Great Storytelling = Great Editing

We are coming out of the greatest health crisis in our lifetimes. And people are experiencing their first hugs in over a year.

For some people, the past year has been a time of great trial and loss.  

Their health has been permanently affected. And they will be reminded with every breath about 2020 for the rest of their lives. 

Many have lost loved ones. Some more than one. We hear numbers like half a million reported in the news, but for our friends, it’s a mother or grandad or friend they will never see again or laugh with. 

For frontline healthcare heroes, it’s been a landmark year.  Each of us who doesn’t do that kind of work needs to say “thank you”. Our friend Missy is a nurse in North Carolina and she told us a year ago we would all know at least one person who would die from this scourge. I thought she was exaggerating. I was wrong. I know three. God bless you Missy . . . and thank you for being honest with us.  

For some, this past year has been a year of more closeness with family. A time to unexpectedly reenergize relationships. To read more. Cook more. Walk more. Have more quiet time. Spend more time with God. And, of course, to work from home.  Although for others, it’s been a painfully lonely time. 

But now, everything is changing again. Things are opening up, weddings and graduations are happening in person, crowds are returning to concerts and sporting events, although gradually and at different paces in different parts of the country. 

how can you be the first hugs to your listener

Our part in this? Hope. Encouragement. Blessing.  

If they’re ready and you’re ready, who needs their first hug in a year? It’s been so, so long. Let’s encourage our listeners to reach out personally or verbally to those they haven’t seen in a year. At church. Or in their family. Or at work.  

Here’s what all of this means for your on-air messaging:  

• Talk more about how things are opening up. 
• Talk more about the opportunity to bless and love (hug) those you have not seen face-to-face in a year or more. Who do you need to reach out to? 
• Talk about continuing to respect that not everyone will feel safe at the same time and part of our loving well means respecting that.  
• Talk about the experience being harder for some, easier for others. And how it has changed things for everyone. 

Our ministry is personal, even intimate. Let’s take advantage of that and use that to remind people of God and give them their first hug in a year.  Want to read more? Read last month’s blog SHALL WE LAUGH.

on air Humor and how to add it even if you’re not funny

Throughout the year, we do research with Christian radio listeners across North America to gauge where their heads and hearts are for what we provide on the radio. You’ve heard and read much about how these listeners want encouraging, positive, hopeful songs and messages. All of that is true. And on-air humor is a part of that.

There is another side, though.  We’ve seen this from less churched listeners all the way to more legalistic believers and from all different denominations. This other side angle seems to be especially true now that we’re in lockdown, wearing masks and under restrictions and folks are just sick and tired of all the negativity.  

The other side is this. They want us to lighten up. Have fun. Be funny. Use humor. 

I’m not kidding. 

The last few times we’ve played things in Focus Groups and music tests that were fun or funny, listeners rated the humor high, commented on how they loved it, wanted it from us, hoped we would play more of it.  

They just need a break from all of the hopelessness in the world around them and just want to laugh. 

Examples of Effective Humor

So, how do you add humor and make it effective? A couple of cautions. First, if you’re not funny, we’re not recommending you begin telling jokes. You should consider incorporating fun and funny into your show or station, but don’t try to be funny if you’re not. For what it’s worth, I’m not naturally funny, so it’s generally better if I don’t try to tell jokes. 

Maybe incorporate something that sounds like this (🎧  CYNTHIA TOBIAS):  

Secondly, be careful with the type of humor you use. Some types do poorly with Christian audiences. And I don’t just mean bawdy humor.  But self-deprecating/self-reflective humor like this following example almost always works (🎧  CYNTHIA TOBIAS):

We’ve seen some kinds of humor work really well. Other kinds work not at all (ask me sometime about the piece I played in a music test where I thought the respondents were going to throw things at me). Sorting through what kinds of humor work and what doesn’t is something we can help with. 

