Jesus Christ’s AM Radio Show
Today, a small group visited the KFI radio station today in order to sit in studio during broadcasting of the ‘Jesus Christ Show.’ Hope I got my radio lingo right.
Neil Saavedra, also KFI’s promotions/PR guy, ‘produces’ the JCS. Between 6-9am every Sunday morning, Neil assumes the persona of Christ and takes listener calls regarding theological issues and life situations. Saavedra greeted us at the studio gate dressed in a distressed suede leather jacket over his punkrock-paisley dress shirt. He is earringed, goateed, and possessed of the charisma and vocal cords necessary to radio show hosts the world over. As his surname suggests, his heritage is Mexican. Overall, the look and personality are a bit intimidating, and Saavedra owns rather proudly to his involvement in building security and his handiness in a bar fight.
This unlikely Jesus adjourns to his darkened studio, where he prepares with a moment of prayer. The ‘Holy Host’ then begins with a monologue, which was centered today on the topic of Love in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. He then encourages listeners to be bold in making their calls. They are. Today, Jesus received calls from an atheist seeking a rationale for faith, a Catholic seeking clarification on the absence of dinosaurs in the Genesis account, and a wife seeking clarity on issues of relationship and sexual intimacy. All answers given are theologically insightful. More importantly, callers receive the benefit of their host’s careful attention and natural interpersonal intuition, which allows him to quickly separate out the true motives, fears, and hurts which underlie each call. It is apparent that callers come away not only with questions well answered, but with some human contact, however brief, that reminds us how loving, patient, astute, and playful a Savior we have.
As fascinating as I find heresy, I can’t promise you’ll hear any on the show. For some, the premise may be daunting–Who among us has the right to assume the persona of Christ, and to speak in the first person with regard to issues of salvation? Saavedra admits that this process ‘creeps him out’ to a degree and that the persona requires a good deal of focus to maintain. But there is nothing strange about the concept that Christians are to reflect Christ to one another. Our interactions should provide others with an experience of Christ’s love, grace, and skilled listening ear. Saavedra’s enterprise utilizes imagination and fantasy to accomplish such goals, which is particularly wise and brave in an era in which Christians consider the logical, literal, and intellectual the measure and method of true faith. But, as Saavedra says, God has a sense of humor. He uses all manner and means of bringing us into closer communion with him, including our faculties of play and imagination. So get up early and listen, you may even find yourself wanting to call. Either way, I expect you will be surprised to find yourself listening to Jesus, and surprised again, as we continually are, by the myriad and creative ways God uses to find us, to listen to us, and to let us know he loves us and is with us…always.
February 12th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
I so enjoyed this experience today, it’s one I will remember for a very long time. I’d say it was the best field trip that I’ve ever taken!
Hey, we should have a BBQ some time and cook up so good ol’ “christian meat”!
February 13th, 2006 at 12:31 am
On our Christian BBQ. With our Christian kids. I’ll be sure to bring the Christian baked beans.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:00 am
It’s easy to see how people can be immediately turned off by the very idea/name of this show, saavedra often eludes to this when introducing the show after breaks…
I admit the first time (a few years back) I heard the commercials on KFI I thought… great KFI poking jabs at Jesus now, what’s next? Listening to the the show on a regular basis you begin to understand how *the producer* is careful portraying this image of *jesus* on the radio. Now after seeing it live it’s very obvious how careful he is to maintain this image and only to use it to help out people and he’s not trying to preach to the converted / saved.
I’m sure to most of the listeners *get* the show and for them it’s both refreshing and very entertaining.
I’m also sure there are listeners who fully believe this calming voice (his normal voice, not a put-on for the show) coming over the radio is jesus. This doesn’t bother because if that voice is reassuring a terminally ill person that they are both loved and are much more than the illnesses which label them now, how can there be anything wrong with that?
He is not trying to start a church or a hold a service over the radio and he’s usually quick to correct callers who praise his show as their only church. He regularly tells his callers that churches are important and they should attend.
I see no hidden agenda with this show or him, sure they are a commerical radio station (clear channel) and for this to be on the air they have to have advertisers and turn some profit… but saavedra’s careful production / promotion of the show doesn’t lead me to believe he’s exploiting the name of *jesus* for profits or fame, unlike something like mylovingjesusdoll.com is doing!
Bottom line… super nice guy, totally enjoyed the experience!
February 13th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
very cool. as for the christian barbque, christian baked beans, etc….i guess you had to be there?
February 13th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
During the show, *Jesus* encourages a listener to attend church, and not to consider listening to the show a form of church. He went on to say something about God doesn’t want us at church just because he needs Christians in a holy huddle–with Christian BBQ’s with Christian meat etc.–but that he knows we need the support and accountability human community provides.
June 30th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
I think his show is allright. The word is getting preached…could use improvement in spiritual power…but then wouldn’t be marketable…hmmm.
January 17th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I used to work with Neil in Thousand Oaks, CA back in 1992. We worked at a blueprint shop. He was assistant manager. He had a fairly small apologetics show along with a partner on a local station. And did short seminars at local churches. I can honestly say that this guy is a great guy to work with. Far from what I imagine how it’d be like to work with Christ, but still he made the job fun for all of us. Always had time for jokes as well as time serious business.