| Live Prayer | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Religious broadcasting |
| Starring | Bill Keller |
| Theme music composer | Javen[1] |
| Opening theme | "Hope for You"[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | over 1175[2] |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Bill Keller[1] |
| Producer(s) | Rich Nation[1] |
| Camera setup | Steven Campbell[1] |
| Running time | 30 minutes (WXPX) 1 hour (all others) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | WTOG 44 (2003-2007) ION Television (2006; nationally) WTTA 38 (2007) WXPX 66 (2007) Internet only (2008) |
| Original run | March 3, 2003 – August 31, 2007 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Live Prayer is a Christian evangelical Internet and television ministry located in Tampa, Florida, founded and operated by Bill Keller.
The ministry began in 1999 as a website featuring a daily devotional written by Keller and offers to accept and pray over emails,[3], later expanding into a daily TV show on March 3, 2003.[4] Live Prayer was broadcast nationally in the United States from July 3, 2006[4] through November 2006 on ION Television. At the end of that period, the ministry was financially unable to continue purchasing national airtime and returned to the Florida market.
Live Prayer currently operates a service "Gold for Souls" through which people may donate their unwanted gold jewellery to the ministry in exchange for a tax receipt.
Contents |
The Live Prayer television program began March 3, 2003 as a late-night show on WTOG where Bill Keller discussed current events from in relation to the ministry's theology and took phone calls. Callers would mostly ask Keller to pray with them over specific issues in their lives, occasionally contributing testimony of religious experience and their comments on scripture. Keller would sometimes encourage his opponents to call in and debate with him on contentions issues such as evolution, abortion, and homosexuality. Each episode ended with Keller inviting viewers to "accept Jesus" and recite a sinner's prayer with him.
Starting July 2006, the show was seen nationwide on ION Television, however this ended in November when Keller could not raise enough money to pay the significantly higher airtime fees. Live Prayer was, up until this point, shown without advertising and paid for entirely by donations. However, near the end of his time on ION, Keller began showing a limited number of ads from companies promoting gold investment schemes. Keller made a point of criticizing other televangelists for continually begging for money and misappropriating the donations they received. Keller also made his personal financial records available to reporters on request and informed viewers that his studio was austerely located on the donated grounds of a used car lot.[5] After leaving ION, the show returned to its more economical spot on WTOG.[6]
On August 31, 2007, after 1,175[2] episodes and nearly 5 years, Live Prayer was pulled from WTOG after complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations[7][8][9][10][11][12] however, a new show "Live Prayer AM" began to air on WTTA from 7:30 am to 8:30 am starting September 3, 2007 on WTTA.[13][14]
In early November 2007, because WTTA suddenly changed its policy regarding live call-in shows, the show moved to local ION station WXPX; while still seen at 7:30 a.m. the show was cut to a half-hour.[15] The morning show featured more guests as well as live shots from Florida attractions. The show featured a small number of ads, mostly for consumer mail-order items, but still relied heavily on donations.[16]
On November 19, 2007, Keller announced that he was suspending his television program after the telecast on Friday, November 23, after officials from ION told Keller that it will no longer carry live programming. The ministry shows on public records that the income is about $500,000 a year gross, of which is claimed to have most of the money spent on internet band width. Keller also has a criminal record for money laundering and spent time in federal custody. Keller made plans to revive the show on his website as an Internet-only live call-in broadcast in January 2008.[15]
In August 1999, Keller began writing the Live Prayer Daily Devotional which he has continued to write everyday since. The devotional is now emailed to over 2,400,000 people around the world.[4] The Live Prayer Daily Devotional is also available on the website, in both written and audio form, as well as for cellphone users via WAP and in audio form over the phone.
The Live Prayer television program was also broadcast live on the website.[17] When the television program was not live, a feed from a webcam showing the Live Prayer office was shown instead. The website also features an archive of past shows.
At its peak, Live Prayer received about forty thousand email prayer requests each day.[18] A group of retired pastors read messages, pray over the requests, and write personalized replies.[3][19] Live Prayer also maintains an archive of over three million praise reports from viewers.[2]
In 2007, Keller released a Live Prayer interactive CD-ROM, proudly touting it as "the greatest spiritual resource other than the Bible." The CD-ROM, sold for US$10 on the Live Prayer website, contained an archive of Keller's past daily devotionals as well as videos inviting viewers to "accept Jesus."[20]
I am sad to say today that President Bush has failed in that special role God called him to play in leading this nation back to the God of the Bible. FOR THAT REASON, HE WILL NOT BE RE-ELECTED. (emphasis in the original)
— Bill Keller,[21] March 8, 2004
On March 8, 2004, Keller prophesied that George W. Bush would not be re-elected president due to his perceived lack of support for the State of Israel, among other issues.[21] Keller erroneously predicted the election of Democratic contender John Kerry.[21] Keller reiterated his statements on March 10, denying allegations that he was working for Kerry and discouraging Republicans from voting.[22] Furthermore, Keller wrote that he was willing to be stoned to death should his prediction prove incorrect.[22] Finally, on November 4, Bill Keller admitted his mistake while continuing his assertion that he was willing to be stoned to death.[23]
On May 11, 2007, Keller wrote that "a vote for Romney is a vote for Satan" in his daily devotional because Mitt Romney is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an organization that he considers to be a cult.[24][25] Keller repeated this statement on the Live Prayer television program,[26] which was later included in the documentary film Article VI: Faith. Politics. America. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State later wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking them to revoke Live Prayer's tax exempt status due to Bill Keller's allegedly political statements. Bill Keller later clarified his statements saying he was speaking on a spiritual topic, not a political one.[27][28][29]
Later, on June 21, 2007, Keller appeared on the show in a Mormon temple garment, which he characterized as "magical underwear". He challenged Romney to make public his own Mormon temple garment.[30] Finally, on June 28, 2007, Keller invited evangelist Ed Decker — a former Mormon priest[31] who is critical of the LDS church — to discuss Mormonism, Freemasonry, and an alleged relationship between the two groups.[32]
On September 17, 2007, Keller released a 10-minute video message,[33] in which he asked Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to repent and "accept Jesus"; he also urged other Muslims to do the same. The video was released not only on Keller's own website, but also various other websites as well.[34][35]
Keller frequently criticizes talk-show host and media personality Oprah Winfrey for promoting new age spiritual products such as The Secret and A Course in Miracles.[36]
Bill Keller has engaged in various criticisms of Barack Obama both prior to his election and then with greater fervour after he became President. Among other things, Keller alleges that Obama is "not a Christian and...an enemy of God",[37] is providing "false hope", and that Obama may have been born in Kenya. Keller has even compared Obama's surge in popularity — particularly among youth — to that of Adolf Hitler.