KEY POINTS:
Veteran journalist Ross Jennings spent seven months inside the life of the Bishop Brian Tamaki (TV3, last night). What I really wanted to know was whether he thought it was worth it. And what he really thought of the bishop.
Jennings made a solid documentary. It ticked all
the boxes. What did Tamaki think about homosexuality, and what would he do if one of his grandchildren turned out to be gay? Was it right for him to have so much money when many of his congregation had so little? Why does he wear those naff long suit jackets? Of course, Jennings didn't call them naff. It might have been interesting if he had.
I've never been able to make up my mind whether Tamaki is interesting.
He has a well-worn but amiable answer to everything. He has enormous self-belief. What you see is probably what you get. He's a bloke who loves Jesus, and Jesus loves him. He (Tamaki, I don't know about Jesus) also loves big shiny motorbikes and nice shoes and fishing.
I suspect that the difficulty with going digging around in the bishop's life is that you can't dig very deep because there are no depths.
There was an interview with a disillusioned former church member who had done financial admin for the Destiny Church. A clip of Hannah, the bishop's wife, calling for the offering. "We're not looking for the jingle jangle, we're looking for the folding."
Jennings: "Brian's bishop business seems to be booming."
Tithing was in the Bible, said Tamaki. Most things are, including answers to most things.
"We're not rich," said Hannah, "we've got a ginormous mortgage." Somebody should think about spending seven months with Hannah. I think she's probably the interesting one, and the brains behind the booming business.
There were a couple of laugh-aloud moments.
Jennings on the bishop's flame-decorated motorbike: "That looks like a bike the devil would ride."
Tamaki: "What sort of a question is that, Ross?"
Jennings: "Do you feel as though you've got a monster between your legs?"
Tamaki: "Shucks, what sort of question is that?"
We saw a clip of Tamaki's mentor, a preacher from the States called Eddie Long. He came to Destiny and delivered a rousing sermon. "If by some impossibility someone took him out and if it's a God thing it lives beyond the man ... You got to kill every man in this house and his children's children's children."
I have no idea what this was about and I would have liked to have been told.
But perhaps the journalist decided there was no point asking. The answer might well have been: "Shucks, what sort of question is that?"
