I’ve been intrigued lately by this new phenomena “Christians portraying Christians on reality TV shows.” One show, The Sisterhood features First Ladies; Christina Murray, DeLana Rutherford, Tara Lewis, Ivy Couch and Domonique Scott while another show, Big Rich Atlanta, features a Pastor, Sabrina McKenzie, known as the “Dancing Preacher.”
I’ve reviewed blogs, had conversations with and listened to other Christians come up with all kind of rational; pro and con, for and against the participants. It’s really interesting to me. I have one friend who commented on The Sisterhood but who has never seen the show. Just the thought of it (First Ladies on a reality show!) was too much for her. I wondered if she thought that the implied sin would rub off on her. I have to say, I’ve seen both shows and while some of my sensibilities are…challenged, so far, I’m not too shocked. I’m in contact with non-Christians on a daily basis and I also have family members who are not Saved so I haven’t seen anything that tops the things that I’ve already seen.
Right here, I’m going to stop using the word Christian and replace Christian with the word Saved because I think that this word reflects why there is so much disagreement. Let me explain; the term Christian is used very broadly without the knowledge of what the true meaning of the word implies, for instance people may say I was born a Christian but according to the Bible you can’t be born a Christian, the only way to become a Christian is to be Born Again (John 3:3). Society has tried to redefine the faith by separating it and designating two classes of Christians: regular Christians and Born Again Christians, that’s ignorance and a lack of understanding; it’s like separating wet from water; it can’t be done! Water is wet and wet is water but you can’t get one without the other. If you’re not Born Again, you’re not a Christian! But, since someone may become confused or offended by this statement I will use the word Saved.
The problem for most Saved people is that the Saved women in The Sisterhood are First Ladies (Pastor’s Wives) or ministers and are held in very high esteem. Protocol requires that they carry themselves in a certain way and according to scripture. The perceived problem is that these Saved women are shown in somewhat compromising less lofty positions away from church. They’re shown exposing many of their flaws since they are in a camera lens for the world to see. They may not always be dressed appropriately or I should say as others think that they should be dressed. In The Sisterhood there is clearly a difference in the opinions about how these Saved women perceive the gospel and scriptures when confronted by some of life’s circumstances but I’m sure that is probably true for others as well.
I wonder about this new platform could this be something sent by God to the world? Since it may appeal to those who do not attend church but who can relate to the situations that these Saved women find themselves in. I’ve chosen rather than to pass judgment to reserve my energy to pray that God be glorified. I realize that what He chooses to use may not always be apparent to me. After all, it was the religious people of the time who didn’t recognize Jesus. In His earthly ministry Jesus ate and drank with those who were not worthy and the religious leaders talked bad about Him (Matthew 11:19) but it was Jesus’ kindness that led sinners to repentance.
It’s obvious that none of these ladies in either of these reality shows is perfect but that may be exactly why God can use them. Before we judge we must pray that God be glorified (even if we don’t understand how these shows can bring Him glory). Pray for these women and their families (They’ve been bold enough to go where no Saved person has gone before!) People today want transparency the question is; is the church ready to let people know that we’re not perfect but we are forgiven? Is transparency welcomed in today’s Saved community? Can we allow these Saved women’s testimonies to define who each of them is in the Lord and use this as an occasion for prayer?
“I have one friend who commented on The Sisterhood but who has never seen the show. Just the thought of it (First Ladies on a reality show!) was too much for her. I wondered if she thought that the implied sin would rub off on her.”
When I first read this, I said “no, surely she’s not talking about me, or is she?”
