We have all witnessed less than flattering interviews when pastors have been put in front of the brights lights of television cameras. A recent interview by Senior Pastor Derwin Gray of Transformation Church in Indian Land and Rock Hill, SC is the exception and a classic example of how to do it right.
Pastor Derwin gives pastors an incredible template for handling television interviews. As I watch the conversation with interviewer Page Crawford unfold, I gleaned 22 Things Pastors Should Do When They Are Interviewed On Television:
- Pastors Should Provide Solutions To The Problems Faced By Society – Crawford noted in her introduction Sunday mornings are the most segregated time in America but Transformation Church was wanting this to change.
- Pastors Should Be Grateful – Pastor Derwin’s first words were, “Thank you for having me.”
- Pastors Should Be Humble – Pastor Derwin said, “Watching that I got all teary-eyed and emotional. What am I doing here?”
- Pastors Should Express Christianity Is An Adventure – He added, “God has taken me on such an adventure.”
- Pastors Should Be Discuss The Beauty Of The Local Church And How Dynamic She Is – Pastor Derwin mentioned he was “part of this wonderfully, beautiful, dynamic church.”
- Pastors Should Draw A Line Between Religion And Relationship – As a teenager, Pastor Derwin recounted, “Religion was football for me.”
- Pastors Should Be Approachable By Admitting Their Shortcomings – No one is perfect. Pastor Derwin acknowledged, “We didn’t go to church. We didn’t pray. The first wedding I ever went to was my own at 21.”
- Pastors Should Be Friendly And Not Weird – He “thought Christians were weird.”
- Pastors Should Be In Awe Of What Jesus Has Done In Their Own Personal Life – I resonated with Pastor Derwin when he said, “I’m surprised as anybody that God brought my wife and I together.”
- Pastors Should Be Funny – Humor is your friend. When recounting Indianapolis Colts teammate Steve Grant, “The Naked Preacher”, Pastor Derwin said, “Any dude that’s 6’2”, 240, half-naked with a Bible and one gold tooth, I’m trying to avoid.”
- Pastors Should Not Be Pushy – As Grant consistently shared his faith, “he wasn’t pushy.”
- Pastors Should Live Attractive Lives – People should be drawn to the attractiveness of the Christian life. When remembering teammate Grant, he said, “The way you love your wife, the way you serve your community, your humility, the way you play the game, I want to be like that.”
- Pastors Should Be Friendly And An Example Of God’s Grace – Grant also “befriended me. He gave me an example.”
- Pastors Should Leverage The Platform To Tell People About Jesus – When speaking with a young rookie Gray, Grant said, “Rookie D-Gray do you know Jesus?”
- Pastors Should Winsomely Tell People Of Their Emptiness Without Jesus – Grant’s question “began a 5-year process of accomplishing all my goals and being empty.”
- Pastors Should Show They Live In The Normal World – Pastor Gray did this by referencing U2 lead singer Bono. He remembered, “I was like Bono. Still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”
- Pastors Should Talk About What Jesus Is Doing. Not What They Are Doing – Pastor Derwin was quick to put the focus on Jesus. Regarding the launch of Transformation Church, he said, “I didn’t start it. Jesus started it and He let me and a bunch of other folks be apart of it.”
- Pastors Should Share The Burden God Has Placed On Their Heart – After becoming Christians and beginning to attend church, Pastor Derwin and his wife Vicki were shocked by the segregation. They wondered, “When we stepped into church we were like, ‘Did we just step back into 1963? Why is it not diverse?'”
- Pastors Should Call People To Action – God called Pastor Derwin and Vicki to action. “God was like, “You do it.'”
- Pastors Should Share God Is For Us – Pastors should share God already has and will continually give a person everything they need to live an abundant life. He told Pastor Derwin, “I’ll give you everything you need. I’ll give you my Son. I’ll give you my Spirit. And I’ll give you faith to do it.”
- Pastors Should Share God Can Transform Our Lives – Pastor Derwin concluded by saying, “God changes us from the inside out…We think we have to do something to please God or fix ourselves but grace says, ‘God meets us right in the middle of our mess and He transforms us.”
- Pastors Should Already Be Serving Their Community By Bringing All People Together – The interview concludes with Crawford saying, “Thank you for all you do for our community.”
There is no Christian leader I respect more than Pastor Derwin. I am honored to call him and Vicki friends. If you have not purchased his book Limitless Life, make sure you do so today by clicking HERE.
And if God ever gives you a platform to be interviewed by the media, please refer back to this list and Pastor Derwin’s interview. It will help you be used by God in a magnificent way.
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