Once again proving my belief that organized religion is the root cause of many of today’s problems, one Christian televangelist after another has been outed by a site called MinistryWatch for bilking millions and millions of dollars from their faithful, but unsuspecting, flock of believers.

And, once again proving the power and reach of bloggers, the mainstream media has jumped on the bandwagon and is vilifying these Bible-toting financial vigilantes in a series of reports, documentaries and exposes.

Some of the transgressions are truly obscene and reinforce, in my mind, that too many fakes and fakirs use religion as a weapon to raise false hopes and empty pocketbooks. The preachers profiled in MinistryWatch live in palatial estates and cruise the highways in Rolls-Royces, yet implore their often downtrodden flocks to tithe more and more of their hard-earned money to the ministry.

I believe Christianity and Christian fundamentalism has been on the rise in recent years because it provides a seemingly ‘safe harbor’ in an increasingly brutal and uncertain world. And, while everyone is free to believe or not believe, I’ve been put off by the hard-charging proselytizers who point to the televangelists as guides who can and will lead me to a better and more fulfilling life.

Well, as is the case in business, sports, entertainment, politics and every other sector in society, people will tend to support those individuals and those institutions that are seen to be doing the right thing. And there is no way I would ever ‘buy’ into what the televangelists are peddling.

The Christian fundamentalist movement has been dealt a serious image and reputation crisis by its horde of money-grubbing, ‘do as I say, not as I do’ televangelists. It’s time for someone or something (a blue ribbon panel perhaps) to come in and, a la Jesus himself, throw out the moneychangers.

With 21 months to go before the next president is sworn in, the gloves are clearly off and the nasty politicking has begun. The new anti-Hillary video on YouTube, for example, has already attracted 1 million downloads. Allegedly created by Obama supporters, the Hillary spot is a riff on the classic 1984 Apple TV spot and shows an ‘athlete’ hurling a ball-and-chain at a large screen of Ms. Clinton and blowing it to smithereens.

So, which candidate’s image and reputation does the spot tarnish? Neither. I believe people have already made up their minds about Hillary and, like the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, one either loves her or hates her. As for Obama, he’s still too much of a blank slate. He needs to explain who he is and what he stands for rather than take pot shots at what Hillary is or isn’t.

The fascinating part of the process is the technology factor. YouTube and other such sites are empowering politically active citizens to creatively vent their views and opinions and reach mass audiences in ways never before possible. Howard Dean was the early, acklowedged master of blogging in 2004. It will be interesting to see which candidate masters the total CMG spectrum as we wind up to the November ’08 elections and whether Web 2.0 becomes a decisive factor in the actual voting.

A recent study of 54,000 Norwegians (who knew there were so many?) showed that adults who have a sense of humor outlive those who don’t find life funny. And, the survival edge is even greater for cancer victims. The greater a role humor played in their lives, the greater the chances the cancer victims had of surviving.

Humor is critical in business as well. And, I think far too many businesspeople take themselves and their jobs too seriously (especially in the agency world). Ed and I, for example, worked at a totally humorless agency in the mid-1990s. The culture reflected the humorless man who ran the shop. While I can’t comment on mortality rates, I can state that the business was in total freefall as key people and clients defected one after another. Who wanted to work with or for a bunch of sourpusses?

Studies have shown that chemistry is a huge factor in why clients choose one agency over another. The corporate decision makers want to work with bright, happy and upbeat people. In fact, when we conduct a post mortem immediately after a big new business pitch, we evaluate how much the prospects talked and laughed. The more chatter and chuckles, the better our chances of winning.

There are lots of ways to live one’s life. In my opinion, humor is a critical component to building one’s image and reputation over the course of a career. Speaking only for myself, I’d rather have a tombstone that read, ‘He made people laugh’ as opposed to ‘He made a lot of money.’

Having now performed at two New York comedy clubs, I have a much deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, the stresses that go along with public speaking (or performing).

A recent Gallup poll, for example, showed that 40 percent of U.S. respondents fear speaking in front of an audience (in fact, public speaking ranked second overall in the survey, topped only by ‘encountering a snake.’).

Respondents cited such psychological side effects as sweating, shaking knees and hands, quivering voice, flushing, rapid heartbeat and nausea. (Note: I think I had ALL of those symptoms in the seconds before I took the stage for the very first time). A different survey said Americans actually fear public speaking more than death (which prompted Jerry Seinfeld to quip: ‘That means if you’re at a funeral, you’d rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy.’).

Closer to home, Peppercom’s Catherine Carlson equates public speaking to having root canal surgery, and says she’s learned to cope with the stress via a combination of techniques, including making eye contact with the audience.

There are many lists of tips and techniques for overcoming the fear of public speaking. And, while they all help, I did learn a few new ‘tricks’ at the five-day American Comedy Institute course that prepped me for my stand-up debut. Above and beyond the typical deep breathing and muscle relaxation techniques, the ACI comics/instructors taught me about timing, delivery and pacing. They also shared the best ways to avoid ‘nerves,’ including:

1.) Totally mastering your material. Too many busines people rely on powerpoint slides and don’t take the time to memorize and rehearse a presentation in advance. You should. It makes a HUGE difference in terms of confidence.

2.) Visualize one person who always laughs at your remarks as you’re heading to the stage. This will put you in a positive, upbeat frame of mind. The business equivalent to this would be to visualize a past speech/new biz presentation that was particularly well received and lock onto that image just before you begin.

3.) Don’t get angry at yourself or your audience. This is huge. I’ve seen countless new business presentations and speeches get derailed because a member of the presentation team forgot his or her comments and directed the angst inward or, worse, became agitated by a question or comment made by a prospect or audience member. Anger destroys chemistry.

4.) Have fun. It seems like an absurd thought in such a stressful situation. But viewing speeches or performances as character-building moments in one’s life can make them seem more like opportunities than obstacles.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’ That is so true in terms of public speaking. The anticipation is almost always worse than the actual experience. Mastering public speaking is critical to an individual’s image and reputation and, if not nurtured and mastered, can derail an otherwise promising trajectory. So, memorize, practice, visualize, keep cool and, oh yeah, have fun.

Thanks to Catherine Carlson for the idea.