A Piece of My Passion

I am a Preacher’s Kid, the majority of my life was spent in church.  So there are some things that when I see and hear them my first thought is “oh God would not be pleased with this.”  Last night, I tuned into TLC’s new reality series, The Sisterhood, a show marketed as reality with a spiritual twist complete with an insider’s view into the lives of preacher’s wives outside of the church. 

Overall, I am  increasingly disgusted by reality television and the stereotypes that it perpetuates.  Tuning into ‘The Sisterhood’, deep down inside, I hoped that I was about to view an unscripted, positive reflection of the black family and the black church. I thought that I was going to see a show that highlighted the daily duties of a few preacher’s wive’s who were working as an extension of their husbands church ministry making an impact in their church and community.  I hoped that I wouldn’t see women whispering in a corner talking about one another, but I did.  I wished that I wouldn’t see neck rolling, “who gone check me boo? moments, but I did. What I viewed was a direct contrast to what I was expecting, religion set in and after only two minutes my first thought was “God would not be pleased with this.”

But I continued to watch because I know that reality television is just a conglomerate of real moments edited by line editors and producers who leverage their own ideas of reality into the final cut. Today, I am ready to admit that perhaps I was hasty in my initial reaction because there were some “highlightable moments” from the show.

Some truth moments:

1. Most people interact with their pastors wife for 2 hours on the holiest day of her week (Sunday).  So to emphatically state “my pastors wife is not like this” is misguided. Do I know pastors wives who act like these women? Yep, I sure do  Do I know pastors wives who are completely different?  Yes, I sure do.  My point here is that there is no way for us to know the full intent of these women’s hearts from a 1 hour episode.

  

1. The discussion that Pastor Brian had with his daughters about sex was absolutely necessary.  Admittedly, I thought that some of that moment was private and a bit much for television.  But the truth is STDs are real and yes there are pastors daughters who have contracted them.  What I saw in that moment was a father being authentic and acknowledging that he didn’t come into this world a perfect Pastor, but along the way he made some mistakes.  Hopefully by having this real talk sex session, he has equipped his daughters with natural and spiritual tools to discern well about sex.

1. As one of the pastors wives whose husband had just closed the doors of his church visited another pastors wives thriving church, she had a moment where she thought, “this should be me.” A real moment, that happens more often than most in church leadership are willing to admit.  The unspoken competition to be greater instead of being better.  And a chilling reminder that when we compare our lives to others it keeps us from clearly seeing the provision and promise that God has for us. 

Now most will read this and like me will want to defend the pulpit in their own church as being so not like this show and want to immediately categorize the show as disgraceful and damaging to the church.  Because I am a firm believer that the questionable actions of a few can’t destroy the reputations of many, I don’t view this show as detrimental, but that could be the optimistic side of me.  I recognize that there is an overwhelming opposing viewpoint and to those who think otherwise I offer the following points to ponder.

1. It’s Time To Invest -  We worship in buildings that seat thousands and use them two days out of the week.  If we want to change the way that the Christian lifestyle is recorded by Hollywood Executives, a real investment in the next generation of potential Television Producers, Writers and Editors is necessary.  Why aren’t we using the church’s resources to provide a scriptural based spiritual foundation along with educational, vocational and training programs her young people?  The next generation of creative contributors can take Hollywood over with a moral compass that seeks to bring honor and reverence to  God in all that they do.  We need to get back to the basics of teaching our children the principles recognizing that His promises are automatic if they live the principle.

1. It’s Time to Commit - How often do we start and stop outreach initiatives because the success we envisioned is not immediate?  It’s time to commit.  Lack of commitment breeds indecision.  Our individual commitment provides confidence to others that we expect that the outcome will be success.  We need to show the world that we are committed to His work and His ways and will not be pushed around or dismayed by their attempts to decrease and destroy the greatness of our God.

1. It’s Past Time for Change - Change begins with each of us individually.  And, truthfully we shouldn’t wait until another person’s actions bring justification for the need to change.  I believe that the smallest change can yield significant rewards.  So if Christians want to change the way that the world sees us and responds to us, we need to start with ourselves.  Downgrading, despising and/or defending the works of others is a detriment to personal elevation (change).  Allow your personal change to be what leads others to want to know Christ.

1. Stop Believing the Press Clippings - Don’t allow what you hear and see in mass media, television or news to make you start to believe that this world is hopeless or that your contribution won’t matter.  The race isn’t finished and none of us knows the end.  Our work is not done, nor is it ever in vain.  We must continue to focus our efforts and attentions on contributing to progress with sincerity of heart and mind for His glory and not our own.