Book Comment: The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers

"Rogers," that's what the author's son called him. That's what my son called him. I suspect that's what many children called him. Just Rogers. It would have pleased him for them to be on a single name basis with him. To the children, he was a kind friend; to many adults he was a Stepford Wife who put forth a self-esteem philosophy of "I like you just the way you are.." That was because they didn't know him.

Amy Hollingsworth, a writer for the 700 Club, is the writer of The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor (2005). She calls him "Mother Teresa in a cardigan."

Before I read this book I wondered why Fred Rogers, who was an ordained Presbyterian minister, never said anything about his religion on his show, Mister Roger's Neighborhood. Amy Hollingsworth, who was a personal friend of Fred Rogers, says that before each show he said, "Dear God, let some word that is heard be Yours." He told her that he was "tending soil" and that the Holy Spirit would work on the soil. (Matthew 13: 1-23; Mark 4: 1-20; Luke 8: 1-15). He was practicing the advice of Francis of Assisi, "Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words."

The main things that Fred Rogers was trying to teach to his young audience were 1. slow down and see what is around you, 2. learn to enjoy silence so you can hear yourself and God, 3. that it is acceptable to feel emotions (even negative ones), and that there are ways to deal with negative emotions which don't harm us or others.

To the adult charge that he was promoting an easy "feel good about yourself" philosophy to his young viewers, Mister Rogers became what, for him, was "agitated." He strongly opposed the building up of undeserved false self esteem. If a child drew an angry or bizarre picture or used dark or belligerent colors in their art, he felt that they were expressing that they felt mixed up or dark inside. They were not wanting to hear that the picture was "beautiful." He said that children aren't stupid and they don't learn self-esteem by being told something that they know is not true.

Fred Rogers is an example of a Christian man who made a conscious choice to live his life as a Christian layman. He never hid who he was and never was ashamed to openly express his Christian motivations when asked. He was successful in a highly secular field without any compromise in his personal witness. Most Christians do not work as professionals in "religious" work; we are accountants, plumbers, physicians, shoe salesmen, grocery store clerks, sports writers, electricians, and even children's television hosts.

"The child is in me still ... and sometimes not so still." Fred McFeely Rogers