Roy Lloyd: Reality TV or Worship?

Reality TV programs provide the intimate details of the lives of young adults in New Jersey, housewives, women police officers, and mothers with litters of children. 

The creators of "Kourtney and Kim Take New York" wanted a segment where the two Kardashian sisters go to church.  So the producer asked the senior pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian about filming the Kardashians attending a service.  The minister politely said "no," adding that they were welcome to come to church, but not to have it be a reality event. 

The producer then suggested capturing the women walking down the aisle and lighting a candle.  The bemused minister again said "no." 

Good for him!  People should attend worship services, not be participants in a reality TV show that turns a spiritual occasion into a commercial one. 

Worship should be a time of communal commitment to caring for each other and God's world, confessing and forgiving, and a humble pledge to be instruments of God's peace.  That kind of reality might be very helpful to the Kardashians, but, somehow, I doubt that ever makes it into TV land. 

This is Roy Lloyd.

[Originally presented as a commentary on 1010 WINS Radio in New York City.]