The Problem with Christian Broadcasting

The opinions expressed on this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY


Pat Robertson recently made statements about the devastation in Haiti that implied it was God’s judgment on the people, setting off a new flurry of revulsion towards him personally, conservative Christians generally, and Christians even more generally, among the secularists. This sort of thing happens every few years. Some Christian broadcaster announces that hurricanes or AIDS or tidal waves or terrorist attacks are really God’s judgment on lawless people.

The very same broadcaster can spend the rest of his ministry years proclaiming the love of God and being listened to almost exclusively by people who already agree, but what will be repeated in lunchrooms and on barstools and on Facebook is that the Christian guy on TV says God is punishing people with an earthquake.

We all say stupid things. I’m the queen of saying stupid things, ask anybody. But since I rarely have a microphone in my face the damage is usually limited to someone’s hurt feelings. When famous Christians say stupid things on television it makes every Christian look like a hater.

I think the problem with Christian broadcasting is that it models secular broadcasting. Airtime is given to people who are famous, and who become famous through ratings. These famous Christians then feel the pull to do whatever they have to do to continue to be famous, which usually involves making grandiose statements. No press is bad press in the secular world of fame, and it appears that the longer a Christian is famous the more closely he adheres to this policy.

Attempting to maintain personal fame is in total opposition to the actual message of Christ, which is about dying to self to reveal Him.

Author Donald Miller wrote a blog about the recent Pat Robertson brouhaha. He too saw Pat Robertson pulling the focus onto himself. Here are excerpts:

“I’ve also found that the more I trust in Christ’s redemption to be sufficient, the less overtly religious I am. And, quite honestly, the more suspect overtly religious people become to me. When I’m with somebody who talks zealously about faith, about Jesus, about the Bible, after a while, I find myself wondering whether or not their faith is strong at all. For instance, if I were with somebody who kept talking about how much they loved their wife, going on loudly and profusely, intuitively I would wonder whether or not they were struggling in their marriage. I would wonder whether they were trying to convince me they loved their wife, or if they were trying to convince themselves… Faith in Christ, for me, is similar. It’s intimate. I’m more comfortable giving quiet prayers, intimate prayers…. Robertson’s loudness and shock-jock verbiage seems strange and oddly uncompassionate. It felt like he was trying to tell us how tough he was, not how compassionate God is.”

You can see the Miller blog here:http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/current-events/op-ed-blog/19845-don-miller-responds-to-pat-robertson?awesm=fbshare.me_ABLut&utm_medium=fbshare.me-facebook-post&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=fbshare-js-large

Just as we give term limits to Presidents and Congress, we would probably be better off if we could put a shelf life on famous Christians.

So many of them start out well. James Dobson gave great parenting advice in the early days, but then he extended his influence further and further and in my opinion he needs to pipe down now. And Robertson? He should have been pulled twenty years ago.

It’s time for fresh voices with the old message.