Televangelist Joel Osteen is focus of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” episode
Joel Osteen, whose Houston megachurch Lakewood Church has about 13,000 members, will be featured on the next episode of “Oprah’s Next Chpater” Sunday, Jan. 8 on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network.
The televangelist will be the focus of a one-hour interview by Winfrey . 
Winfrey traveled to Houston to meet Osteen (pictured) and observe his service at Lakewood, an OWN news release stated.
Winfrey then joined Osteen and his wife, Victoria, for lunch at their home, marking the first time they have opened their home to outside cameras, the news release said.
“Oprah spoke to them about faith, marriage, power and ego,” the release said.
Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming episode: Oprah interviews Joel Osteen
Check your local listings to see what time the show airs in your area.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
#Newsok
Muslim reality show premieres tonight
Saad Mohammad with the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City reminded me via Facebook about tonight’s premiere of the new reality show “All-American Muslim.”
The show is to air at 9 p.m. on TLC (Cox channel 40). 
Here’s what TLC has to say about the show:
“What is it like to be Muslim in America? TLC answers that question with All-American Muslim, a powerful series that goes inside the rarely seen world of American Muslims to uncover a unique community struggling to balance faith and nationality in a post 9/11 world.
All-American Muslim follows the daily lives of five American Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan, one of the most established and largest concentrations of American Muslims in the country. Each episode offers an intimate look at customs and celebrations, as well as misconceptions, conflicts, and differences these families face outside and within their own community.”
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I think it sounds like an interesting show. A few months ago, The Oklahoman’s Life section featured a short story that included information about it.
I thought I’d remind readers about the premiere.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Behind the scenes of “Courageous”
“Courageous,” the new feature film from Sherwood Pictures, is set to premiere on Sept. 30.
Lots of Oklahoma churches have indicated they will support the film when it hits the big screen.
A cable channel is offering a behind-the-scenes look of the movie’s filming tonight. “The Making of Courageous” premieres on the Gospel Music Channel, also known as GMC, at 7 p.m. tonight. A bonus showing is set to air at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 25.
The faith-inspired movie tells the story of of four law enforcement officers as they are challenged to be better fathers.
“The Making of Courageous” shows how 1,500 volunteers worked with a professional crew to create the movie
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Something to make “Seinfield” fans giggle: A jailtime Festivus
It’s the beginning of the work week and we could all probably use a good laugh.
Well, I have one for you. At least it made me laugh … and I’m not necessarily a fan of the hit TV show, now defunct, “Seinfield.” 
It’s an interesting report from the Associated Press. Read on:
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — An inmate in California who disliked salami was able to receive kosher meals after his attorney cited the “Seinfeld” holiday Festivus as his religious belief.
The Orange County Register reported Monday that 38-year-old convicted drug dealer Malcolm Alarmo King asked for kosher meals at the Theo Lacy jail to maintain his physique.
Orange County sheriff’s officials reserve such meals for inmates with religious needs, so a judge demanded a religious reason for King to get the meals.
His defense attorney, Fred Thiagarajah, cited his client’s devotion to Festivus — the holiday celebrated on the hit TV show with an aluminum pole and the airing of grievances.
Sheriff’s spokesman Ryan Burris says King got salami-free meals for two months before the county got the order thrown out in court.
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OK, if you want to see what Festivus is all about, the cable channel TBS is showing “Seinfield” episodes featuring the imaginary holiday on Dec. 22.
The channel’s website states that four episodes, being called “A Seinfield Festivus,” will air back-to-back beginning at 8 p.m. Central time.
Stay tuned.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Thursday hodgepodge
Thursday is one of those days that always gets too busy before I even realize what’s going on.
Perhaps it’s because Friday is just around the corner.
Whatever the deal is, I find that on Thursdays I can take a little more time than usual to search out some of the religion news of the week that you may or may not have read about:
1. Just found out that Johnny Cash is to be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Here’s a link for more information about Cash and his connection to gospel music: Cash and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
2. The Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog has launched a new video series about religion and politics. The series discusses “The God Vote” in its first foray into faith and politics: “The God Vote” video.