P.S. We’re here to help. Feel free to REACH OUT TO US if we can offer additional suggestions or examples.

Lord, we don’t need another mountain
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross
Enough to last ’til the end of time 

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some, but for everyone* 

I keep being asked how we should respond to the news. How should we respond to the latest on the virus? How should we respond to what’s happening in Washington? Or around the world? 

And my answer is always some variation of “listen to your listener”. We’re continuing to do focus groups and music testing, now all online, and a consistent theme of “Don’t bring me down” keeps coming up.  

A woman in one of our groups spoke recently about how masks in the grocery store were such a downer. She said she just needed a song with uplifting lyrics when she got back in the car! She wanted to be reminded of God, and of His goodness instead of all the negative that was going on around her. 

How to be the hug your listener needs

Here’s the answer to the question about how to respond to the news:  

Make it Christ-focused.  

Shift away from the facts of the news event and towards actions your listener can take to pray for the situation. Your listener is bombarded by messages about the pandemic, and masks, and politics in other media. She doesn’t need it, nor want it, nor expect it from your Christian radio ministry. But she may be looking for ways to re-center herself towards Christ. 

What she needs from you is a hug. Your listener needs a hug. A pro-active–reach-through-the-radio-verbal-affirmation. A this-has-gone-on-so-long-and-we’re-in-this-together-love-you-friend-message.  

All this social distancing has gone on now for a year! We’re all ready for it to be over. As Christian media friends, we can help our listener by being a supportive, affirming, loving friend. 

 And think in terms of giving out long overdue hugs.  

*What The World Needs Now Is Love”
Songwriters: David, Hal / Bacharach, Burt F
What the World Needs Now Is Love lyrics © New Hidden Valley Music Co., New Hidden Valley Music Company, Casa David Music, New Hidden Valley Music Co, BMG Rights Management (Uk) Ltd (Hal, David) 

finding your role and how to focus your listener on the eternal while living in the Chaos

What is our role right now as Christian radio? We are called to live in this world but not of this world.

For me, those words have taken on even more meaning with the events happening this month. How do we live in this chaotic, angry, divided storm while helping focus our listeners or viewers on the eternal?

The Lord keeps bringing one word to mind…peace.

God’s peace that surpasses all understanding. He wants us to help our listeners or viewers experience that peace. And, even more so in the midst of this storm.

A Real-life Example

It is said that Mother Teresa asked Calcutta city authorities for a building for the sick and dying, and they, knowing about her work, gave her a hostel, close to a temple devoted to a Hindu goddess of deaths. The building, where devotees often had stayed, had not been maintained and was a mess.

But, a delighted Mother Teresa and her team cleaned it up and named it “Place of the Immaculate Heart.” You likely know that they would tenderly care for the neediest of the sick and the dying. The more radical Hindus were not pleased that Christian nuns were working on the premises of a Hindu goddess. Violent protests followed.

A story relayed about Mother Teresa, who dealt with some major storms herself, comes to mind from the book Seven Women by Eric Metaxas*:

One day a Hindu leader gathered a mob of young people, armed with stones, to help him drive out Mother Teresa and her helpers. When she heard the hubbub outside, she came out the front door and courageously and calmly approached the mob. She soon learned who was leading this angry crowd and addressed him directly, inviting the Hindu leader to come inside and see for himself what the sisters were doing.

When he came out a short time later, the mob, still waiting for his instructions, asked him if they could begin what they had come to do – drive out the nuns by force.
“Yes, you can,” the man replied, “but only when your sisters and your mothers do what those Sisters are doing in there.”

In Summary

God is not surprised by our nation’s storm. It’s a question of how we’re going to show His peace in the midst of the storm. Let’s pray that He will show us in our daily tasks and our daily communication how best to radiate His peace that surpasses all understanding.

CONTACT US if we can help.

