TBN...the good and the bad

This week I had my first experience with the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Religious television....gotta love it, right? Honestly, I'm one of those people who flips to a different channel right away when I come across any sort of "religious" TV show.

A lot of the time, religious shows, specifically those that are Christian-based, become too dependent on donations from viewers. While there is nothing wrong with a donation-funded channel, I think there is something wrong with a show that professes to be teaching the Gospel, but is at the same time there is an advertisement on the screen that shows which hashtags to follow on twitter.....

This happened on the show, "The Potter's Touch." It features a man who is giving a sermon at a church. His sermons are very passionate and focused on appealing to the emotions of the viewers. Coincidentally, during the commercial breaks, there is an advertisement for a DVD series by the man who is giving the sermons, and there is a phone number that appears for people who desire to give a donation. In addition, those who make a donation are sent a magnetic, jeweled cross as a reward.

I love Jesus with all of my heart and soul, but honestly I don't understand how people can turn TV shows based on the spread of the Gospel into a way of conning people out of their money. While I'm sure that is not always an intention of the producers, I think it is something that tends to happen quite often.

The second show that I watched is called "The Way of the Master," and it consists of a small group of people who travel around the world, preaching the Gospel. In the current series, the group is traveling through Europe, preaching in a different country each day for 13 days. This particular episode depicted the time that the group spent in Germany, during Oktoberfest (huge beer party, essentially).

The group talked with random people on the street and asked them questions that led into a conversation in which they could tell that person about the Gospel. It was sad to see that many of the German people were deceived about the truth and grace of the Gospel. They said that they considered themselves to be "good people" and since God always forgives their sins, that they will end up in Heaven. The reality is that only people who truly give their lives to Christ, and put all of their faith, hope and trust in Him will go to Heaven. And that is only because Christ came and died for us: taking away all of our sins.

Ray Comfort, a member of the group, also did some open air preaching on the streets of Munich, Germany. He attracted people by talking while his friend tried to get himself out of a straight jacket. Ray succeeded in getting the attention of many people, and was thus able to create an opportunity to witness about the Gospel.

Often times, Christians are afraid to stand up and be witnesses for Christ, or they just choose to wait until an obvious opportunity presents itself. However, as demonstrated by Ray Comfort, sometimes the best witness opportunities are the ones that we have the courage to create.