In Theory: How effective can televangelist shows be on Netflix?
Four Christian televangelist shows are now part of Netflix’s lineup of streaming programming.
Four Christian televangelist shows are among the latest additions to the online video-streaming network Netflix.
The shows are Pastor Ed Young’s “Fifty Shades of They,” Pastor Steven Furtick’s “#DeathToSelfie,” Pastor Andy Stanley’s “Starting Over” and Joyce Meyer’s “Winning Life’s Battles.”
“I believe if Jesus were on planet Earth today in the flesh he’d be on Netflix,” Pastor Ed Young said in an interview with World Religion News. “Jesus said that we should become fishers of men. If I’m going to catch the most fish, I’ve got to put a lot of hooks in the water.”
Adapting to developments in the media landscape is nothing new for religion but according to Professor Stewart M. Hoover of the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado, Boulder, it’s not necessarily effective.
“Evangelicals tend to think that because they are in the public media they’re going to cross over to more mainstream audiences, but evidence shows that they’re mostly just preaching to the choir, and I think that will be the case here,” he said.
Q. How effective do you think televangelist shows can be on Netflix?
Jesus commanded us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” As an illustration of this command the king in one of Jesus’ parables compelled his servants to “Go … to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast” to be held for his son. Jesus said, “The gospel must first be preached to all the nations” before His return (Mark 13:10). The “gospel” of course, is the message that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4). Salvation is God’s free gift to every person who believes that message and receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. So Jesus’ mandate to widely proclaim the gospel is pretty clear.
Netflix is one of the many modern avenues through which the gospel can be proclaimed to a very wide audience. Do broadcast gospel programs reach unbelieving audiences? While many in the audience may already be followers of Christ, I believe that God blesses the proclamation of His word and draws those He wants to save to tune in. And make no mistake, Jesus clearly said “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44). If the Holy Spirit leads His people to put messages on Netflix, then those shows will accomplish all that God wants them to.
Pastor Jon Barta
Burbank
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Professor Hoover of the University of Colorado is right, in my opinion: Televangelists are simply preaching to the choir. The older I get the more I realize that each of us lives in a bunch of concentric circles. Sometimes our circles interact with others with whom we have little in common, but usually not.
For example, I happen to love classical music (and also 1950s rock ‘n’ roll!), but I know absolutely nothing of, say, Taylor Swift’s genre or who’s who in the country and western world. (I do know who Willie Nelson is, and I remember “Indian Outlaw” sung by Tim McGraw, but if you’re up on country, you may be laughing at just how out of touch I am — and in my concentric circle, I really don’t care!)
The point is that those who like televangelists will watch them on Netflix, but those who don’t (like me!) won’t. Again, Professor Hoover is right: Those TV evangelists really are simply preaching to the choir, which means, if you aren’t familiar with the expression, that those who listen and watch already like to listen and watch that sort of thing. They are “the choir.” Those who don’t like to listen and watch that sort of thing won’t, no matter how many opportunities they have to watch the show on Netflix.
The Rev. Skip Lindeman
La Cañada Congregational Church
La Cañada Flintridge
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Though nearly five years have passed since I started contributing to In Theory, I continue to be impressed with the innovative outlook of these newspapers in including divergent voices — there are two of us now with Joshua Berg on board — in this religion column.
However, this week’s question poses a bit of a problem for me, as did last week’s on the presence of women in the top leadership positions of church governance. Much as I enjoy representing my viewpoint here, I wouldn’t want to be told how to be an atheist, so I try to avoid telling believers how to do their thing, as long as churches are not interfering with rights and lives of those of us outside their institutions.
Having said all that, and because it is a rare topic that I don’t have an opinion on, I will say that, like the rest of us, churches need to function in contemporary reality. Equal participation by women in leadership roles is known to be good for institutions because, among other reasons, women bosses do better than men in fostering team work and helping everyone contribute their utmost to the goals of the organization.
If they want to reach viewers, churches need to go where the eyes are, be it Netflix or other platforms. Whether or not any of us is reaching beyond our own or merely preaching to the choir depends on our message and how effectively we deliver it in any situation.
Roberta Medford
Atheist
Montrose
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It seems that Netflix thinks they will be effective, at least in creating revenue (which comes from viewership) so I’m guessing they will do just fine. The current audiences that attend these televangelist churches and tune into their live broadcasts are there because they likely found out about them through radio and television. There was a time when there were no radios, but advancements in technology brought them into existence, and later television. These have both been adapted by Christians to promulgate the Gospel, and these days Internet and digital subscription services present themselves as just the latest opportunities.
I recall when I first came to Christ, it was a decisive, private moment, which compelled me to immediately find a church and get myself baptized. Where would I go? I saw a televised episode of a church service in which a baptism was aired as part of the show, so I tracked down the church, knocked on the door, and asked if they would do me the favor. They invited me back to a midweek service where I was then dunked alongside several other newbie Christians. Had I not seen the initial broadcast, I wouldn’t have known where to go, but I had a television, and the church had a TV show, and there we were — connected. I had been watching their broadcast before I was saved, as God was using it and sundry others to work on my soul and bring me to decision, but that was 30-plus years ago, and if it were today, I’m sure the circumstance I just shared would probably have its details altered from television, to podcast, YouTube video, or, perhaps, Netflix.
So I most certainly believe that ministries should make use of advancing technologies, even if their greatest number of consumers are already believers. Unbelievers don’t pay the bills anyway, so it probably has to be this way if we ever hope to reach them.
Rev. Bryan A. Griem
Tujunga
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