More Than Baby Food

Make your Missions Week donation today... reach souls across the globe for Jesus Christ NOW... plant trees across the Holy Land THIS YEAR... and watch our LIVE webcam as your personal commemorative certificate prints instantly in Jerusalem and is prayed over at the Altar for the next 40 days

That's GodTV's latest attempt at reaching people for Christ. I guess if I donate money, they will plant a tree, print out a certificate and have it prayed over at some altar in Jerusalem. And this reaches out to the unsaved...how? If you're not saved, you probably don't know what GodTV is. You almost positively wouldn't be watching it, much less sitting there waiting for a tree to be planted. If by some grand design of the universe you were watching - I doubt the scenario of trees being planted would move you to repentance. And then to have someone pray over a pile of paper - my first thought would not be " dear Lord, save me!". Well, maybe it would, but with a twist. It would be a prayer like "dear God...save me from these people!"

Seriously? Trees? That's the best outreach program you could come up with? Let's not forget that you have to "donate" money to have a tree and a piece of paper. So essentially you're buying leaves and magic prayer certificates. I can do that at home for free. I can think of a thousand places I'd rather donate my money to.

You want to reach people...donate the most valuable asset of all. Your time. Find a local charity, give more at your church. Give money to that missionary that visits you. Reach out to the homeless, the sick, the poor. Then you have something to verify you when you say..."let me tell you about Someone who loves you no matter what. " It really bothers me when Christians want to "witness" without getting their hands dirty. I'd be more impressed if GodTV were asking for donations of canned food, or volunteers for a local outreach branch.

Hey maybe they do. But I couldn't find it. The first thing I see when I log on is a large sign saying "DONATE". Then all these conferences about signs and wonders and healing and miracles. Doesn't sound like outreach to me.

I know it seems like I have a vendetta against GodTV. But I don't see anything much to be happy about. They have "schools of *fill in the blank here*" and teach people that they can be miraculously healed...but only if they have enough faith. They pump the "supernatural" down every one's throats, and they're all about the signs and wonders. They even have a link so you can "God Shop". It makes me kind of nauseous.

Sounds like a bunch of Christians content to sit back and be fed for the rest of their lives. You want the meat of Christianity - take what you learn to the streets. Stop keeping it in your own heads, and in your own social circle. Live it everyday so that people ask you why you're different. Stop talking the talk - walk the Walk.