Marcus Lamb, founder of Daystar Television Network, dies at 64 - The Dallas Morning News

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Dallas-area televangelist Marcus Lamb has died, his Daystar Television Network announced.

Daystar said in a post on its website that Lamb died Tuesday morning. He was 64.

“He leaves behind a legacy of fiercely loving the Lord, all the people of the world and, most of all, his family,” the network said.

The network did not say how Lamb died, but a Facebook post from Perry Stone Ministries on Nov. 18 said Lamb was being treated for a severe case of COVID-19.

Lamb’s relatives have spoken on broadcasts over the past month about Lamb’s battle with the virus, Religion News Service reported. His wife, Joni, said he had diabetes and was hospitalized after his oxygen levels dropped.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a spiritual attack from the enemy,” Lamb’s son, Jonathan, said of his father’s illness on a program earlier this month, the outlet reported. “As much as my parents have gone on here to kind of inform everyone about everything going on to the pandemic and some of the ways to treat COVID — there’s no doubt that the enemy is not happy about that. And he’s doing everything he can to take down my dad.”

Lamb and Daystar have been known to promote anti-vaccination views. The network’s programs have featured vaccine skeptics and health care professionals who promote alternative COVID-19 treatments, Religion News Service reported.

Lamb was president and CEO of the Bedford-based network, which broadcasts in the U.S. and worldwide and is popular among evangelical Christians. Daystar says it is one of the two largest Christian TV networks in the world, with 70 stations in the U.S. reaching a potential audience of 100 million households.

Lamb founded the network after taking a trip with his wife to Israel in the early 1980s. He said God spoke to him while he was on the trip and told him to create a Christian TV station in Montgomery, Ala.

He founded a station in Montgomery in 1985 but sold several years later to move to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In late 1997, he launched Daystar Television Network from The Potter’s House megachurch in the Mountain Creek area of southwestern Dallas.

Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s House described Lamb as a good man and a good friend.

“We always listened and respected each other, and always checked on each other,” Jakes said on Facebook. “We broke bread at each other’s home. He read every book he could read about our culture and history. He was always trying to be more aware. Indeed, he was a merciful man who had a kind soul.”

Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in North Carolina, said he was shocked to learn of Lamb’s death.

“He had preached about heaven, taught about heaven, and now he is experiencing heaven,” Graham said on Facebook. “I know that Marcus would want each and every one of you to examine your own lives, and if there is sin in your life that is holding you back, confess it to God and ask His forgiveness. … None of us know when we will step into eternity.”

While largely successful, Daystar has not been without scandal.

In late 2010, Lamb and his wife went on the network to discuss Lamb’s past infidelity. The couple claimed multiple people were trying to get the couple to give them millions of dollars in exchange for not going public with the story.

Eventually, three former female employees sued the network over allegations of sexual harassment. Daystar countersued the women and claimed attempted extortion, but Bedford police eventually dropped the investigation.

In late 2011, all parties began withdrawing their lawsuits, and no monetary settlements had been made when the legal wrangling officially ended the following year.

Last year, Lamb and the network returned a $3.9 million Paycheck Protection Program loan after an investigation revealed questions about the network’s purchase of a private jet. The network also encouraged viewers to sign a petition urging a recount or revote of the 2020 presidential election.

Lamb is survived by his wife and three children: Jonathan, Rachel and Rebecca.

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