Is Christian Media Really "Christian"?

So there's been some talk about how media, and in this case, Christian TV programming, isn't actually "Christian" unless it directly presents the gospel. And so here's my response:

The only problem is that people don't watch blatantly Christian shows. Studies show that television audiences today only take about 3-5 seconds to decide whether they're going to watch your show or not. And if you've ever had a TV remote and surfed through the channels, you'll know what I'm talking about.

The same thing applies to missions work. If all you're doing is shoving the gospel in peoples faces or inviting them to church, they just won't come... and we've all seen proof of that right in our own churches. You need to invite them to a BBQ or some other event where you'll have the chance to sit them down and show them how much Jesus cares.

It's about planting seeds, and opening peoples hearts to be receptive to the Gospel. Accepting salvation is a process, and rarely ever happens the first time you hear about it. And there's many ways to present the gospel too.

Here's an example from "Finding Common Ground: How to Communicate with Those Outside the Christian Community... While We Still Can": two people go to a Missions Committee at their local church looking for financial support. One wants to go into the mission field, and the other wants to attend film school. Guess which one gets the money? Even though the film school student has a far greater potential of reaching more people with the gospel through media, it's the missionary who gets the funding.

It's all about the message. And because of that, I urge you to try new and creative ways to present it in ways that people can understand and relate to. We're not trying to impress anyone by striving for excellence... we're trying to do the best we can, for the glory of God, to change as many peoples lives as we can.

Here's a link to an online version of the article from the last post.