Call 1-800... For A Relationship With Jesus Christ

Last night, after a busy day of preaching, I spent part of my evening relaxing by flipping channels. I ended up spending a few minutes watching channel 4, which was airing a Billy Graham special. Franklin Graham, Billy's son, was preaching. I only caught a few minutes of Franklin's sermon, but the portion that I heard was a rather decent presentation of the gospel.But here's what ticked me off. Throughout the broadcast, this is what was posted in the right hand corner of the TV screen:For a relationship with Jesus Christ, call1-800-631-7141That ticks me off. This ticks me off because of what it communicates. This little logo communicates the silly, theologically erroneous, man-centered, and mechanistic idea that one can establish a relationship with Jesus through calling a 1-800 number.Now, I kow that the Billy Graham Association means well with this logo, but I find it troubling. It's an over adaptation and concession to our consumer culture. Whether someone comes across this 1-800 opportunity simply through flipping channels or through actually watching the broadcast, one can be led to believe that becoming a Christian is quite the same as ordering the latest product on offer:just call 1-800-631-7141 and you can order your very own edition of a relationship with Jesus.Just for fun, I called the number. A recorded voice greeted me and instructed me to "press 1" if I was "calling about my relationship with Jesus." I pressed 1. After 7 rings a different recorded voice greeted me and told me that my call was being routed. After waiting on hold for a short bit, I hung up.