“Whatever becomes of Clayton Jennings, it is absolutely fair to say that it should reflect to some extent upon his parents, who while having the opportunity to at least attempt to stop his spiritual abuse of women dead in its tracks, have instead done little more than enable him and cover up his immoral behavior.”
(JD Hall – Pulpit & Pen) When Don Jennings was ousted from his last church for helping to cover up the sexual and spiritual predation of his son, his wife and Clayton’s mother – Lisa – demanded the church give her the rights to a longstanding passion play directed by herself each year entitled Behold the Lamb. Being a major theatrical production for a small Indiana town, seeing the ‘show biz’ continue was important for Lisa, who used it to help propel her son into the spotlight.
Pulpit & Pen has spoken to members of Jennings’ former church who refer to Clayton as being a product ‘made’ by his parents. They recalled for us how Clayton would come out of his dressing room to play “hot Jesus,” a term Clayton and his friends used to describe him. Although this was off-putting to many in the congregation, Clayton’s parents didn’t seem to mind that their son was capitalizing upon Christ’s death to take the center-stage of fame. More than a few people told the Jennings family that Clayton seemed to be using his role as ‘Jesus’ for the wrong reasons – or at least in the wrong spirit – but they were ignored and shrugged off as critical to their child who, in the Jennings’ words, was ‘destined to be a star.’
Soon, Jennings’ church – under the pastoral leadership of his father – began to support the man’s playboy lifestyle, which he characterized as being an ‘evangelist.’ In recent days, Jennings has made admissions that his sexual promiscuity persisted during the time when he was receiving a stipend from the church to travel and speak so that “he could get his career started.”
Update from Pulpit & Pen:
Pulpit & Pen has been informed by Rabbi Christopher Frederickson that “Clayton Jennings’ has somehow taken down his website.” Continue reading…