More Thoughts On Christian Radio...

As I've said before, I'm always leary of the "I'm-done-with-Christian-radio" rant. I understand a lot of people are passionate about it, but I've never really been an either/or type of radio listener. Thanks to my new blog friend, Dale Best, I stumbled across an interesting an article from "Out Of Ur," a blog featured by Christianity Today magazine that's hosted by the editors of the Leadership journal.

I'm not real familiar with either of these publications (although, I have been following CT's war of words with James Dobson of late,) but I think this particular article has some pretty good things to say. True, it definitely comes from a "No-more-Christian-radio-for-me" theme, I think this author is saying things that Christian radio should hear. Hopefully, next week, I'll be able to share these thoughts with our station here in town. I'd love to know what you guys think.

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It’s official: I’m tuning out of Christian radio.

When some of the Christian radio stations in my area shifted their play lists from Southern gospel, country Christian and syndicated preaching, I took notice. I was thrilled to have airwave access to what I considered great Christian music. And I found myself tuning in more often.

But even my favorite stations have started losing me in recent months. What led me to reprogram my car radio and cancel my monthly $10 pledges? Three things.

First, I’ve noticed a growing level of—how shall I say this?—sappiness. Yeah, that’s the word. It’s not so much the music that’s sappy (some of it is); it’s the commentary, news stories, and contests that combine to present Christianity as synonymous with sentimentality. I live in a real world that’s not always positive and encouraging, so Christian radio’s steady diet of sugary spirituality doesn’t promote sustaining faith.

What’s more, I’ve noticed Christian radio becoming, for me, a sort of faith vending machine. Need some encouragement? Just push a button! I suspect that too frequent exposure to otherwise fine music hackneys that music and causes spiritual satisfaction to become one more commodity in my life. This makes real corporate worship feel like an imitation of the canned radio versions of the songs. Plus, it keeps me from developing truly nourishing habits.

After all, who needs real corporate worship and challenging formative disciplines when I can just tune my radio dial and get a quick God fix?Most importantly, I detect Christian radio has succumbed to consumerism. An on-air promo for one station’s Friends and Family Music Cruise pushed me over the edge. Here’s an excerpt from their website:

This year, besides reserving the entire cruise for [our] listener family, everything’s bigger and better—the ship, the exclusive music concerts, the comedy shows, the speakers, and the endless opportunities for having fun! Did someone say swim and spa? That’s right, you’ll have it all!

Is it just me, or are “bigger,” “better,” and “having it all” actually not congruent with the One who made Himself nothing and was obedient unto death? Plus, the station boasts that you can finance the cruise on your credit card. I’m a fun loving guy, but encouraging indebtedness for an experience that appeals to and promotes selfishness—under the guise of being a godly experience—is nothing to laugh at.

Buried beneath my growing dissatisfaction for Christian radio, I find four nuggets of caution for those of us responsible for ministry leadership.

First, Christianity is interesting, but it’s not amusing. After all, “to amuse” basically means to divert and cause someone to not think. Church does not exist to take our minds off the real world, but to focus our attention on God, His plan for the world, and our place in His plan. It’s an interesting plan requiring focus and attention. As a pastor, I often tried too hard to avoid being boring and (gasp!) irrelevant. But in avoiding those dangers, I sometimes fell into the ditch of mere amusement. Christian leaders need to take caution against spinning the gospel as a spectacle that holds our attention but does not hold us accountable.

Second, we must resist presenting immediate fixes for felt needs. After all, salvation and spiritual growth are not commodities that can be produced, marketed, promoted, and perfected for mass satisfaction. Jesus is not a hamburger, a snappy set of sandals, or an iPhone. Discipleship is a committed relationship with Jesus that gradually forms us into the likeness of our Creator. We must take care in how we present the gospel, lest Christ come off as a product we consume instead of the Lord we obey. While more people may buy into a Jesus who makes us happy, we are called to preach a Jesus who makes us holy.

Third, lowest common denominators tend to push us off course. Just because lots of church members (and would-be church members) believe God is for this or that political party, we cannot taint the gospel message with partisan political appeal in order to gain the masses. Likewise, just because obsessive parents demand a children’s program that’s on par with Disney doesn’t mean allocation of tithes and offerings toward such a ministry is wise or warranted. “Give people what they want” makes a poor church motto.

Finally, it’s all too easy to generate and get caught up in hype. We Christian leaders can get stoked about the “big” things we’re doing and lose focus on our core purpose. Hype is not hope, and it is not a route to Christian hope. So when we build a bigger building, plan a super outreach event, orchestrate an awesome Easter service, or pull together a marvelous missionary experience, let’s not get high on the hype that can take on a life of its own.

