Can God love journalists? Many evangelical arid charismatic preachers do not seem to think so, and their reasons have nothing to do with theology. It may not be fashionable to thunder from pulpits on a Sunday morning against drug addicts, alcoholics, wife beaters or even murderers, but journalists-why, they're fair game. After all, journalists often do appear to pick on the occasional moral foibles of prominent Christians with a special glee.

Every survey conducted in recent years has confirmed that mainstream reporters tend to be much less religious than the population as a whole, it has certainly been my experience that mainstream journalists tend to be far less open than members of other professions signs to the possibility that God might not just exist, but might be able to work in people's lives today.

It is not just Christians, either, who frequently resent the media. The media conglomerate Time CNN recently had to apologize publicly and repeatedly for a story that the magazine and tire network had run alleging that U.S. forces in the Vietnam Warhad used sarin nerve gas against fellow Americans. When challenged to produce incontrovertible evidence of this charge, the news organizations were unable to do so, forcing them to retreat in the face of a storm; of public outrage.

Following up with a report on the social fallout of the scandal, a Newsweek poll in July reported that 53 percent of Americans believed only some or very little of the news they read or saw on television. The same percentage of respondents thought news organizations often simply didn't get the facts straight.

This jaundiced view of journalism has tended to be the predominant one among Americans for the past several decades. In almost every contemporary movie where they appear, journalists tend to be portrayed as sleazy, self- opportunists. It is a far cry from the image of a crusader for righteousness depicted in the classic 1931 movie about journalism, The Front Page.

The fact is, though that journalism is not only an essential profession in any society that wants to maintain its freedom, but it has at times proved to be also a deeply honorable one that Christians have embraced without embarrassment.

The 19th century evangelist Charles Spurgeon often said that he studied with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. What newspapers told him about his world was vital for his comprehension of the people , he desperately wanted to lead to a knowledge of Christ.

Evangelist Billy Graham's career received a vital push forward from highly favorable coverage in the late 1940's by the Hearst newspapers and by b Life magazine. Graham, incidentally, with few exceptions, has always been treated almost reverentially by hard erred reporters. One reason: Graham has never attacked the media as an entire profession, and he has always attempted to treat every journalist who interviews him with grace and genuine interest.

Incidentally, treating journalists with dignity arid decency is both good Christianity and good evangelism. A journalistic colleague of mine became a Christian because the church she was investigating responded to her skeptical prodding with unusual grace, openness and kindness instead of harshness.

In my years of reporting all over the world, I have had two wonderful Christian privileges. One has been to have fellowship with other Christians in mainstream, secular journalism.

The other has been to encourage young Christians to enter the profession and change it from within. 1 challenge them to do so not just by doing excellent work, but also by living an excellent, Christ-oriented life.

Now I have gone one step further and started a global organization for Christians in journalism here in the United States and all over the world. It is called Geographa (Greek for, "I have written," John 19:22).

Its purpose is to build up Christians already in the profession and to encourage others to enter it. We will have a web site, a conference in London in 1999, a book of testimonies and many other activities. Anyone who is interested in Gegrapha is welcome to contact me by e-mail at aikmand@aol.com. Oh, yes---and please pray for us.