pastor Seacrest...

(this post is NOT meant in any way to slam Seacrest the man himself but...)

Would you take relationship advice from an entertainer?

Really?

'Cause that's what I heard happening twice this past week on the radio during an 'On Air with Ryan Seacrest' broadcast.  A lady called in looking for advice.  See, she'd been dating this guy for six months, things were progressing nicely (never mind what 'progressing' means...) they were falling 'in love' (never mind that that notion is more suitable for a 14 year old than for a 34 year old...) and she thought the relationship was moving towards marriage, kids and 'everything she'd ever wanted...' (never mind that no human relationship in and of itself will make you happy...) 

Problem was the guy she's seeing has kids.  Two of 'em.  And they're 'bratty'.

So the lady turns to Ryan Seacrest for advice.

A guy who--by his own admission--is lousy at relationships.  A guy who--by his own admission--sleeps with his blackberry.  A guy who--by his own admission--is too 'busy' for love.

And he's going to give you truth that transforms?

(again, not slamming Ryan Seacrest the man)

What got to me and precipitated this blog was the state our society would appear to have come to that we have people looking to their entertainers for hope, truth, life, light, meaning, purpose and satisfaction.

And of course Seacrest is going along with it, talking to the woman, sincerely (seemingly) engaging her in conversation working (it would appear) to try and help her find a working solution.

False.

'Cause we know (if we've read about the guy at all) that he doesn't really know a thing about committed long-term relationships.  We know ('cause he doesn't have any of his own) that he doesn't know JACK about raising, loving and leading your kids.

He's a TV host, a producer (and prolific at that), an entertainer.

He's impressive.  I'm a fan.

But he's not a spiritual leader or a counsellor.

So in that moment, as that woman calls in for advice, he's using her plight as a means to an end and that end is entertainment for his audience and ratings and revenue for himself.  The goal is that his listeners will be entertained by hearing this woman's story and by 'listening in' on the way in which Ryan engages her.

Ultimately he's looking to get a laugh.

At her expense.

And that's pretty sad--especially because the woman is a willing participant, trading her dignity for a moment 'in the sun' with Ryan.

Speaking as a preacher here, what it seems to me she needs is that thing she can't get from an entertainer.  What she needs is that costly truth that transforms a life.  What she needs is love and comfort rooted not in a man but in the Lover of her soul.

Again, as preacher here, what she needs---it seems to me--is Jesus.

And I gotta' say that I find it funny that so many entertainers feel and fuel the impulse to 'connect' to 'make a difference' to reach out, to 'minister' to their audience.

It's like the 'all rappers want to be basketball players and all basketball players want to rappers' thing.  

It might be that entertainers and preachers are similar people with similar giftings.

Just radically difference sources.

T