She [Faytene] is just like Michael Jordan?

[Posted at Bene Diction Blogs On Jan 7, 2012] Robert Grasseschi, no doubt under the mentoring of his evangelist wife Faytene, is picking up how to speak in charismatic churches. But Robert, who says he used to be an adept basketball player, rhetorically bounced his three point shot off the rim recently. The couple were guests roughly a couple of weeks ago at the North Hollywood, California church of evangelist Toure Roberts. Apparently, One Church International is quite hip and popular from what Roberts says. He has to turn away potential guest speakers. And also the church has a strong interest in the arts. The couple are apparently friends of Roberts. So it would be quite natural in the run up to Faytene's The Cry Hollywood initiative, that she would want to talk about what she hopes to do with "cool" perhaps younger, Christians who could lend a hand. One of their videotaped sermons is posted online here. Faytene has some interesting things to say, but a couple things strike me as worth noting. Robert is up first, introducing Faytene. I like Robert. He seems affable and friendly. But how he goes about it winds up being accidentally funny, with a possibly jarring subtext. Robert shares for a moment about how he used to be a college basketball point guard, until an injury led him to pursue acting and modelling. At 2:42, he adds this:

"...And when you're a point guard, and you have this amazing scorer [he moves his hand towards Faytene], you just drive right, like with [Michael] Jordan and Vince Carter, you just throw it by the rim, and it made you look real good, like the point guards that they played with didn't even have to do anything. They just went like this, turned the ball up, you know, they touched the top of the backboard and dunked it, it was still all set. That's how my wife is. She's an amazing finisher. It's just like where is she alright, there she is..."

Faytene a finisher? Well, Stephen Harper saying that Canadians will never be able to change the laws on abortion as long as he is prime minister is one "success" that comes to mind. I appreciate Robert's analogy--it's appropriate for him--but comparing any Christian who is trying to ostensibly be humble in serving the Lord to Michael Jordan is just over the top. Robert could use that analogy without using any names and have it work quite well . He is understandably proud of his wife. But it strikes me as saying something like she is "another Billy Graham". Recall the Bible verses that talk about Christ's analogy not seating yourself at a banquet. Don't take the honoured seats in case you are asked to move, rather, wait to be brought to a better seat. Praise is of real merit when it comes from others and not you. And the apparent fact that Robert sems not to be defaulting to humility--at least in this instance--is a little worrisome. But we perhaps attribute it to Robert being a beginner on the sawdust trail. Faytene herself does go on to say something which may be quietly significant. I'll discuss that in a future post.