*SEVEN WOMEN, Eric Metaxas, pp. 176-177, © 2015, 201

five ways to Pause and Give Your listener, viewer and yourself a Spiritual Reality Check

Earlier this year, when we mostly believed that the pandemic challenges would be over by summer, we released the following blog. It was a very popular read—one of our highest for 2020. As we now know, the entire year was much more challenging, crazy and upside down than we could ever have predicted. We are struck that this POST, early in the pandemic bewilderment, pertains more than ever. As we close out this unforgettable year, we would observe that God has gotten our attention, given us a spiritual reality check of sorts. Please reread and ponder with us—what has God taught you through this time?

There are few times in the past 100 years where everyone – 100 percent of people in our nation – are thinking about, and had their daily lives changed by, the same thing at the same time. And, for that reason, your “between the songs” and your blog and your preaching content needs to reflect the pandemic challenges your listener faces – “my work has changed, my childcare has changed, my church has changed” topic. It’s the only thing most people are thinking about. We recommend you focus on where the heads and hearts of your listener are, in ways that only Christian radio can do.

Five Things to be Saying to Your Listener or Viewer Right Now (and Maybe Yourself?)

With help from our friend, DWIGHT BAIN, a nationally board-certified counselor in Orlando specializing in helping people in crisis, here are the Top Five Things to be saying to your listener right now to navigate them through their pandemic challenges:

1. Pray. For calm. This time is scary. We are loved by a God of peace, joy and hope. Pray that He gives you a sense of calm in this time. And, an ability to be a calming influence to those around you. For a heart of compassion for others. Pray for the people who are sick and their families. For overwhelmed healthcare professionals and their families. For wisdom for our leaders and their families. For your eyes to be opened to ways to serve.

2. Choose how you use this time wisely. Most everyone has to “stay put”. You have choices as to how you use this time: more prayer or less.  More quiet or less. More Bible reading or less. More screen time or less. More meals together with family. More board games. Who could you FaceTime with – maybe on a schedule? Dads and Moms: if everything is too busy normally, this is a time you can choose to lead spiritually in ways you didn’t have time for before.

3. Worry less. The world is telling us right now to worry more. Jesus tells us not to worry. You have a choice as to what to do with your worry. Pray that He will help you with and take away your anxiety. Read and pray Philippians 4.

4. Be a peacemaker/be more sensitive to others. All of this togetherness, combined with uncertainty, will lead quickly to short tempers. Choose to be more of a peacemaker now. Listen better. And, be sensitive to those for whom a significant life event will now not happen – prom, sports championship, birthday party, commencement, presentation.

5. Tell a friend. People have lots of questions and worries. If there was ever a time you could have an opening to tell someone about the peace, joy and hope of God, it’s now. Pray that He gives you the right words at the right time.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

How to Navigate your Listener through the Post Election Uncertainty

Uncertainty. That’s what is swirling in the air.  As the campaign season and the final day of voting wrapped, we are left with…uncertainty.

So the headline that has jumped out at me today was this.

“Google searches for ‘Liquor Stores Near Me’ hit all time high.”

Some of those people searching were your listeners.

Worried. Looking for relief. And answers. And escape. And hope. And a friend.

And this is where your Christian radio station or program or podcast can make a difference.

Our recommendations?

First, stay out of the political fight. That’s not why your listener is coming to your Christian station or program. She’s coming to you to get away from that and to find Jesus.

Secondly, remind them that it’s normal to feel scared and uncertain. It’s a noisy, distracting time. Your transparency and empathy will go a long way toward making heart connection.

Thirdly, choose words of eternal hope. He is bigger than all of this. He is the better answer than the answers the world gives. Remind her of that. She needs to hear it.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear. Psalm 46:1-2a (NIV)

Encourage your listener to hold those words – or, other words like those – close.

She is coming to you for spiritual encouragement everyday … but especially at a time like this.

And, by the way, you might remind her that turning off the news, now that the election is over…is an option.

If we can help further in the midst of the noise, please CONTACT US.