3. I’m an avid fan of ”Top Chef,” the BRAVO reality TV series that pits chefs against one another (all in good fun) for cash and prizes. Just found out that Gail Simmons, the host and consulting producer of the new “Top Chef: Just Desserts” is Jewish. I saw her name on the Forward 50, an annual list released today by the Forward, a national weekly Jewish newspaper covering current, national and international news. The weekly put together the list of 50 men and women who the editors have chosen as people who have made a significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year.
According to Forward, Simmons speaks passionately about her mother’s Jewish cooking though her love of Jewish food is rarely evident on “Top Chef.”
Here’s a link to the list: Forward 50.
Incidently the list includes an additional two people who the editors think might surprise some folks. I featured them a few months ago on this blog. Look at the list to find out who they are and why they made the Jewish weekly’s list.
4. This isn’t news yet, or at least the story has made it to the newsstands or computer screen just yet, but it’s coming. Look for information about the new pastor of Crossroads Church in Saturday’s Oklahoman. The Rev. Terry Barriss was elected pastor by the south Oklahoma City congregation in September. Longtime Oklahoma City residents may remember that Crossroads Church is also known as Crossroads Cathedral, one of the first megachurches in the metro. It was founded by the late Rev. Dan Sheaffer, who died in September.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Carla’s Top Ten: Religion & TV
I hope today’s column on religion themed TV shows struc
k a chord with readers.
As promised, I’m listing my favorite spirituality-infused TV episodes. It’s all in fun — nothing too serious. And I guarantee that I probably left off some of your favorites, but that’s why these are my favorites. I encourage you to create your own list, again, just for fun.
OK, I’m going to do this David Letterman style. In other words, I’ll be counting down to my No. 1 favorite episode.
I guess my picks kind of date me, but these are my favorites, so be it.
10. The Church Lady segments on Saturday Night Live. OK, this REALLY dates me. I was just a kid when Dana Harvey introduced the Church Lady (pictured) to the TV world. I probably didn’t get some of her little quips because I was young, but she was hilarious nevertheless. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a little info: Harvey dressed in drag as a prim grey-haired woman called the Church Lady. She talked about the issues of the day and gave her own smug and sanctimonious opinions about them. I gather that her snobby, ultra religious ways hit close to home for some folks and that’s why she was so funny. And she was always linking everything she didn’t like to the devil. Don’t know where Harvey got the idea for the Church Lady, but she sure was a hoot. Could it have been SATAN?!
9. Joan of Arcadia episodes. This was a short-lived show that brought stardom to its star Amber Tamblyn. The CBS show aired from 2003 to 2005. I wasn’t a regular viewer of the show, but I did watch some episodes. What I liked about it was it introduced the idea that God is interested in the everyday matters of believers. Tamblyn portrayed Joan, a teen who spoke with the Lord and performed good works according to His instructions.
8. “Touched by an Angel”: I’m going to be honest with you. I liked “Touched by an Angel,” but I thought a lot of the episodes were too sentimental and the plots were too obvious. Having said that I have to include these episodes because, like “Joan of Arcadia,” they gave the impression that God is interested in the everyday lives of His people — the good, the bad and the ugly. I hated it when Andrew, the angel of death came, but hey, death is a part of life. The good thing about “Touched by an Angel” was that it brought spirituality and the idea that God is all around us to the mainstream. The show, starring Roma Downey and Della Reese, was a huge hit for CBS so it must have resonated with viewers. In hindsight, I think the plot points were deliberatly kept simple to reach a broader audience, particularly people who had never been introduced to some of the spiritual concepts before.
7. “Oprah” episode featuring Kirk Franklin: Franklin, a Grammy Award-winning gospel recording artist, appeared on “Oprah” a few years ago to talk about his struggle with pornography and how his faith healed him from his porn addiction. The reason this episode of “Oprah” makes it into my Top 10, is that it showed a high profile celebrity being candid about his troubles and being equally as candid about the way he overcame those troubles through his faith in the Lord. Oprah couldn’t seem to relate to this. She kept inferring that Franklin would never be truly healed, but he kept insisting (bravo for him!) that he was. The concept of deliverance seemed foreign to Oprah, but Franklin held his ground. I gave him kudos for his bravery in talking about such a touchy subject and his willingness to come on national TV and tell how his struggles threatened everything he stood for and how God changed his life for the better.
6. “Law & Order SVU”: There are too many episodes to mention that include religious themes so I couldn’t really pick one. But what is worth noting is the faith of the character Detective Stabler, portrayed by Christopher Meloni. Stabler is Catholic and viewers can tell that he is devout. There have been many episodes where one gets the sense that the detective’s faith is all that keeps him going as he and his partner investigate some truly horrific crimes.
5. “Glee” — “Grilled Cheesus”: OK, I have to say that this would not necessarily be the way I would introduce a religious 
theme in a TV show BUT I like the fact that spirituality was infused in this episode, period. This is one of the most popular shows on TV right now and I have to think that the show was thought-provoking enough to get people talking about their own religious and moral truths and their moral guideposts. That’s what makes for a good episode — thought-provoking and showing different sides of the story.
4. “Seventh Heaven”: This was one of my favorite shows althought it didn’t start out that way. I watched the first couple of episodes and thought, like “Touched by an Angel,” that it was too sentimental. But later as the children’s characters grew up, it seemed that the writers of the show allowed the show to grow up as well. What I mean by that is that the episodes began to seem more realistic and depict some of the real problems and issues that face families, particularly families of teens, these days. Following the lives of the Camden family which was headed by a minister, the show eventually tackled some tough issues like teen pregnancy, teen rebellion (remember all the drama with Mary, the Camden daughter portrayed by Jessica Biel?) and suicide. I don’t know if I had any favorites, but I think I particularly like the episodes that showed the Camden children resolving their tough issues in realistic ways. In other words, sometimes situations were resolved in ways that didn’t leave everyone happy or satisfied, but that’s life, right?
3. “Fraiser” — The “Star Mitzvah” episode: I loved “Frasier” when it was on and I still watch the reruns at night at least once or twice a week. This episode is the one where Frasier is trying to learn to say a short little speech in Hebrew so he can say it at his son Freddy’s bar mitzvah. His co-worker Noel promises he will teach Frasier to say the speech in Hebrew, but he wants Frasier to get him an autograph at an upcoming Star Trek convention. Of course, Frasier being Frasier, he scoffs at Noel’s request. Noel gets revenge by teaching Frasier the speech — in Klingon, a language that the devoted Trekkie Noel has obviously studied seriously. Anyway, the episode culminates with Frasier saying the speech in a language that is clearly not Hebrew. It’s one of the funniest “Frasier” episodes, maybe the funniest. I liked it for the hilarity but also the way they incorporated Freddy’s Jewish heritage into the episode.
2. “The Good Wife,” episode entitled “Boom”: This show, now in its sophomore season, stars Julianna Margulies (of “ER” fame) and Chris Noth (Some folks may know him as Mr. Big from “Sex in the City”). Last season, the show featured an episode about a newspaper being sued for negligence because it ran a cartoon image of the Prophet Muhammad. One of the newspapers editors was killed when someone threw a bomb in the newspaper building. A radical Islamic terrorist group claimed responsibility for the fatal bombing, but there was an interesting twist and viewers find that not is all that it appears on the stereotypical surface. I liked this episode because it resonated with me as a journalist. I was especially intrigued about the ethical questions that surrounded the whole issue of the cartoon. Should a newspaper or any media entity be held liable if it prints a cartoon of a religious figure and the cartoon incites violence? Then, another question arose: Is it ethical for a newspaper or media outlet to print or air something solely for the shock value (and the resulting spike in circulation), even knowing that it might stir violence or put someone in serious jeapordy? Is there a sensitivity to religion and religious figures that should come in to play when these questions are being debated? Anyway, I thought it was a thought-provoking episode.
