FROM THE EDITORS October 8, 2007 Issue

MESSENGERS FOR THE AGE

Editor

NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. Modern technology does provide wonderful tools for reaching masses of people with the glorious news that God loves each one of us, including ready-made audiences that include the elderly, the shut-ins, and the undecided—especially those who are "shopping" for a faith to hang on to.

According to a report by Religion & Ethics News Weekly, there are more than 10,000 TV ministries around the United States, both big and small. Broadcasts by Pastor Joel Osteen of Houston, Texas, are said to draw more than seven million viewers a week. The Hour of Power, from Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, estimates its worldwide audience at 20 million a week, including listeners and viewers in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and China.

Yet in its spiritual expression, broadcasting is so much more than an electronic marvel—more than all the signals streaming from satellites circumnavigating the earth. Heart-to-heart, person-to-person communication has the potential to be life-transforming. More than a mass medium, it can essentially be communication that offers persuasive proof, in "real time," of the effectiveness of God's power in individual lives—convincing evidence of spiritual healing and regeneration. It often starts with something as simple as a firm handshake, a listening ear, and a heartfelt readiness to pray with someone in need.

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