Marcus Daron Lamb (October 7, 1957 – November 2021) was an American

televangelist Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

, prosperity theologian, minister, Christian broadcaster, and

anti-vaccine Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these Social networking, collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine h ...

advocate. He was the co-founder, president, and CEO of the Daystar Television Network, which in 2010 claimed to be the second-largest Christian television network in the world, with a claimed book value of US$230 million. Lamb died in late 2021 after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Early life

Lamb was born October 7, 1957, in Cordele, Georgia, and raised in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

. He became a Christian at the age of five and continued in church attendance and work as he grew older. He began to preach as an evangelist at age fifteen. He graduated from high school and enrolled at age sixteen in

Lee University Lee University is a Private university, private Church of God (Cleveland), Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was founded in 1918 as the Church of God Bible Training School with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. Th ...

(then known as Lee College), a Christian university based in

Cleveland, Tennessee Cleveland is the county seat of, and largest city in, Bradley County, Tennessee. The population was 47,356 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolitan area, Tennessee (consisting of Bradle ...

. He graduated three years later. In 1982, four years after graduation, he married Joni Trammell of

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

. The couple spent their early years of marriage as traveling evangelists, visiting churches in the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

to teach the gospel. Marcus was ordained as a bishop with the Church of God of

Media ministry

In 1980, the same year that Marcus met his wife Joni, he founded The Word of God Fellowship, the company that would eventually start the Daystar Television Network. In 1985 Lamb began WMCF-TV in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

, the first Christian television station in Alabama. The Lambs sold the station to

Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN; legally Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN solicits donations on its Web site, a ...

(TBN) for enough to cover its debts and moved to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. Lamb launched the Daystar network at the end of 1997. Lamb's Daystar TV applied for and was granted a loan under the 2020 United States government

Paycheck Protection Program The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...

(PPP) to help pay employees' salaries during restrictions due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; it received $3.9 million. Soon after receiving the funds, the church purchased a 1997 14-seat

Gulfstream V The Gulfstream V (Model GV, pronounced "G-five") is a large, long-range business jet aircraft produced by Gulfstream Aerospace, derived from the previous Gulfstream IV. It flies up to , up to and has a range. It typically accommodates four c ...

aircraft worth $8–10 million. In December 2020, Daystar TV paid back the loan with interest after the television show ''

Inside Edition ''Inside Edition'' is an American tabloid television program that is distributed in Broadcast syndication, first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine progr ...

'' investigated the purchase of the aircraft, which had been used for Lamb family vacations. During the pandemic, Lamb and Daystar preached an anti-vaccine message, hosting many anti-vaccine activists such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Del Bigtree, and posting on the Daystar website that vaccines are the "most dangerous thing" for children. When Lamb fell ill with

, his son called the infection "a spiritual attack from the enemy."

Personal life

Lamb and his wife lived in Dallas; the couple had three children. In November 2010, Lamb admitted on the Daystar Network that he had an

extramarital affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or solely em ...

that had ended several years before. He and his wife sought the help of spiritual counselors. On the advice of their counselors, the decision was made to keep this matter private as long as they could to heal adequately. The Lambs decided to publicly disclose the infidelity shortly after they claimed that three women asked for US $7.5 million in exchange for silence on the matter. The Lambs shared their story publicly on television and refused to pay anything. No criminal charges were filed, although civil suits and counter-suits between Daystar and the three former employees were filed over the matter. By December 2011, all three employee claims had either been dropped or dismissed. Daystar subsequently dismissed its countersuits against each of the women.

Death

Lamb died from COVID-19 complications at the end of November, 2021, during the

. He was

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

. He had said he had been taking

ivermectin Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, it is used to treat infestations including head lice ...

, an antiparasitic medication unproven to protect against COVID-19.

References

External links