Why Doctrine Matters: Jon Steingard Walked Away From God

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In May of 2020, Jon Steingard, the frontman of the Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, posted a long statement on Instagram. He said he no longer believed in God. He grew up as a preacher's kid. He spent years on Christian stages singing Christian songs to Christian crowds. Then he said the quiet part out loud.

That incident is what gave birth to the phrase "doctrine matters." I want you to understand why.

This is the video where the phrase Doctrine Matters was born. Start at the 40 minute mark.

Steingard wrote:

After growing up in a Christian home, being a pastor's kid, playing and singing in a Christian band, and having the word "Christian" in front of most of the things in my life — I am now finding that I no longer believe in God.

He later told Church Leaders that his reasons included "the state of Christian culture in America," along with the problem of evil, divine hiddenness, and what he called irregularities in the Biblical texts. He also said this:

It's funny because very little about my lifestyle changed. There weren't many things I wanted to do that the church wouldn't approve of. That simply wasn't the problem.

Read that carefully. He did not claim that he left because he suddenly wanted a wild life. He left because the version of Christianity he lived in could not hold him when the questions got hard. That is what happens when Christian culture is built on concerts, feelings, branding, and soft answers instead of the Word of God.

The Bible warned us about this long before Instagram. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

"Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee" (1 Timothy 4:16). Sound doctrine is not a hobby for theologians. It is the difference between a faith that stands and a faith that collapses.

Christianity Cannot Conform to the Culture

Much of modern Christian culture trades the hard edges of Scripture for something people will buy tickets to. It sells experience. It sells belonging. It sells a Jesus who never offends and a gospel that never demands repentance. Then a man who grew up inside that system hits the wall of doubt, and there is nothing underneath but soft platitudes..

Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). Peter said we are "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23). If your Christianity is not rooted in the Book, it will not survive the storm.

That is why doctrine matters. Not as a slogan. As a line in the sand. When churches replace sound doctrine with entertainment Christianity, people walk away, and the watching world thinks the faith itself failed. The faith did not fail. The cheap imitation of it did.

Jude said we must "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). Paul said, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Contending and proving require doctrine. Feelings will not do it. Stage lights will not do it. A Christian brand on a tour bus will not do it.

What You Should Do

If you are tired of shallow religion and you want Bible believing truth that does not apologize for the Word of God, you are in the right place. Join the Doctrine Matters community. Keep reading on this site. Open your King James Bible. Test every teacher. Hold fast to sound doctrine.

Sources: Church Leaders reporting on Jon Steingard's public comments, and Steingard's May 2020 Instagram statement as quoted by multiple news outlets including CNN and People.

Recommended Reading

Want to go deeper? Get my book Calling Evil Good: The Lie of "Christian" Rock and Roll on Amazon.

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