Watch This!: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism

Religion, Race, and Ethnicity Series

by Jonathan L. Walton

Through their constant television broadcasts, mass video distributions, and printed publications, African American religious broadcasters have a seemingly ubiquitous presence in popular culture. They are on par with popular entertainers and athletes in the African American community as cultural icons even as they are criticized by others for taking advantage of the devout in order to subsidize their lavish lifestyles.For these reasons questions abound. Do televangelists proclaim the message of the gospel or a message of greed? Do they represent the authentic voice of the black church or the Christian Right in blackface? Does the phenomenon reflect orthodox Christianity or ethnocentric Americaninity wrapped in religious language?Watch This! seeks to move beyond such polarizing debates by critically delving into the dominant messages and aesthetic styles of African American televangelists and evaluating their ethical implications.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Church

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Dr. Jonathan L. Walton serves as the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University and Pusey Minister in Harvard’s Memorial Church.

Reviews

[Susie Meister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walton describes the Prosperity Gospel and how the wealth of the leaders is "divinely ordained" and hypermasculine models of God's power. He notes how African-American Prosperity Theology elevates women from their negative stereotypes to "God's leading ladies". Walton notes how the form and function of the minsitry often reflects the pastor's personal narrative. Using Weber's designation of charisma, Walton discusses how the crowd and pastor create a relationship to validate the pastor's authority. He describes how Jakes represents how the commodification of black religious life expanded into a larger self-help market. Bishop Long simultaneously has the righteous indignation of the previous black preachers, but adaptes to postdenominational climate. Walton ends with the point that African-Americans too represent American culture despite being often ignored in scholarship.
Informed by:
Schultze, Horsfield, and Hoover present emergence of religious broadcasting as a contestation between mainliners and evangelicals.
Frankl and Hadden see electronic church as stemming from the 2nd Great Awakening.
Bruce excludes African-American televangelism because he and most researchers are focused on Christian Right (also published in 1990 before black televangelism exploded). Hendershot also excludes African-Americans because she argues evangelical media is made by and for whites.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walton has written a terrific introduction to some of the most influential figures in Black preaching today. Any general reader interested in how the cultural icons of the civil rights era gave way to the spectacles we see now on television will find here an accessible and perceptive guide. Walton writes better than most academics and gives plenty of space to his subjects' own eloquence. Politically-minded readers will find the book especially helpful, if often disquieting from a liberal perspective.

As scholarship, now: The great strength of Walton's work is how he balances a thick, nuanced understanding of Black televangelists with sociological and theological critique. This is what African-American religious studies is capable of today. Its best practitioners show how scholars can, in fact, learn from each other across lines of discipline and methodology, in order to produce a broader understanding. Walton is a model for us all.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Appeals to the cultural myths of American success, black victimology, and the Strong Black Man legitimize conservative and anecdotally based views that contradict the liberating intent of televangelists. They may also serve to anesthetize participants to the unjust ordering of the larger society even as persons seek to reolutionize their own world." (16)

"Instead of using a single defining term, I posit three dominant ecclesiastical perspectives that make up this contemporary religious phenomenon: the neo-Pentecostal, Charismatic mainline, and Word of Faith perspectives." (77)

TD Jakes's theology: infinite compassion of God, reconciliation, optimism

Eddie Long's theology: respect, submission, obedience

Creflo Dollar's theology: higher life in Christ, positive confession, seedtime and harvest

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great book and a worthwhile purchase/read. I found myself really annoyed--almost upset--by the author's gross oversimplification of gender, particularly as it relates to masculinity. It's as if he were just gung ho about appeasing every liberal religion scholar without being bold enough to nuance masculinity or to draw necessary connections between his presentation of these preachers and the issues he's raised. But, hey, read it for yourself... it's still awesome!

[Sean-david · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a careful and important look into a segment of the American Church that has often been ignored by scholars, Black Televangelism. Whether we like it or not, Televangelism is has far reaching impacts on people, culture, and the Church. This text looks specifically at some of the most influential Black Televangelists and their contributions (for better or worse) to the culture of American Christianity, specifically within the Black Church tradition.