Paul F. Crouch: 1934-2013

On November 30, 2013, Paul F. Crouch, head co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network passed away after a ten year battle with degenerative heart disease. When I was younger, I used to watch the network religiously in an effort to learn more about my faith, and the people within my faith community.  Paul Crouch and his family were always on the television, hosting a show, or raising funds to build more stations around the world, or to send more satellites into orbit to beam "the Gospel" to every corner of the globe. It had been a while since I had sat down and watched any TBN program. I  don't know if I just became too preoccupied with everything else in life, or if I just got to the prideful place where I just felt like I didn't need the programming anymore. But as I flipped through the channel that evening, and I watched the cryptic commercial replying scenes from his life, I blurted out to my wife, "Oh my God...Paul Crouch is dead." Maybe it was all of my years working in television and knowing the tone and flow of bereavement packages, or maybe it just hit me. All I knew is that 20 seconds later, there was a graphic with a Ken Burns effect flying in on the screen with the dates between his life and death. My heart sunk. I immediately jumped on-line to find out more details, but the event had just happened that day, and the only thing I was able to find at that time were websites that were celebrating his passing in a negative manner. It began to destroy me and for one whole day, I walked around in a fog. Paul Crouch, like every other living human, had flaws. It did not bother me to read that another human being could actually have a flaw or had made a poor decision at sometime (anytime) in their life. What bothered me and probably many others, was that this man was being talked about like a dog. He was like a father figure to me especially for my tract in family entertainment. My entire scholastic career has been centered on learning and creating healthy programs that was educational and up-lifting, and a lot of credit for that inspiration should go to Paul Crouch and his family. I would have never thought or believed that it was possible to run a faith-based family theme park and studio if I hadn't seen it done successfully by TBN and TBN partners. My journey through my MBA program has showed me a lot about the business world, that 90-something percent of the population (and even faith-community population) does not know about. Truth be told, most of the negative comments were coming from sources that lacked credibility and understanding about how to even run a business (and more specifically: a ministry business). They couldn't possibly understand about "opportunity costs" and how many times Paul Crouch and his family had to decide not to sell the organization and the equipment, even though it might have been tempting when things got difficult. Paul and his surviving wife Jan retold the story of how TBN got started in a video package that was taped before Paul passed away. They tell the story of how they had $20,000 dollars left in their account (in the 1970's) but promised God to put it in the new ministry. They both acknowledge that after that, the ministry was able to grow and blossom both influentially and financially. What if they would have decided to keep that $20,000 dollars to themselves? You see...most people never have had to think about sacrifices like that. They have never had to make that kind of decision. So, today, I say what should be said...especially as someone looking to follow in similar path of Paul Crouch: Thank you, Sir!    

Parade Tradition!

So, every year, my family and I anticipate the annual broadcast of the Macy's Day Parade. More than 85 years, and the event is still going strong. My wife and I have a background in live television and communication, so the obvious appeal to us is always going to be how the program is being produced. By the time you have kids though, it becomes a family tradition and you sit down and just (try) to enjoy it for the magical event that it is. We could go on and on about the Broadway show previews, and the enormous balloon floats, and even the anticipation of Santa Clause arriving on location; but today...since the kids are upstairs, maybe this is a good time to consider what does go into making this annual event come to life. Now, no one can rival the expert craftsmanship and detailed designs of Santa's elves up in the North Pole. So, then it would be obvious to me that all of the floats and balloon designs are made up there. Right? Wrong!? How could this be? Maybe my Spidey senses are off today. Macy's has a parade studio in Moonachie, NJ where they design, construct, and engineer the 30 floats and 16 balloons that will make their way eventually down 34th Street...even your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man makes an appearance. Obviously New Jersey is no North Pole, but if it had to be in a category of places where magic happens, then it would rank right up there. Sure, we substitute elves for welders, engineers, and architects, but at least we still get a Santa at the end of the whole deal. The event is broadcast live on the NBC network and affiliates and is covered by NBC's top ranking anchors from the Today Show. But they are not the only talent on the scene. The annual event brings in actors, musicians, singers, and performers from all around the world and from all walks of life just to share the stage and to make a lasting memory for families everywhere. Practically, we understand that there is a high cost involved in bringing this show together every year, but I can't talk about cost right now, because my kids just entered the room and I don't want to destroy the dream. Let's just say then that Santa invests a lot to bring this event tradition to New York every year. I wonder what his spreadsheet looks like?