We first reported on Clayton Jennings in September of 2015 and warned that just from appearances, the man was using lasciviousness to attract an almost entirely female fan base. For the next year, we were contacted by many, many women who had sexual relationships with Jennings as he cruised from revival event to revival event. Some were one night stands, some were even sadder tales of year-long “grooming” of young females by promising them marriage via long distance relationship before sleeping with them, telling them to take the abortion pill, and never speaking to them again.
It was in the Fall of 2016 that one of the young victims finally came forward to allow us to write on the ordeal. After that, many brave young women came forward to tell the same story. Jennings’ father (a pastor) and mother supported the young man in his sin, even though his church elders pulled Jennings’ ministry license and rebuked him for unrepentance. Jennings’ high-profile mentor, Tony Nolan, also publicly repudiated Jennings as unrepentant. Greg Locke, another high-profile supporter of Jennings, had Penguin Books pull his endorsement from Jennings then forthcoming book (which has since been canceled by the publisher).
Jennings has not repented, has only admitted to certain “imperfections,” has repeatedly attacked his accusers, stalked them on social media and left them threats, and has doubled-down on his lasciviousness. Moody Radio officially apologized for interviewing Jennings, after they realized that he had fallen from ministry and had yet to repent. Jennings has left the mainstream evangelical and Baptistic circles where he once ran and has picked up with hyper-charismatic and NAR-affiliated churches, as scoundrels always do because that group of religious ne’er-do-wells will accept pretty much everybody in spite of their lack of penitence. In his last “spoken word” video, Jennings bragged about his genitals.
Jennings is now advertising his latest spoken word album, Goodbye, Religion. With his face photoshopped with an image of a lion, the album cover has Messianic overtones and the one who pretty much everybody at this point recognizes as an incredible narcissist takes upon himself a metaphoric image of Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. With a Roman Catholic rosary around his hands, Jennings is making the “shushing” motion with his finger. The album is currently in “pre-order” status on his website.
In a video posted to YouTube, Jennings says the album will come out April 1 and says it’s the best work he’s been able to do yet. The first one thousand people to order it will get a signed copy and a bracelet.
Since Jennings was publicly disciplined by his elders for unrepentance, publicly repudiated by his mentors, and essentially handed over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5), Jennings has been attacking what he calls “organized religion” and “religious people.” No doubt, the title of his new album will continue to flog the Church of Jesus Christ and use “religion” in the pejorative sense.
For sure, it’s possible to use “religion” as a bad word, but to do so is only to expose theological ignorance. The Bible doesn’t speak of religion as a bad thing. The notion that “It’s not about religion, but it’s about relationship” or “religion is man’s attempt to get to God but Christianity is about God’s attempt to get to man” make for fine bumper sticker slogans, however, they’re theologically ignorant.
James 1:27 speaks of pure religion that is blameless in the sight of God when speaking of the heart and love of Christianity. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
It is true, therefore, that Clayton Jennings has said goodbye to pure and undefiled religion, for this is a man who is not unstained by the world, and the world is not unstained by Clayton Jennings. Although good looks, a gym-built physique, a tanning-bed bronze and a boutique-created hairstyle will always appeal to women between the ages of 15 and 25 in social media, it benefits the church that many are now seeing beyond this devil disguised as an angel of light to properly estimate Clayton Jennings for truly who he is.
While God can restore anyone to himself by giving them penitent faith, there is no restoration for those who refuse to admit their sins and live in them.
