Demo Day in Waco, have Chip and Jo damaged their influence beyond repair?

To call it a death would be melodramatic, but something certainly “ceased to be” this week.  It started as a trickle, an article here or there, then a deluge of Christian media outlets began carrying the story that Chip and Joanna Gaines, long hailed as standard bearers of Christian success in business and entertainment, had purportedly forsaken the audience upon which their empire was built.  Evangelicals and other conservative Christians across the nation are mourning the news that the Gaines, in what can only be called overt affirmation of the gay lifestyle, have cast a family led by two homosexual men in their new frontier-life reality show.  

Reactions to this news have ranged from not good to really bad.  Christians including media and leaders have weighed in with shock and nearly universal condemnation of the choice.  Some of my pastoral colleagues have offered their opinions and more are likely to do so as the story gains traction.  I have not had much interest in the quippy attacks or the back and forth of social media.  For our family, this news has not evoked anger, but disappointment.  It feels like something we cherished has been snatched away.

The center of the Gaines’ universe is Waco, Texas, their home and the setting for their flagship “Fixer Upper” show.  We have made the long trip there several times.  Heather, my wife, has even had an article published in a local newspaper sharing some insights and tips to help her fellow Magnolia fans plan their own pilgrimages.  

These trips have been a staple in our family story.  It was on a trip to Waco that we first noticed the symptoms that would lead to discovering our daughter had an aggressive childhood cancer.  Playing with our two daughters on the grass in the Magnolia Market common area was a moment I will always remember as a beautiful sliver of peace in the midst of a tumultuous season of career and ministry change.  We once watched as Chip and Jo filmed a house reveal.  Heather has flown to Texas for Silobration and visited all the Gainesian spots around the region.  We have been the first people in line at the bakery more than once and have risen before the sun to join the first diners of the day during Magnolia Table’s opening months. Between the two of us, we have read every book (by both Chip and Joanna), owned every cookbook (including some signed copies) and every issue of the Magnolia Journal, have watched every episode of Fixer Upper, and explored a fair amount of the Magnolia Network’s offerings. In short, for many years, Chip and Joanna Gaines have been part of our life.  

This affection for the Gaines was not unique for Christians in the United States.  Millions of people, the majority being conservative Christians, supported the Magnolia empire with the kind of devotion reserved for companies like Hobby Lobby and Chick Fil A.  Christians appreciate Chip and Joanna for the same reason as those other companies.  They offered a quality product, supported causes we believed in, and were openly Christian.  Grateful for a family that seemed to share our values, and inspired by their success, Christians flocked to support each new venture the Gaines undertook.

Those days are likely over for many of us.  Chip and Joanna’s recent decision to feature a homosexual couple as one of the families in their upcoming frontier life show was a shocking revelation that perhaps they did not share our values after all.  Their doubling down in defense of their decision, in apparent response to Franklin Graham, along with the revelation that Joanna seems to have publicly affirmed the LGBT lifestyle in social media interactions, has further eroded our confidence.  In Chip’s beloved “demo day” fashion, the Gaines position as Christian influencers has all but been destroyed. 

Christians will react in many ways.  Some will speak vociferously online.  Others will swear off watching or buying anything the Gaines create.  As for me, I believe every Christian must make their own choice.  Boycotting works and public outcry has its place, but for many, this goes deeper.  We can make a different choice with our dollar and voice our disdain, but the feeling of being let down by people we called brother and sister will not be fixed by either course of action.  This is no pedestal falling moment, this feels more like a trusted friend betraying us deeply.  We, like many others, are not angry, we are sad.  Will we ever watch the Gaines again?  Maybe, but it won’t feel like family anymore, and I’m not sure that can ever be fixed up.

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