People and corporations are in the business to sell you something. Commercials and advertisements flood our radios, TVs and until you install a good pop-up blocker, the internet as well. These items could be anything from sales at Lowe’s to the new tacos at Taco Bell to IRS Tax advice to newest diet craze on the market today. Since the advent of the telephone, marketers have tried to entice people over the phone with special deals and people calling at inopportune times. It even got so bad that the government had to make a National Do Not Call list with punishments for violators.

With the rise in the modern computer, calling thousands of people at one time with the same message has become the norm. While this is helpful for evacuate purposes and such, it has however been used by politicians in recent years. Politicians have set up recordings for people to get ‘robo called’ to inform people of voting day and that their opponent voted to give five-year old guns and make the Cornish game hen the new national bird.

Until recently, I had never heard of ministers using this technology to promote their ministries. My friend in Nacogdoches (yes it is spelled correctly) posted on Facebook that he had received a robo call from Prophet Manasseh Jordan.

Here is a transcript of the robo-call.

” *CALM FEMALE VOICE* Hello, this is Manasseh Jordan Ministries. I’m one of the Prayer Closet Guards, and we are about to place your name in the Prophet’s Prayer Closet, but we noticed some of your information is incomplete. Please call 800 234-9071 within the next 24 hours, or press 0 to be transferred so we can complete your information and Prophet Manasseh can start praying for you *SUDDEN VOICE CHANGE, MALE* To be removed from this list, please call 1 800 318-7853, that again is 1 800 318-7853.”

Some general questions/observations:

• why is it harder to be removed from the mailing list than it is to be added?
• Why the sudden voice change from female to male?
• How did they get my friend’s name and number?
• What will happen after 24 hours if they do not contact them?
• What is a Prayer closet and why does my friend need to be in it?

At best, he represents enthusiastic but uneducated preaching, mixed with the danger to arrogance. At worst, pure scam.

Is this what Christianity has come to? Is this image that TBN ministers and tele-evangelist have today? Has Tammy Fay Baker and Robert Tilton (Just to name a few) ruined the cause of reaching people in their homes with the gospel message (even though at times I disagree with what they have to say)?

Is the most effective way to propagate the gospel message, by robo calling random people?

Is that what Christ advocated when he gave his Great Commission?

I get it… he wants to spread the message of Christ to all people in all places and I commend him for his faith but why does he need to solicit people randomly?

This type of in your face Christianity especially with the back story of needing money is what turns people off to the Gospel message.

A general rule of thumb for ministry is if politicians use it to get people to vote for them, it may not be an effective tool.

People are looking for community, they are looking for connections. Sure people do connect with ministers on TBN even to the point where they support them financially but that was their choice and no one hounded them on their personal phone under the guise of personal ministry care.

For me, I do not like it when on a minister’s site or a church’s site the “special message from the pastor/prophet” takes me to a video where the said pastor/prophet is asking for money. Where’s the message there? The video below makes it seem like a Ronco infomercial. I was expecting him to tell me about low easy monthly payments and 100% money back guarantees… no such luck. (Also if you watch the video about every 30 seconds there is a beep… the fire alarm needs a new battery :D)

Ministry is too important to leave to our new robot overlords.

So the next time you receive a phone call from an unknown number… it might be Prophet calling.

It’s your choice whether or not to answer.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan