“Preachers’ Daughters” – making a spectacle of Christianity

By: American Decency Staff

“Preachers’ Daughters” – a reality series on the cable channel Lifetime – follows three real-life pastors and their families, showcasing the pastors’ rebellious, wayward teen daughters.   Lifetime’s website describes the show “Preachers’ Daughters” as “following the lives of three families for a behind-the-altar look at what happens at home after the sermon concludes …”

Read between the lines of what the purpose of the show really is.  The “behind-the-altar look” is Lifetime TV’s exposé of “good” girls behaving badly.  The producers of the show must salivate as they capture the preachers’ daughters “falling into temptation.”

Take Action!  Click here to send a message to the advertisers sponsoring this salacious depiction of Christianity. (See advertiser list below.)

Each week Lifetime displays scripture verses to showcase Christian hypocrisy.  This week one of the verses listed was:  “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The show proceeds to show 17 year-old Taylor rebelling against her parent’s restrictions.  Early in the episode her parents meet with a boy she wants to date. They talk about their expectations and discuss the significance of the purity ring their daughter wears.  Later the daughter is shown purposefully taking off her purity ring before sneaking out her bedroom room window to meet her boyfriend.    She also complains about having to spend time with the Christian girls from her father’s church, stating:  “My church friends are kind of conservative and reserved while my regular friends have a lot, a lot of fun that I don’t think Christians would consider Christ-like.”

Lifetime shows another form of hypocrisy in another pastor’s family where a daughter tells of how her now divorced parents (both involved in ministry) would fight bitterly behind the scenes, but would put on fake smiles at church.  “Our family is happy faces all the time, just be Christians and smile and you’ll get through everything.  Like, we’re not allowed to be sad.”

In this family the mother is an abstinence speaker and has raised her four daughters with God’s design to save sex for marriage.  One of the grown daughters reveals to her younger sisters that she wasn’t a virgin when she got married and gives the impression that there’s nothing wrong with that and nothing to be ashamed of.  She says, “Christian shame is the worst.”

She tells her quite innocent 16-year-old sister, “I don’t want you to feel any shame if you were to make a decision like I did.”  The sixteen-year-old replies that she wants to save sex until marriage because she wants God to be proud of her. 

Her sister counters, “I am proud of you no matter what.”  As if to say that striving to please God is a bad thing!  That we should just thumb our nose at God and live however we want because sin is no big deal.

The Christian parents on this show do seem very genuine and sincere.  They desire their daughters to follow after Christ.  Perhaps by allowing their lives to become a television spectacle they thought they could be a Christian witness, however, who would really think that Hollywood would give a positive portrayal of Christianity?  As the saying goes, ‘haters are going to hate.’  What should we expect from a secular entertainment industry at enmity with the holiness of God? 

However, there is one thing we as Christians can learn from the show “Preachers’ Daughters.”  It’s a reminder that our lives are a witness to a watching world – and sometimes a rather poor witness.  May we strive to live “above reproach” so that those who slander us because of our faith would see Christ in us.

“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”  (I Peter 3:15-16)

Take Action!  Click here to send a message to the advertisers sponsoring this salacious depiction of Christianity.

Sponsors of “Preachers’ Daughters include:

Oscar Mayer – Kraft
Post Shredded Wheat – Kraft
Kraft cheese
Christian Mingle
L’Oreal
Reynold’s Wrap
Red Lobster
Wendy’s
Minute Maid orange juice
Frontline Plus
Allstate Insurance
Neosporin
Care.com
Estroven
Humira
Google
Heartgard

Local advertisers:

Meijer supermarkets
Art Van Furniture
Xfinity – Comcast

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A Decency Minute with Bill Johnson
What happens at home after the sermon concludes

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