with a public profile.

“Don’t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses”, Paul writes, before admonishing,

“Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will be afraid” (1 Timothy 5:19–20).

The Bible is not only realistic. It is also brutally honest, a fact Tait knows all too well.

“I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality the rest of my life”, he writes.

“I can only dream and pray for human forgiveness, because I certainly don’t deserve it. I have even accepted the thought that God may be the only One who ultimately and completely forgives me.”

“It crushes me to think that someone would lose or choose not to pursue faith and trust in Jesus because I have been a horrible representative of Him.”

Travelling the Redemptive Road

Tait’s tragic story should send shivers down every spine.

No one should look to Christian ‘celebrities’ or leaders and place them on a pop-culture pedestal. Public prominence is never a trustworthy indicator of private authenticity.

The Church was never meant to be a place for ‘professional Christians’. It’s a gathering for recovering sin-aholics, who will require rehab for the rest of their earthly lives.

When we attempt to remain sinners anonymous, the results will never turn out in our favour.

At a time when so many Christian leaders have been exposed and publicly rebuked for shameful sin, we could do far worse than live humbly, seek transparent, face-to-face accountability, and heed Paul’s warning that “the rest be afraid”.

One day, every person – Christian or not – will stand before a righteous and just Jesus, and only truth will remain. As Hebrews 4:13 puts it,

“No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”

We can make a vain attempt to keep sin swept under the carpet.

But there is never a better time to begin the redemptive road before God and other people than right now.

___

Image via Breezy Baldwin/Wikimedia Commons.