1.Friends” — “The One With the Holiday Armadillo.” I loved “Friends” on NBC and still watch the reruns. Ross is perhaps my favorite character and in this episode, he is trying to teach his son Ben about Hanukkah. Prior to this episode, I don’t think I had realized that Monica and Ross, who are sister and brother, are Jewish. So Ross prepares to spend some time with Ben and tell him about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
‘Glee’ gets religion
If you are a die-hard Gleek, you know that last night’s “Glee” episode tackled the weighty subject of spirituality?
What did you think about the show?
Let me know by posting a comment in this blog’s comment section or send me an e-mail at chinton@opubco.com.
And yes, just so you know, I would probably be catergorized as a Gleek. I sang in the school choir in middle school and high school, took show choir my senior year (lots of singing and dancing — at the same time!) and I have sung in the church choir for many years. We didn’t have a Glee club at my high school, but I identify with the characters on the show … well, some of them.
Here’s what some other folks are saying about last night’s “Glee” episode:
USA Today’s Faith & Reason blog: “Glee mashes up God, music, religion — and Satanic Sue”
The Atlantic: “Glee gets religion … with mixed results”
The TV Column, The Washington Post: “Glee tackles religion, swallows grilled cheese”
The Deacon’s Bench, Beliefnet.com: “Don’t stop believing: Glee gets religion”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Welcome to the Jesus Shore, Snooki
What’s the difference between the “Jesus Shore” and the “Jersey Shore”?
Lots, say the members of Move the Earth ministry.
The Associated Press reports that the ministry recently held a free concert promoting “PTL” or praise the Lord near the place where the cast of MTV’s hit show “Jersey Shore” enjoy “GTL,” or the gym, tan and laundry lifestyle.
The AP reported that Move the Earth ministry organized a “Jesus Shore” event Monday on the Seaside Heights, N.J., boardwalk as an alternative to the “fighting and fornicating” organizers say the reality TV show celebrates.
The Rev. Anthony Storino, pastor of Abundant Grace Church, told the Associated Press that they are not against the MTV show, but want to show that there is another side to the Jersey shore.
The concert featured Christian bands and a Christian-themed tattoo contest. Vendors also sold Christian books and T-shirts.
(AP Photo: Members of the popular MTV show “Jersey Shore” pose for a photograph.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
A minister’s perspective of Comic-Con
Christianity Today’s online component featured an interesting article by Tony Kim (pictured), a Irvine, Calif. pastor who is a regular attendee of Comic-Con. 
Kim, pastor of Newchurch, has some interesting comments to share about the pop culture convention that draws thousands each year.
Here’s what he had to say: “A Comic-Con Recap from a ‘Pastor of the Nerds’.
(AP Photo: Photographers take pictures of Comic-Con attendees dressed as their favorite super heroes during the 2010 convention in San Diego, Calif.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Opposition to JC on TV (Comedy Central, that is)
Opposition is being organized against a new animated show to feature Jesus Christ in a modern day setting.
The show is in the “idea” stage at Comedy Central, but some people are already doubtful about its merits. 
The Associated Press is reporting that Citizens Against Religious Bigotry is a newly formed coalition that doesn’t want to see the Jesus Christ cartoon show air — ever.
The AP reports that the coalition is accusing Comedy Central of a double standard in mocking Christian figures and beliefs while recently refusing to let the animated show “South Park” depict the Prophet Muhammad for fear of offending Muslims.
The coalition includes the Catholic League, Media Research Center, the Parents Television Council and talk show host Michael Medved.
For more about this brewing controversy in Saturday’s Oklahoman.
(Photo: Jesus Christ, as depicted in an episode of Comedy Central’s show “South Park.”)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