I’m humbled to realize that for all my critique of Christian radio, I’ve made many of the same mistakes in my own ministry. So while I may be tuning out of Christian radio for a while, I’m thankful that my departure reminds me how we can inadvertently do bad while aiming for good.

Chad Hall is an author and church planter, is an executive coach and trainer with SAS Institute Inc. in Cary, North Carolina.

SATURDAY UPDATE!

KAVX played "My Lips Will Sing" Saturday morning!

It ran a little after 12:30pm! The family and I all stood around and had a little screaming fit as it played.

I think it will run some more during the day. If you can listen, please do!

And...whether you heard it or not, how about shooting them an email and thanking them for me? That would mean so much!

Christian Radio...no, I'm not bitter.

Some of you know that as a teenager, I worked for a Christian radio station. I loved it...I worked long hours for no pay and I adored every aspect of it. And to an extent, I still have a soft spot in my heart for radio.

I say that because I want you to know that I don't hate Christian radio. I know musicians and ministers and lots of folks who DO hate Christian radio, but I'm not one of them.

I listen to it occasionally, though certainly not enough to be considered an expert of any kind. However, I have a proposal for Christian radio - an idea that I think would help them to be better at what they do. Here's what's up...

THE PROBLEM
First off, what's got me thinking this? Almost every Christian radio is "listener-supported." Most often, this means that the stations don't play commercials. They take donations from listeners. Most of us also know that a lot of Christian stations skirt around non-profit regulations by attaching certain donation levels to their public service announcements. For example, if you want your event announced 22 times in a month, you have to donate a certain amount to the station. If you're thinking that sounds like a paid commercial, you're probably right.

But that's not even really the problem I've been noticing.

The problem of late has come from the way in which stations encourage listeners to donate. In the past two months, I've heard three different stations in different markets making pleas for support in the same manner. It sounds something like this:

"Your love-gift/donation/support is changing lives all across East Texas/Houston/the country!"

That station is asking me to support them because what they do is making a spiritual difference in the lives of my neighbors.

I just don't ever hear about it.

How come stations keep telling me that my money is making eternal differences but I never hear testimonials along those lines? I hear lots of taped phone message testimonials, but they usually are telling me that said station has A) Helped them to stop listening to secular music B) Provided safe music for their kids to listen to or C)Has "just the right song" at "just the right time."

Are people giving their lives to God through Christian radio? Maybe...but I never actually hear it. The station keeps telling me it's happening, but I never actually hear anyone testifying to that fact.

THE SOLUTION
I'm not a cynic, but I'm willing to be that the majority of Christian radio listeners are, in fact, Christians. (And women who drive minivans.) Kidding about the women thing...sheesh, who do I think I am, Thad Norvell?

What I don't get is why aren't Christian stations just owning this fact. Why do they keep telling me about winning souls for Jesus? Why aren't they doing interviews with Christ followers who are out there feeding the poor or caring for the elderly? Why aren't these stations showing me all the ways that THEY empower the church to do ministry? How can they be SO focused on the "lost" and say so little about what the church is actually, physically, really doing?

I think Christian radio should change it's sell...instead of telling me that my money is winning souls and never revealing those souls, why not use money to provide resources to the church for actual ministry and then show me that.

You may not believe Christian radio is for Christians. I think it is. And I think they should start getting honest about what they actually do - I don't they should be afraid of saying that their role is to bless the body of Christ and empower that body to do ministry?

Agree? Disagree? Am I making any sense here?

CHRISTIAN RADIO...

While driving to work today, I was listening to our local Christian radio station.

Imagine my delight when I heard Paul Baloche's "Our God Saves" coming through the speakers! But this "Our God Saves" was different. It wasn't the "Our God Saves" I've heard and passed to my praise team and used in worship.

That's right...it was a radio mix.

Can we all just take a moment and discuss the "radio mix?"

I don't understand it. I don't understand it ever. If Michael W. Smith writes a song that's seven minutes long, then it's because he wanted it to be seven minutes long. And if Paul Baloche releases his title track as a live offering, why in the heck does it need to be shortened, chopped up and filled w/ a string section and loops?

Do we believe that listeners MUST have their radio tracks under 3.5 minutes? And even if, do we think Christian radio listeners want their CCM/pop jams chopped as well?

"Our God Saves" is fantastic. Stop messing with our songs, radio.