I wish I had a picture to insight a sense of parody to this post, like a Superman logo or something like that (even though I don't like Superman).
But let's get serious now, this one will probably be a bit short, but I plan on continuing from where I left off yesterday.
So Kaerlyn and I had a conversation; okay so it was less of a conversation and more of her comment responding to a post I made, and I do want to at least post my address to the concept of what I personally call "name-brand preachers."
This will also Segway into my next post about--well, we'll get to that later.
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I don't really have a problem with "name-brand preachers."
But I challenge you, think of the most famous Christian preacher you know. He/She could be on Daystar TV, Christian TV, Church TV, whatever. What are the names of their ministries or services? Do you see them on TV or hear them on the radio? Do you buy their CDs and/or merchandise? Do you even go to their large church buildings and hear/see them preach to thousands upon thousands of people?
I'll tell you some that I know:
Joel Olsteen, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Bishop TD Jakes (ugh), Al Sharpton (gags).
Here's what I like about them:
1) They take the mantles of figureheads of Christianity, showing responsibility, courage, and bravery in a world--but lesser--a nation that does not respect or revere God or any other religion for that matter.
2) Many times their sermons are uplifting and encouraging, and in aesthetic they appear very beautiful and it gives off an air of joy.
3) They are easily accessible to people who do not know about God, and it often times presents it in an engaging way that people can easily come to with open minds and not feel that they are judged or wrong for not knowing God.
4) It creates a track record of experience, a model for people who want to start ministry. For example, I listened to Joyce Meyer's CD titled "Loving yourself, loving God, and loving Others" and a few years from now if I follow her teachings I will grow from it and move onto the next sermon. So if I ever feel inspired to minister to others I will have an understanding of how ministry, and the people within them, grow.
However, lately I have found some things that I do not feel so content with.
When I see these "name-brand" preachers, nowadays I feel that some of them are "Cut-and-Paste" preachers if you can understand it that way.
My biggest qualm is that the congregation is vast, but in my daily life I can't find many fans or participants of them.
I know, and have met a lot of people, but it is rare for me to run into someone who knows about these "name-brand" preachers and are active people who carry the word out.
It also appears that their teachings are not heeded or expounded upon in the world. Almost as if its a word that you take home and study but don't grow in or have any ways of showing your proof. When I see the thousands of people in those seats, I don't see those thousands of people going out into the world and actually performing the ministry. I don't want to use the term "sheeple" (sheep people) to describe it, but its not very appealing to see crowds in a stadium but not see crowds outside in the real world making a change.
Quite like Creflo Dollar, whom I talked about yesterday--For all of the people who support him and throw money at him, I don't see them actually working under the title of their ministry; Changing Your World.
With how crazy things are in America, I don't see the people who follow these mega-churches voting for better Congressman or even trying to become elected officials that can take the world in a better direction.
Think about it, if Joel Olsteen ran for office, he'd have a major booking behind him in the name of all of his fans, but you rarely see them.
This leads me into my next and final point, which is going to end on a To Be Continued...
I observe in some ways that these "name-brand preachers" are affected by the liberal saturation of media.
What do I mean by that?
If people believe that liberal media is trying to suppress Christian media, then how come these preachers haven't talked about it? How are they sanctioned to be on television on platforms such as ABC or be featured on major news networks like MSNBC if we believe that those media platforms are not conductive to Christian values?
In some ways I feel as if their message is so watered down that it becomes a powerless preaching to some degree.
Jesus only had 12 disciples, and those 12 disciples completely turned a country upside-down by showing that the established churches of the time were not preaching the truth of the word.
If we have churches with millions of members, how come we can't change the world right now, because we've got to admit, the world is pretty jacked up right now?
To Be Continued...
P.S: In retrospect, this was more of a rough draft, but still be critical.
