Christians and Reality Shows by Steve Watters on 09/22/2006 at 11:15 AM

How would you expect Christians to come across in reality shows? The pressure for Christians can be especially strong in shows like The Amazing Race, that often position them as Christians and zoom in on the prayers they pray before jumping off a waterfall (or whatever death-defying roadblock they have to face).

During the first season of The Amazing Race, my wife and I were curious to see how Brennan (a guy we knew from our time at Regent University) would do. His team won that first season, but he didn't necessarily set the standard for how Christians do on reality shows. Because he was positioned as a lawyer instead of a Christian, there was less pressure. Overall, he came across as a nice guy, but the word or two he let slip under pressure would have appeared more problematic if his Christianity had been hyped.

Even though Amazing Race is one of the better reality shows, my attention has waned over the years because of some of the lifestyles and cattiness it seems to dwell on. But I'm tempted to check in again this season to see how another Christian competitor does. She's positioned as a former Miss California, but "Dustin" is also a Christian who attended the Focus on the Family Institute in the fall of 2003.

Of course, the kind of pressure this show dishes out can get to anyone, but here's hoping "Dustin" handles it well.

Christians and Reality Shows by Steve Watters on 09/22/2006 at 11:15 AM

How would you expect Christians to come across in reality shows? The pressure for Christians can be especially strong in shows like The Amazing Race, that often position them as Christians and zoom in on the prayers they pray before jumping off a waterfall (or whatever death-defying roadblock they have to face).

During the first season of The Amazing Race, my wife and I were curious to see how Brennan (a guy we knew from our time at Regent University) would do. His team won that first season, but he didn't necessarily set the standard for how Christians do on reality shows. Because he was positioned as a lawyer instead of a Christian, there was less pressure. Overall, he came across as a nice guy, but the word or two he let slip under pressure would have appeared more problematic if his Christianity had been hyped.

Even though Amazing Race is one of the better reality shows, my attention has waned over the years because of some of the lifestyles and cattiness it seems to dwell on. But I'm tempted to check in again this season to see how another Christian competitor does. She's positioned as a former Miss California, but "Dustin" is also a Christian who attended the Focus on the Family Institute in the fall of 2003.

Of course, the kind of pressure this show dishes out can get to anyone, but here's hoping "Dustin" handles it well.