Why I decided to stop supporting Revelation TV

Firstly, I do not have any significant problems with any of the views put forward on the station. I also find the Conders to be extremely nice, genuine Christian people, but there has to be more to it if I am going to support their project.

During 2006 Revelation TV matured considerably and with that the production values improved. The introduction of the new "white sofa" set and the introduction of new programs in a very relaxed style made it fairly compulsive viewing on par with anything available from commercial television. Who could forget Pam's prayer time or Dr Laura?

However, things changed when RMusic TV was launched in February. They had to clear out the studios to make room for a larger music area. The result of this was a move back to a more formal presentation style behind tables and then the old desk that had been used previously. It was not just a presentational change, the whole station seemed to become embattled in financial issues made worse by having to carry RMusic TV. Then there was the announcement that they intended to move to a Spanish broadcasting licence and move part of their operation to Spain to comply with this. The reason for this was good enough on the surface (to get out from OFCOM control which revents them appealing for funds) but it also meant that Revelation would have to become more like the other christian channels and could lose contact with real UK issues. On the other hand they have promised to do more outside broadcasts in the UK and maintain a smaller studio in the UK (its not clear if they will be able to continue RMusic under those conditions).

My feeling is that if God gives someone a clear vision then God will follow it through with them to its conclusion. Revelation TV has become far too schizophrenic with its rapid and unannounced changes of programming; taking a few weeks off in August with little warning & no explanation on their web site and attempting to move some of the operation overseas (which does go against the original vision for a UK based channel). There is even talk of moving some of it to Israel which sounds a lot like what God TV did, yet there had been no mention of any of this when God inspired Howard originally. I am not saying that God can't move people along, but if someone is called to do something its usually very clear even if its not going to be an easy road to follow.

This all coincided with my annual contribution being due. I had already had to delay this due to my credit card being stolen. The subsequent fraudulent transactions had to be paid to prevent me having to pay interest on them while it was sorted out by the card company. By the time the money came back into my bank account I was becoming more disillusioned with the way things were heading at Revelation.

I think this summarises my current concerns:

• Putting too many resources into RMusic TV to the disadvantage of Revelation.
• Moving editorial control from UK to Spain which will reduce thier ability to relate to UK issues.
• Reduction in the quality of the programming with presentation becoming less professional.
• R Sports (what is the point?).
• Too much time spent showing how bad the world is as seen by the Daily Mail and not enough on hope.

Until things settle down and the outcome of the Spanish situation is known I am not going to be giving any substantial financial support to Revelation TV. I wish them well. They are nice people, but as I said before, there has to be more to it when it comes to supporting such a large and important project. It needs more clarity of vision.

Update 4th Dec 2006
There has been more muddled vision evident:

1. A white sofa has returned (good).
2. After a revelation that Howard had from God a few months ago that he was not to sell merchandise Revelation TV has now opened an online store selling all kinds of goods. There is nothing wrong with that but where does it leave the validity of his word from god previously? It calls into question his discernment.
   
3. RMusic is going to be turned into a new general Chsristian channel called Genesis 24/7. Clearly this is due to funding but while they were already planning this change they continued to ask for funds for RMusic TV in the full knowledge that it was closing. Again, if God says he is going to do something eh will do it without fail (Joshua 3:10 is just one example). Therefore we have to be left asking if God had really called them to do this.
4. The studio is to be closed with a smaller one (possibly in the Conder's home) and an outside broadcast van (are they aware of how complex that is to manage.? I have fond memories of Paul Welsh trying to get an OB out for Breakfast News from central Edinburgh and not being able to get line of sight to the satelite, then having to pre-record and bike the tapes round to BBC HQ).
   

The root of these direction problems are that the Conders do not appear to belong to a church or any other wider group of stable Christians. They have no accountability or oversight from any body of Christians, so they have no one to test their apparent words from God to see if they are true. There have also been questions raised on the Internet (reference) that the Jonathan David prophecy which inspired Howard Conder may have been addressed to Rory Alec who was also apparently at the same service at Cornerstone Christian Centre, Bromley. I am not saying that this is true, it could go either way, but its another issue where spiritual discernment has been lacking somewhere along the way.

Update 21/04/2009
This article was quite old so I have written a more in depth article. about Revelation TV and Genesis TV.
To read it click here.