For those of you wanting to read the next chapter in my interview with Ted Haggard, do not despair! I promise, it will get here. The reasons I haven’t yet released it are rather boring, but there ARE reasons. Just stick with me for a few…  it’ll be worth the wait.

Today I’d like to share some TV footage with you. If you watch TBN, you’ve undoubtedly seen Breakthrough with Rod Parsley, as I’ve been told it’s one of their top three programs.  In April of this year, I received an email asking if I would be interested in appearing on the show.  At the time, I’d never heard of Pastor Parsley, so I searched Google for information about him and the show.  What I found from that search led me to believe that Rod is very… hmm, how do I describe this… “televangelist”, and to be honest, some of the things I found reminded me of my childhood and could easily have turned my stomach, but I chose to look for positives.  And there were plenty of positives to be found once I landed in Columbus, Ohio to meet with his staff and begin filming.  Positives such as this morsel:  did you know that Rod Parsley’s World Harvest Church has a team that attempts to be amongst the first on scene helping when natural disasters strike?  Tidbits like that ensured my heart remained soft towards Rod’s ministry.

Rod Parsey's "Breakthrough" Studio

Besides… the people there treated me like an absolute KING.  I was put up in a decent hotel room, had an “attendant” that anticipated my every need, and didn’t meet an unfriendly person during my entire stay.  The experience was beautiful!

But I had to wear a suit (which I found, still brand new, for $7 at a Salvation Army thrift store – Yes, I said SEVEN DOLLARS)!  Fortunately they didn’t require a tie.

Although we’d only planned to film one show (actually, half of one show – the other half to be shared with another guest), upon discussions with Rod and his staff I was asked if I’d come back the next morning for another filming.  They felt there was so much that needed to be shared, the original time allotted just wasn’t going to be enough.

In the first show, after Rod Parsley’s opening segment he and I speak for awhile, then the second half of the show is spent talking with Pat Trueman, former Chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, U. S. Department of Justice – a man who used to argue in front of the Supreme Court.  He speaks about how there are anti-porn laws already in existence that simply aren’t being enforced.  If you’ve been a long time reader of mine you know it is my opinion that legislation will never change hearts, and only education done with a big fat dose of Jesus’ Love can do so.  That being said, many of you will undoubtedly find Pat’s segment interesting.  I know my mother definitely did!

Here’s a Rebroadcast of that first show, shared with permission of Rod Parsley:

Click To Play

For the second show, Rod had Debbie Stacy, the Director of his Center for Moral Clarity, do an in depth interview with me.  My segment takes up the majority of the show, and there are no other guests.

Here’s the second show:

Click To Play

Even as I write this article, I’ve been direct messaged on twitter to let me know TBN is re-broadcasting one of the shows today.  It’s been on several times in the last month, so I am assuming feedback has been positive.  I’ve received emails from around the world from people who have seen it.  What a small world we live in!

Let me know what you think!

On July 13th I purchased my iPhone. Because I’d recently had a house foreclosed upon and autos and other “sparkley things” repossessed, activating it was a frustrating experience. AT&T wanted a $1,000 deposit, which I felt was a bit excessive, especially after spending $600 bucks on the phone itself. One thing I’ve learned is that there are few things in life which are completely set in stone, so after speaking to several different employees and a manager or two on the telephone, the deposit was reduced to $500. That deposit is returned 6 months later if all payments have been made on time. “Six months later”, dear constant reader, is January 13th, 2008… just a handful of days from today.

Earlier this afternoon I was in Red Bluff, California at Walmart looking for a large candy cane for Caden’s stocking… you know, those really big ones that are two or three inches thick and a foot long? My search for the candy cane was unsuccessful, but I did find a few presents he’d asked Santa to bring his cat.

Next on my agenda was a present for my brother: getting his AT&T prepaid cell number transferred to my account as a second line so that he no longer has to worry about refilling his minutes. I don’t use all my own minutes now that I’m using the same network as the people I call the most. I’m building up quite the collection of “rollover minutes” and I have no doubts that Daniel can help me take care of those. I figured a quick call to customer service would take care of it, but I quickly learned that I’d have to go to an AT&T store. Despite the fact that his prepaid phone is through AT&T, a new simm card is needed. My favorite AT&T store was 45 minutes away, so off I headed.

My preconceived notion was that this whole process was going to be a hassle, and I allowed my attitude to sour as I headed to the door. Cort, the lucky employee who greeted me as I walked in, was friendly enough. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Cort handed me a list of family plans, I selected one, and he started typing away into the computer. Just a few minutes later and something on the screen made him pick up the phone to call customer service.

AT&T wanted another $500 deposit for that second line. I was (ahem) a very happy man at this point.

Those who know me best can verify I have a sharp tongue from time to time. As a teenager, I remember telling my parents in cutting language just how much smarter I was than them. When I really want to make myself feel good, words are chosen to demonstrate my intellectual superiority to the person on the receiving end of my verbal barrage. I am working on this part of me. Today I lost that battle.

As Cort hung up the phone I put on my best condescending attitude and let him know that it would be nice if SOMEONE around here was able to do a little critical thinking, notice that I already had a $500 deposit on file that would soon be returned, and ask the customer service rep (or supervisor) on the other end of the phone if they’d simply apply that deposit toward the new line instead of crediting it to my account as scheduled on January 13th. A few more sharp words with a dose of “extra attitude” escaped my lips, and Cort was back on the phone, this time handing it to me so that I could speak with the representative myself.

As I left the store I felt less than proud of the hypocrite I’d been, completely forgetting to show the love for others I’d like to believe I possess. There was no way to take back my words, and a simple “I’m sorry” didn’t seem to be enough. Instead I walked to the nearby Target and picked up a $15 gift card. On the back I wrote, “Nobody deserves to be treated like that. I apologize.”

God’s definitely got a lot of work left to do on this creature, dear constant reader.

Oh, guess what? I still didn’t get my way! I must either pony up another $500 or wait until the 13th to apply that existing deposit toward the second line.

(Sorry, Cort)