Whether the object is to snag the most eligible bachelor or win a million-dollar prize, many of today's reality shows are built on greed. Considering the lengths that people will go to win, should Christian contestants subject themselves to such temptations? What happens when a Christian is isolated from society for over a month, interacting with unbelievers and those whose only mindset is "win at any cost"? Does the experience shake your faith or enhance it?

TC found four contestants who saw their involvement on a reality TV show as a chance to spread the gospel, and although some of their efforts may have ended up on the cutting room floor, they feel that God called them to the experience.

	Danni Boatwright

Danni Boatwright: Soul 'Survivor'
After the Nakum tribe hiked 11 miles through dense jungle and sat down to eat a meal of corn, Danni Boatwright asked, "Do you mind if we say a prayer over it?" They agreed—and during the next 39 days there were other opportunities for prayers, especially when her team would win a contest. Soon the producers of Survivor: Guatemala had dubbed the tribe the "God Squad."

"It was really stepping out because everyone wasn't a believer. I thought, 'This will work out, or I'll be voted off right away,'" she recalls. In the end Danni, a former Miss Kansas and an international model, maneuvered her way around her bickering comrades, earned their respect and their votes, and won a million dollars.

According to Danni, "The hardest thing for a Christian on reality TV is not to compromise your standards. You have to trust in the Lord—which I did, and He would open doors for me. He took me down a path where I didn't have to lie and cheat," she says. "You just have to watch for those openings so you don't miss them."

During her castaway experience, Danni had opportunities to witness to several of the contestants. One of her most rewarding memories is when Margaret Bobonich started asking questions about salvation and later promised to find a church.

"I was never in my life so in tune with the Lord as I was out there. There was lots of quiet time, and I prayed a lot," Danni says. "There were times during the contests when I needed something more than physical or even mental ability. I needed to draw on something spiritual."

In the final immunity challenge, Danni, who has scoliosis (curvature of the spine), was secretly in agony as she braced her back against a pole while standing on a wobbly board for hours. "I kept picking my nails like it was nothing, trying to psych out the others, but I was really hurting and praying for God's help," she remembers. "I endured only through the grace of God."

Danni insists that her win doesn't mean she's favored by God over anyone else. "I have no idea why He let me win; I just know He did," she reflects. "The first thing I did was to pay my tithe. I'll do my best to always show my gratitude for this gift and the opportunities Survivor's door opened for me."

Danni is now a sideline reporter for Arena Football in Kansas City and hopes to do the same at NFL games this fall.

	Ryan Kelley

Ryan Kelley: Lessons from 'The Biggest Loser'
Ryan Kelley weighed 225 pounds when she decided to undergo a radical physical makeover through diet and exercise. As a contestant on the Biggest Loser 2, she admitted that food had become a coping mechanism after two heartbreaking miscarriages. Her weight continued to climb after hearing that she couldn't have children. Soon after adopting a child from Guatemala, Ryan became pregnant and was able to carry the baby full term in spite of her weight. She was extremely happy, but she didn't know how to stop binging when she was overly emotional.

After trying for years to slim down without success, she decided that maybe if she had a camera in her face, she could lose the weight. Although she did lose 30 pounds before being sent home after a month, Ryan says it was a constant struggle to be Christ-like in a house full of hungry, grumpy people (herself included) who were exercising six hours a day.

Knowing that the cameras would capture everything she did, Ryan says, "I tried hard not to give Christians a bad name." Whenever there was a temptation challenge, for instance, Ryan tried to handle the offers of food or rewards in the same way she handles all temptations in her life. "I felt that participating in the challenges where I had to eat something defeated the purpose of me being on the show," she says.

Since there was only one other Christian in the house, Ryan believes that may have been why she was cut from her team. "I wasn't overtly trying to convert people," she explains, "but I sang praise songs when I got up in the morning, and I read my Bible."

However, if she had to do the first few weeks over again, Ryan says she wouldn't change. "I wasn't going to pretend to be someone that I wasn't just to stay on the show," she says. "Besides, I got what I wanted out of the experience: I lost weight and got to witness in my own way. One contestant, Andrea, told me that I had brought her back to her relationship with the Lord. That meant the world to me—and may have been why God put me there with her."

