Preachers’ sermons resonate even from beyond the grave

WASHINGTON (RNS)—On the Sunday after Easter, famed Southern Baptist preacher Adrian Rogers appeared on Trinity Broadcasting Network, asking his congregation in suburban Memphis to turn to a passage of the Gospel of John.

Within hours, D. James Kennedy was on Ion Television, comparing Americans who have drifted away from God toward secular humanism to the New Testament’s prodigal son.

Both evangelical preachers, along with radio broadcaster J. Vernon McGee, have something in common. They all died years—and in McGee’s case, decades—ago.

But their messages continue via TV, radio and the Internet, even as some listeners probably don’t even know they’re long gone.

“McGee, of course, is king of the hill,” said Frank Wright, president and CEO of the Virginia-based National Religious Broadcasters. “He is today the most widely listened-to Christian broadcaster anywhere in the world.”

The three broadcasters, Wright said, remain on the airwaves because of their knack for telling “timeless stories” and their focus on the unchanging texts of the Bible.

When Wright worked at Kennedy’s Center for Christian Statesmanship in Washington 14 years ago, he would listen to McGee on the radio as he drove to the commuter-train station.

“I listened to the guy for 3 1/2 years before I knew he was dead,” Wright recalled. “I was captivated by his kind of homey preaching style and had no idea that he had gone on to be with the Lord.”

Leo Karlyn, president of McGee’s Thru the Bible Radio Network in Pasadena, Calif., said the ministry, which began in 1967, has expanded to the Internet and added a Facebook page a few months ago. He expects McGee would be surprised the ministry continues.

Both Kennedy, who died in 2007, and Rogers, who died in 2005, set up separate broadcast ministries that have continued even as their pulpits have been filled by successors.

Tullian Tchividjian, grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, has been in Kennedy’s pulpit at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., since Easter, but Kennedy is the one seen on the television program, “The Coral Ridge Hour.”

Quentin Schultze, a Calvin College communication professor and editor of Understanding Evangelical Media: The Changing Face of Christian Communication, said the Internet, especially, has given religious broadcasters a second lease on life, even as the first lease expired.

“In the age of the Internet, such ministers will not likely survive on pricey broadcast media,” he said. “But they will continue to be available online and through computer downloads to iPods and other personal players.”

Bill Skelton, president and CEO of Love Worth Finding, said the Tennessee ministry founded by Rogers runs on about 13,000 U.S. television outlets and 1,800 radio stations worldwide. His Internet sermons were downloaded 1.7 million times last year.

“His own words were, ‘While the messenger’s gone home, the message must continue,’” said Skelton, who also is chairman of the NRB board.

“It may sound a little bit macabre to say this: I think as long as people turn on their radio and turn on their television sets and hear somebody teaching and preaching truths that are relevant to this life, the fact that he is alive or not is really not the important thing.”