Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Satellite TV


Someone has given me a 2 metre satellite dish, so now I can get BBC once I put the dish up. This is harder than you think! A two metre dish is pretty huge.

I have a very small dish at the moment and all we can get is kids TV and God Tv!

In all honesty I think God TV is one of the most worrying things in the christian world.

I feel that it feeds the mindset of the Christian Ghetto, the world removed from the real world. They talk very admirably about spreading the gospel through GOD TV and they are all tremendously sincere but how does that work? The TV just isn't very flesh and blood, it's not a very incarnational way to connect with people.

They use lines like "going out to 769 million viewers", what they mean is potential viewers! This does worry me because it borders on the edge of lying.

There are no way 769 million people who watch GOD TV, if there are then I am scared, very scared.

God TV is OK for a consumerist Christian sub culture. It doesn't appear to be of this world and it is not for the world, it's for christians. The quality of programming is so far off what normal channels produce. I could go on...

Actually I will, one day Jesus again will sweep through the temple and clear out the money lenders and sellers, those who defame his name for profit.

Anyway I found this on the True Blog

Personally it is the best thing I have seen with relation to missional, incarnational church



Michael Frost is fantastic, anyone serious about church and what we are here for should take the time to watch this.

Missio Deo, Participo Christi, Imago Deo!
Three great points

13 comments:

Dratt said...

We don't have satellite TV (thankfully), 52 freeview channels is quite enough. However, someone lent me a load of videos from God TV and, like you, I found some of it very worrying and some absolutely not the gospel message. However, we are at Bible college as a result of seeing Andrew Wommack on this channel via someones video recorder so it's not all bad.... just most of it

Steve McCready said...

Brian, I'll do you a deal! I will come out with Rebecca and check out the work and if there is any teaching opportunities for her and a pub for me we'll come and join up! I could just run YFCNI online! Skype is a great tool!

Anonymous said...

i sat beside a lady in church and we were chatting before church started, as i didt recognize her i asked her was she just visiting,to my surprise she said she wasnt a christian but had started to watch God tv, she said the night before she dreamt about comming to our church and felt compelled to when she woke. i met with her as she journeyed through what becomming a christian meant .i never heard if she became a christian but i believe the Holy Spirit was working in her life and he used God TV. Sometimes God works in mysterious ways!!!

Brian said...

That was the dilemma I had when writing this post this morning, I knew there are those out there who have been touched by God TV, I watched J.John the other night and he was funny, entertaining, challenging and inspiring. Theres a lot of good on it but I feel it weighs more on the side of crap. I don't know to much about it but it doesn't appear very selective. I think if you pay your money you can get on it. I like watching Paul Reids talks from CFC Belfast but theres no heavy sell, no send us a love gift, none of that. Maybe it's also cultural does this stuff work better in America or Africa?

J-Mac said...

Christian channels are great! I just bought some miracle spring water and a little green cloth that you put over your wallet and when you wake in the morning you will have $25,000!

Seriously, this kind of crap is on constantly. Is it any wonder people in the world dislike Christians before they have met any.

Lets not dress it up. The majority of these tv evangelists are scumbags preying on the poor, sick and vulnerable. How else could you be sucked in by them unless you were desperate.

'The God I believe in aint short of cash mister' Bono

Anonymous said...

you do know that it is against the law to receive bbc programmes in spain??

Anonymous said...

GOD TV should be against the law

Anonymous said...

hey Brian - i really hope that you guys get a good response to your call for Ibiza missionaries - it was all very clearly laid out what was required, challenges and all. will be praying for you guys.

Neal_Taylor said...

Mike Frost is an awesome speaker and I am happy you are encountering him. Check out his book with Al Hirsch - The Shaping of Things to Come and on his own - Exiles.
He is part of the Forge network here in Oz - I am too. Check it out at www.forge.org.au.

Blessings and I pray you find the folks you need! Yeah and while I haven't seen God TV - we have The Australian Christian Channel and numerous Christian radio stations and while they do reach a small percentage of folk they do tend to "feed" another larger portion - unfortunately most folk feel if they listen ow watch then they are doing church.

Shalom!

Anonymous said...

I have found this post a little distressing, surely any ministry thats seeks to advance the kingdom is worthy of praise. Rory and Wendy are doing a great job to promote the gospel to the nations through GOD TV. If a few more people caught the fire that they are trying to spread then surely even places like Ibiza would be changed. Lets be careful in what we say about all our brothers and sisters who have a television ministry.

Anonymous said...

Every hotel in Ibiza has access to God TV. It mainly get's watched by drunk people for a laugh. At least that's when I tune in.

Anonymous said...

i agree with robert in texas.
i think that none of us have the right to play God and judge .
in Jude 9+10 jude warns us that not even Micheal the Archangel would bring an accusation against Satan. i think we need to be careful when treading where Angels fear to tread, in comming agaist peolpe with our words whether written orr spoken. and Steve Gods word will go forth and accomplish that to which it is sent whether we mock or jeer.

Anonymous said...

i dont think there's any judging of heart and motives here, which is surely what Jude is warning against. we all must make judgments every day about what we see and here. I'm with the God TV critics...overly religious language, programming geared towards Christians, diverting funding away from authentic local mission, embarrassing clothes...the next thing you know, they'll be coloring their hair! Switch it off and go and help someone :)