Today Ryan has lost 78 pounds. Since the show, she was selected as Mrs. Tennessee United States. She also does motivational speaking to help others in their weight journeys. "I believe God gave me The Biggest Loser TV show so I could give my testimony about how He got me through the miscarriages and other struggles," she says. "Hopefully I can be a light for Him."

Uchenna & Joyce Agu: Running and Winning the 'Amazing Race'
After corporate scandals at Enron and WorldCom cost Uchenna and Joyce Agu their jobs and pensions, the couple suffered through a challenging period—financially, professionally, and emotionally. Along with their life savings, the couple also lost the chance to continue fertiliy treatments for Joyce, who along with her husband desperately wanted a child. Then one day while they were watching The Amazing Race, Joyce suggested to Uchenna that they become contestants. They wanted to travel the world, but there was no possibility that they could pay for it. They also decided to participate in the Race in order to regain some of the closeness they'd lost during the trying times.

	Uchenna & Joyce Agu

In the end they enjoyed sightseeing in the U.S.A., South America, Africa, India, Europe, and the Caribbean, and they won a million dollars. But what they remember most is the presence of God in the midst of their trials and roadblocks. "Let go and let God (handle things)," they constantly reminded each other.

"Once the race began, it was a natural reaction to lose faith, even though as Christians we knew we should have faith in times of trial," Joyce explains. "At those times we tried to relax, have fun, and let God's words lead us. Uchenna [whose name appropriately means "God's will" or "God's plan"] kept saying, 'It's okay; we're not in control.' "

Again and again both Uchenna and Joyce felt that God was teaching them lessons in humility. During one stretch of the race in India, Joyce had her head shaved, a sacrifice that Uchenna believes was one of the turning points in the race. Joyce's lowest point, though, was at the airport in Jamaica when they were stripped of all money and possessions and had to beg from strangers. "It was so hard," Joyce remembers. "It was devastating to understand what it feels like to have nothing. And people looked at us as if we were trash or had some disease."

In the midst of difficulties like these, God's miracles were abundant. At one point, Joyce and Uchenna were told there were no more flights to Miami. Uchenna remembers the airplane leaving without them: "But then something got into that pilot's heart to get him to turn the plane around and reopen the door."

When the jet came back, Joyce says she thought she was going to faint. "I actually looked up and said, 'Thank you, God. This is a miracle.'"

Though the couple prayed daily, they never prayed to win. "We prayed for strength to stay positive," Joyce explains. "We prayed to do the right thing, to have courage, and to face our fears."

After 72,000 miles, 25 cities, and five continents, the Agus found themselves only steps away from the finish line in Fort Lauderdale and the million-dollar prize—but they couldn't pay their taxi driver. With another team hot on their heels, Uchenna and Joyce once again begged from passing strangers so they could pay their cab fare.

"We had to pay him," Uchenna says. "We realized: 'Hey, there's more going on in the world than a TV race. That man has to feed his family.' Other contestants might have run inside, but we weren't going to just leave him like that. After all we'd been through, why lower our standards? What's right is right."

	You can win without losing your Christian integrity. Even if you're hungry, tired, and broke, you don't need to play a cutthroat game. –Uchenna Agu

In the end they proved that people can win a reality show without scheming, cheating, or lying their way to the prize money. "If you're living a Christian life, you can win without losing your Christian integrity," says Uchenna. "Even if you're hungry, tired, and broke, you don't need to play a cutthroat game."

With the money, Uchenna and Joyce paid off lots of bills and took their family on a vacation. They have become supporters of the YMCA in Houston and spokespersons for RESOLVE, a national infertility association. If another round of in vitro fertilization is still unsuccessful, the couple plan to use some of their prize money to adopt a baby.

"The money was huge for rebuilding our lives," Joyce says. "But more important than that, we learned a priceless lesson: If you do what is right, God takes care of you."

Linda Owen is a freelance writer and the editor of www.saworship.com in San Antonio, Texas. Freelance writer and editor Phil Boatwright, the proud uncle of Danni Boatwright, also contributed to this article.

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