Good article…Here is my take on this show: I just won’t watch Christian, Saved or First Ladies acting/telling their stories in the same matter as the non-Christian, un-Saved or non-First Ladies do on Reality TV. We are supposed to be in the world, not of the world, so doing what the world does, doesn’t/wouldn’t draw me closer to CHRIST. The comment my niece made was its comical and Christians are hypocrites, is similar to what I’m saying…what’s different about them and the real housewives? We (Christians, saved, first ladies) are “viewed” by our actions, not the words that come out of our mouth. What are they doing that is making the unsaved folks want to come to CHRIST? Is this show life changing to the unsaved? From the details that I have heard from you, doesn’t make me say, ‘oh, I gotta watch this show”. The only reality show I watch is Mary/Mary (and Honey Boo Boo which doesn’t count because it’s just for laughs), yes there is sisters’ drama but in the end…they are ministering/singing about JESUS and in the end, those who don’t know JESUS will come to know HIM in their music. What is this show ending message that would change the life of others?
Thanks for
this amazing reply to my post “A Friend,” of course I know who you are and we
have had several discussion since the original post and reply but I wanted to
address your reply here on the blog as well J
Number one,
you replied based on your point of view as a Christian/saved person based on
your years of bible study and relationship with the Lord…the point of the post
is that the show may reach people who don’t have that background so your
expectation would not necessarily be the same as another viewer’s expectations.
One of the
reasons that I decided to “define” Christianity in the post is because the term
is used so loosely and most people don’t understand what it means.
As most
Christians already know, we have our own set of beliefs and norms within our
community and culture based on the Bible that don’t exist within the culture at
large. The problem is that others seldom get to see our culture because we keep
ourselves shut up behind the four walls of the church building or when they do
see so called Christians, we are
behaving so much like the world that no one can tell the difference. For
instance; there is little difference in the statistics of the divorce rate for
Christians and non-Christians in the United States.
We all know that
there has to be an element of sensationalism
or Hollywood in anything on
television to make it entertaining and I’m sure these reality shows are no
different, there has to be “drama.”. It’s
interesting to me how you contradict yourself about not watching Christians
telling their stories…but you watch Mary/Mary (another reality show based on
the lives of the gospel singing group Mary/Mary) and they are the ultimate
drama queens! I hadn’t seen the show before your reply but OMG! “Drama Queens!” I love their music but I
would never have imagined the arguments that take place. I don’t think (I could
be wrong) that anyone came to the Lord based on the Mary/Mary show that I saw,
good singing but Holy Spirit doesn’t play games and He won’t stay around
confusion! There was a concert but it didn’t appear to be evangelistic in
nature, just a concert (there is a difference).
Again, this
is reality TV and it’s a platform of sorts but it’s very different from what
we’re used to. It’s not a replacement for our Christian culture but it is a way
to access others within the world which is exactly what we are called to do. And
you’re right, the message is important but what was our message before; we are
better than you, you’re not welcome in our world, nothing you do will ever be
good enough, you’re going to hell. While all of these may have an element of
truth our job is to replace that truth with the greater truth that Jesus came
to change all of that!
Your niece
said Christians are hypocrites meaning they say one thing and do another. What
I find is that most people who use that term (hypocrites) use it to justify
their own sin. In other words “I may be doing wrong but at least I say I’m
doing wrong” the problem is that two wrongs don’t make a right! Never has and
never will! You’re not exempted by your acknowledgement.
Religion has
put up a false façade that many outside of the ecclesia try to hold Christians
captive to; while some are biblical others are not. Sometimes God’s
expectations of us are not the same as man’s expectations of us. The Word says in
Romans 8:1-3 (NIV)
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from
the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was
weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh,”
Now, to close
out this long winded reply to your comment (sorry) and answer your final
question: “What is the shows ending message that would change the life of
others?” I’m not sure there is one single message; I think that there may be
many. I’m sure that each viewer will see what they want to see; one may see
Christians as hypocrites while another may see an opportunity to change their
life because God helped Monique change her life. If God can use a donkey to
speak to a prophet, I’m sure that He can speak to someone through reality TV! In
2
Peter 2:16 (NIV) it says “But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and
restrained the prophet’s madness.” Let us not be quick to judge but let us pray
that God’s will be done on earth even as it is in heaven. Here’s a link to a video that will explain better what I;m trying to say. http://bit.ly/XSYUm5