Take the presentation and showmanship out of religion and see if God’s word still sells. No smoke, No mirrors. That might expose more truth and a back to basics sell in religious broadcasting.

I am not wanting to destroy the business, I think this approach could bring more VALUE and TRUTH in brodcasting religion, with less light on the biblical interpreter or in many cases the star of the show! Is it to late or even doable in this day and time ?

Walt
(not in the industry)

This is a good argument for separating the managment and auditing/review process and not having those who have a motive to protect their own interests over the interests of the organization in charge of both.

It's also worth stating that a professional opinion, while it is paid for and should be given as truth, can be sincere, but also sincerely wrong.  Consultants, in my opinion, need to maintain some humility in the process as well and recognize what it is hard and fast truth and what is opinion and be able to differentiate between the two of them in giving an assessment.

Think about a doctor who performs surgery on you: The doctor has to cut you and dig deep and maybe even tear down some things in order to rebuild and strethen your body’s internal structure. Does it hurt? Yes. It would hurt a WHOLE LOT MORE if not for anesthesia!

The anesthesia is the “in Love” part of how we should tell the truth… in love. The love aspect enables a hearer of truth to be better able to receive it into their lives – especially when it hurts. The truth will often hurt when it contradicts what we believe about ourselves, but ultimately if embraced, decisions based on its foundation will yield growth and new life.

Jesus said that, “if we believe in Him and continue in His words then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.” Ultimately, to surgercoat an issue is to allow someone (who needs to hear the truth) to walk around with an unrealistic view of themselves – in essence at some level they are living a lie.

Allen Paul Weaver III
author, Transition: Breaking Through the Barriers
http://www.allenpaulweaveriii.com
http://www.transitionunleashed.com

1) You always know where you stand with us;

2) You always know where you stand with us.

In other words, if we're saying something you don't like, you know it's the truth; and if we're saying something you do like, we're telling the truth.

I like what APWIII said above: it's the "telling the truth in love" that's always the key to sharing our thoughts.

As a consultant myself, I'm always told "hey, tell us like it is; that's why we hired you." But what many people really mean is "tells us the stuff that's negotiable, but don't bother with our non-negotiables." Now insomuch as being honest and evaluating the why as much (or more) than the how or the what, those 'non-negotiables' may be the very things that need the most change. It's one thing to not change the Scriptural and doctrinal truths; it's another to get past the "but we've always done it that way" mentality.

Phil, take it as a compliment: being told you're brutally honest affirms that you're not talking to make a buck, but often bucking them to let you talk.

1. The easy way (via other people's mistakes)

2. The hard way (via our own mistakes)

3. The tragic way (when its too late)

I know as a parent sometimes you have to stand back and let your kids fail a bit, otherwise they simply will not listen to you. Then you come in softly and tenderly and show them how to win.

I think this is the key to success in many areas (not just TV ministry). The first step is admitting failure.

As the old saying goes; "when the student is ready, the teacher arrives". 

The leader responded, “Because Phil is brutally honest, and I don’t think we’re ready for that.”

 All I can say to something like that is WOW! It would set me back too.

It's exhausting work to tell the truth to people who are going to be sad, enraged, frightened or disappointed.  Their emotions wear me out.  When they act out, it's so tiring that I make my relationship with them less personal than it previously was.  It's how I leverage a bit of peace for myself.  Truthfulness is a matter of integrity, but peace is a matter of survival.

It's one thing to be hired as a consultant and tell the client something he finds uncomfortable.   It's another to maintain a relationship over time with someone who tantrums over the smallest exposure to uncomfortable information. 

If you came in and told one of my tantrum throwers something s/he didn't want to hear, I'd drop to my knees and thank God.  It would spare me the necessity of doing it myself and taking the flak.  

There are lots of people who bend the truth or lie by omission to keep the tantrum throwers on even keel.  I used to be annoyed with these folks, but I'm coming to understand them better.  At the very least, I sympathize.  If the tantrum throwers of the world don't hear the truth as often as the rest of us, maybe it's at least partly their fault. 

I'm betting a lot of employees are grateful when a hired consultant comes in and tells the boss hard truths.   After all, if they told a certain type of boss something he didn't want to hear, the retaliation would be swift and sure.

Phil, you lost one potential client. So what? You'll get another, already have scores. Your phone rings everyday because you work in the 0.1% of Christian media that gets listened to. Pastors who think "if I can just get PHIL to get me on TV." Or, "Phil can make my show BETTER, I know he can." How many of your clients know the truth…but are reluctant to do anything about it? Plenty. Wussies.

Your post makes sense…gotta tell the truth. Gracious, real, honest, whenever possible. Jesus wouldn't have it any other way.

But beware the Hammer & Nails.

When I first read Phil's account, I was thinking this ministry leader simply knows that he and the organization are not quite ready to be 'students' as you're old saying goes. He was simply being brutally honest and wise that Phil's candor on a situation might hurt more than help … right now. But maybe in the future the organization can be wise enough to take the brutal honesty that may be necessary for them to learn and grow.

Phil, I bow down in your general direction for delivering “brutal truth” — I have witnessed it at a major media ministry that I brought you into. It is now about 2 years into that contract, and major changes are happening. The bad news was not received when given by staff, but when they paid a fairly good amount, and flew the consultant in, they would have been stupid not to at least hear you out. Thank you.

Face it — these leaders have built something and it has grown and for them to hear and act on new advice is to admit that they don’t have all the answers and that they are not infallable and that they are a bit more human than they probably want to admit. Often a catharsis has to take place before hearing happens, and then action is a whole other topic.

Tell the truth, keep working and praying toward excellence and keep your resume polished and your network intact.