What Is Your Message?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-20

Are you ever surprised at the amount and popularity of “reality-TV” shows? I remember checking out a now-canceled program entitled The Messengers on The Learning Channel (TLC). Due to the spiritual shallowness of shows such as American Idol and Survivor, I had to admit that at first I was suspicious about the depth of such a program. But I was surprised at how inspired and challenged I became. The power and force of the spoken word and the motivation it inspires were the essence of this program. The Messengers was an eight-part series that had a simple yet lofty goal: to find America’s next great inspirational speaker. It showcased 10 speakers from a variety of perspectives, and explored their ability to communicate the many complexities of life’s toughest lessons. Along the way, the speakers addressed issues that viewers face in their everyday lives and communities.

The foundation of each episode was a field trip designed to give the speakers a profound learning experience – the opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes. In the first episode, I saw the participants face the harsh reality of homelessness. They spent 24 hours on the streets of Skid Row in Los Angeles and then delivered speeches based on the topic of charity. In subsequent episodes, the field trips ranged from the participants living as a blind or wheelchair-bound individual for a day, to sharing in a powerful moment of forgiveness between a man convicted of vehicular homicide and the deceased’s mother. At the end of each field trip, the group was given their speaking topic – one simple word such as hope, perseverance or forgiveness, to use as the basis for their speeches.
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