Live Prayer
Re: “God’s Man for the Internet Age” by Eric Snider (December 3-9)
I read the story you wrote concerning Bill Keller and live prayer and for the most part it seemed to be a fair story. I do think there was a certain tone from you at times that seemed to reflect a certain amount of incredulousness about religion and faith, but I also think you did a fair job with the message that Bill Keller is giving: that God is not for sale and that we live in a world of sin ("if it feels good do it," etc.).
Just to give you a little background on myself, I have never been a felon (though I committed a few youthful indiscretions as have most American males). I am happily married with two young children and basically living the perfect nuclear life. I never had any catastrophic events happen that I felt I hit rock bottom and found Jesus that way. I just always had a sense of something missing until I got serious about studying the Bible. As I have read it daily I have come to realize that what I thought I wanted in life (more money and all that can be bought with it) would never satisfy me and there would always be something else that I would seek to gain — a never-ending cycle of worldly goods.
The appeal of Bill Keller's message to me and many others is that the overriding tone or theme is not "Send me your money and be saved." It is that Jesus Christ died for our sins and He still loves you and me, and that by putting our trust and faith in Him, our lives will be blessed and abundant in so many ways that are far more important than worldly treasures.
And maybe most importantly, Mr. Keller is reaching out to those who need Jesus more than ever: those lost in a world that seems to have no hope, who feel through their sinful actions that they can never be reconciled with God. Mr. Keller is doing a fantastic job of letting those people know that whatever bad experience they may have had with organized religion was probably a result of men or women thinking they were better than someone else or who maybe looked down on others thinking they had no sin in their own life. The heart of his message is that we all have sin in our lives, and one sin is no better or worse than another; it is all sin. But with faith in Jesus Christ, we can turn from sin and not let it control us.
We all fall short of God and always will. But we must still try to be more like Jesus and to do His work, which is bringing those who do not know Him to see for themselves that true peace and happiness and success will only be found with Jesus. It is real and will last for eternity.
—Joseph McCrabb
Springdale, AZ
Super job on the article about Bill Keller. I was really impressed that you found him to be as down-to-earth as I do. I've called his show and been on the air with him about five times since August and he does really care. I also have supported his ministry financially but not on a regular basis.
I watch him almost every night and although I am not a religious fanatic and not sure if I agree with everything he says, I do believe he is honest and real and most importantly, Bible-based. Your article definitely reveals that. Nice job.
—Sabrina Hogan
Tampa
The secular world's view of Christian evangelists has been so damaged by the garbage that is typically seen on many so-called Christian TV ministries, that before I began to read your story I figured you were going to harpoon Bill — you know, "guilty by association." But you were pretty much unbiased in your report, and I just really wanted to let you know that I appreciate it very much.
There really are a substantial number of good, honest Christian ministries out there, but most are frequently missed due to being low-key (i.e., not televised or in some sort of scandal) or are just disregarded and presupposed to be like the others, meaning "money focused" and pretty much a scam.
—Mike Rice
via e-mail
This article appears in Dec 18-24, 2003.