Club a la 700

This morning I sat in the audience during the taping of the 700 Club, the daily news show hosted by Pat Robertson, Gordon Robertson, and Terry Meeuwsen. The 700 Club is filmed at the CBN headquarters which is located on the Regent University campus in Virginia Beach. The show is broadcasted daily on several cable stations.

When Becky and I first moved to Virginia, our tourist book mentioned that the 700 Club was filmed in Virginia Beach, and I really wanted to see it being filmed. Becky thought that I was crazy. I’m not a frequent viewer of the 700 Club, but I’ve always wanted to see some TV show being filmed live, and this is the first opportunity I’ve ever had. Living in Searcy, Arkansas doesn’t present many opportunities. Since I’ve got tons of spare time these days, I figured I could take off one morning to see the taping.

I was only one of five audience members (apparently the audience size fluctuates from day to day). Pat came out before the show began and said a quick prayer for us and the show and then joined Terry who was already positioned at the news counter.

The show began with comments on the recent Pope vs. radical Islamic spat. There was a piece about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and then talk about Iraq. The show was mainly scripted, but Pat made several remarks off the cuff. I believe it’s these types of remarks which have gotten him in trouble in the past. After the piece on Ahmadinejad which focused on his desire to bring about the end of times, Pat exclaimed: "Well, that is just weird..."

Dr. Kevin Leman, a prominent Christian psychologist and author, was the single guest. My mom would have liked to meet Dr. Leman since she’s a big fan of his Birth Order Book. He was interviewed by Terry and talked about his new book on single parenting, but as soon as the interview was over he bolted. I guess I’ll get that autograph some other time.

After the taping Pat thanked us for coming, and Terry hung around and talked to each of us. We then were given a tour of the CBN building. It was like touring a museum since there were numerous pieces of original art including the largest painting of the Lord’s Supper produced in the 20^th century. Our tour concluded with a very earnest prayer (which I really appreciated). After that I met up with Becky for lunch.

I really enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at how a TV show is ran. The guys at CBN are real pros. Now it's back to the grind...