Chynna Phillips is in the news again for two reasons: 1) she’s touring with Vaughan Penn to promote her first Christian record, Chynna and Vaughan‘s One Reason, out in stores already, and 2) she believes her half-sister Mackenzie’s allegation that their father, John Phillips, raped the latter the night before her wedding.
Chynna’s mother, Michelle, doesn’t believe Mackenzie. I wouldn’t blame the matriarch Phillips for feeling this way; it’s never easy when someone you love(d) is accused of something so disagreeable. Some – myself included – wonder if this revelation was made solely for the purpose of generating buzz for her new book, High on Arrival, which hits bookstores today. However, I also understand where Mackenzie is coming from, having to live with this “secret” for years, even forgiving the transgressor on his deathbed. I think there is strength in coming clean with this, and while many people will find her admission distasteful, I still think God will use this story to touch the hearts and lives of others out there who have suffered – or perhaps are still suffering – from this grievous situation.
Meanwhile, Chynna Phillips is going to make the rounds of talk shows, including this Friday’s Oprah and The View. I’m sure that while they’ll find a way to get her thoughts on her half-sister, she’ll be given the opportunity to talk about how Jesus changed her life, and this will be crucial. While it wasn’t she who was raped, she also went through a lot of things with which a lot of people in America are going to relate, and I know that her testimony will stand to become even more powerful.
I’ve been praying for Chynna, as well as her “sisters” Wendy and Carnie Wilson, with whom she created Wilson Phillips in the early 1990s. They may not have had the kind of influence or success that they had back in the day, but I know that God will somehow find a way to use them and their stories to make people realize how real and powerful He truly is. He’s already in Chynna’s life; I know it will only be a matter of time before Wendy and Carnie will come to know Him and His Son.
Meanwhile, if you still haven’t picked up a copy of Chynna and Vaughan “One Reason”, please take my word for it and download the mp3, if not the whole album. They don’t make good, old-fashioned folk-pop-rock like One Reason much anymore. It’s seriously good stuff. :)
