The time has come to finally address a topic that has been weighing on my mind for the last few months. And that topic is the cloying folksiness of people on Religious Radio.
Now, I'm not going to go for the easy low hanging fruit like Joyce "C'mon I'm preaching good up here" Meyer or the decidedly unbiblical cacklings of Charles "Stay with me here, it will all work out" Capps. No, I want to talk about the people pictured above.
Now, even if like me, you are an avid listener to Focus On The Family, Family Talk and just about anything on Moody Radio, you probably won't recognize either of these people. I'm thinking that you have probably heard them though.
The woman is Carol Barnier and the man is Ron Hutchcraft. The latter is actually a real pastor, but Carol is that most ridiculous of things, she is a "much sought after" Conference Speaker. And to that I have to say "Aren't they all?" Perhaps at first you might think they could not have a whit in common, but actually they share more than first glances might yield.
Let's go with Ron first as he has perhaps a real job. Everyday on Moody Radio after the Janet Parshall comedy show ( "In The Market with Janet Parshall" ), he has a little five minute bit. I don't know what to call it other than a bit. It's not a sermon, it's not a devotional, it's not anything to do with the Bible - it's simply a bit. And should be completely inconsequential, but....
The problem I have is Ron's delivery - always chucklingly folksy, down home and creepy. Like that uncle on who's knee you did not want to sit as a child. It's just skin crawlingly false. And what makes it worse is that, he does it every time. So he's consciously wrapping that clammy arm around your shoulder every day. Why? It is so false feeling, so manipulative, so urgh! This bit makes me feel unclean every weekday at 06:50 PM EST. This man could be the reason why pastors are all portrayed so badly in the movies.
Yes, THAT level of folksy and creepy.
Now Carol is a whole different bag of surprising sameness.
She's frequently to be found on the "Focus On The Family Weekend" radio program, usually dispensing some sound advice to Jim Daly's sheeple on subjects as diverse as kids with ADHD are a "gift", shy children, teaching special needs, and home school leadership. Whatever the frack that last thing is. She is a "Conference Speaker" - so she doesn't have a real job and I guess she lives of the fruits of her husband's labors.
Carol suffers from the excessive folksiness of creepy Uncle Ron to be sure, but she doubles down with a speaking style that cannot decide if she's conversing with a audience of ADHD sufferers or whether she's sharing something slightly risque with her wimmin's Bible study group. "Rest assured I was not always this way". Or "this will produce a perfect outcome for your family. Alas it took me five years to realize this".
The little folksy asides are just patronizing and full of self deprecating faux witticisms - truly you have to hear her to appreciate the level of just sheer godawfulness she brings to the microphone. I guess she's always simply aiming for bonhomie, but she's so far from hitting it all she makes me want to say is "Bon Voyage. And don't come back." Which alas she always does.
Both Ron and Carol are regularly on the radio, patronizing their listeners and doing their schtick and every time I hear them one question comes racing into my mind....
"Why?"
