Driving Notes

We leave Nashville in the morning after a great finish to NRB. Tonight we enjoyed a closing message from Chuck Swindoll and music from Denver and the Mile High Orchestra.

We also spent valuable time today meeting in small groups sharing ideas on programming, promotions, equipment and fundraising.  The value of a conference like this is the ability to listen to what other stations are doing to advance the gospel in their communities.

Jayme and I will be sharing more about our experience during Thursday’s show…talk to you then!

It’s been a long Sunday at NRB, but quite honestly, one of the most fun and memorable days since I started at WNZR in February 2005.

It started this morning with a worship service featuring Dr. James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Chapel in northwest Chicago.  Dr. Jim also has a website and program called “Walk in the Word.” (see info here)  He delivered an inspiring message on Acts 12, where an angel helps free Peter from prison.  He reminded us that this story reinforces the fact that God is in control, even when the enemy appears to have the upper hand.

After lunch, we spent some time geeking out looking at some equipment in the exhibit hall, and saying hello to a few friends who work in Christian media or support organizations.

Then, at 4:30, we met up with all the other schools in the iNRB production awards competition for a celebration of this year’s winners, and the judging of the 36 DA and DV challenges.  I watched Evan Walker and Nico Felizzola receive their certificates for placing in the contest (click for more info), and then paced like a nervous parent while our Digital Audio team of Jayme, Ashley, Derek and Kaylee had their :60 promo for Gospel for Asia played and critiqued by the judges.  I was ready to explode when they announced that our MVNU team had taken FIRST PLACE!!!  The competition was tough, as both Northwestern College and North Greenville University had done quality work as well.

We celebrated over dinner with Matt Selay of Gospel for Asia, who shared his appreciation for the fine work our team did, plus shared from his heart about the call God laid upon his heart to work to get the Gospel to countries like India and Afghanistan.  I was inspired- this is one man who is truly living out loud to build Christ’s kingdom in some of the darkest areas of the world.

Our evening wrapped up with outstanding comedy from Michael Jr. and previews of some great family and faith films coming out soon…Soul Surfer, The Fifth Quarter, Doonby, Mighty Macs and There Be Dragons. 

Google or Facebook these titles to find out more, or keep watching www.wnzr.fm to learn more.

(NOTE: Joe is posting from the 2011 National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville, TN)

Well, we arrived in Nashville last night around 6:30 CST…once we got south of Columbus, the snow was gone and it was pretty much smooth sailing.

Jayme, Derek, Kaylee and Ashley are working as we speak on their 36DA competition :60 promo.  Their client is Gospel for Asia, and after an initial meeting last night, they spent some time with their representatives today.  They must turn in the finished project at 9 tomorrow morning.

This morning we arrived at the Opryland Hotel around 8am for registration and went right into a session with media strategist and futurist Mark Ramsey and social media expert Ray Mena of Emmis Interactive.  Mark consults on social media, radio, TV and web with companies around the world, and said one of the best things about Christian media is that we have a PURPOSE to what we do…he says a lot of media don’t really have “the end in mind” when they produce.  It was a great reminder that the strategies and gadgets are merely tools that God must influence to be truly effective.  If we rely on everything WE know, and push God out, we might as well pack it up and go home.

I also spent some time at lunch and in the conference hall listening to the MVNU women’s basketball game at Daemen in the AMC Tournament.  Even though they lost, I am proud of Coach Gregory and the team for having such an outstanding season.  We will certainly miss seniors Amanda Himes, Lauren Johnson, Kellie Jokela and Kelli Pollock.  Chris and DJ did a great job bringing the action back to MVNU, and to us listening online in Nashville!

On the docket for tonight…a trip to my favorite Nashville BBQ joint, Jack’s.  Can’t wait!  More updates to follow.

Believe it or not, radio needs electricity to exist. When the power outages hit Knox County at the beginning of February WNZR should have had back up generators to stay on the air. Well, sure enough, the generators were iced over and didn’t start automatically. This is where our timeline begins………………….

11:40pm- Heather Kay leaves the station (which was still on the air)

11:52pm- The station loses power, back-up generators don’t kick on

11:54pm- Heather Kay returns to her appartment to find the station she left mere moments ago is now off air, she calls Marcy Rinehart, station manager.

11:58pm- Marcy calls Jayme McMillan, Sam Dye, and Derek Tupper to go up to the station and see what the problem is.

12:06am- After stumbling down a dark hallway to Sam and Derek’s room and getting ready to head out into the ice storm I(Jayme) realize that I have put on brown dress shoes and not tennis shoes like I thought.

12:10am- The three of us leave for the station walking up hill in an inch of ice the entire way.

12:14am- Sam nearly falls, he throws his arms in the air to regain his balance and accidentally punches Derek in the face. (hilariously painful for him)

12:20am- We get the generator going at the station and find out the problem is actually at the generator at our radio tower.

12:25am- Joe Rinehart leaves his home (and warm bed) to deliver the keys to the tower generator to the three of us. One of us has to stay behind at the studio and confirm when we are back on air. We draw straws, Derek loses and is in for a boring couple of hours.

12:31am- Joe arrives on campus and picks up Sam and I, we head out to the tower site.

12:40am- we finally arrive at the tower and begin the long hike through the snow and ice from the parking lot to the tower about 200 meters away.

12:46am- We arrive at the tower, Joe falls in the snow (also hilarious) and has to get up on his own for fear of dragging one of us down with him.

1:00am- we finally get the generator going and are back on the air, then we realize the generator is low on oil. We stop the generator, go back off the air, and walk back to the car 200 meters away.

1:08am- We get back to the car and drive to the gas station to pick up some oil.

1:20am- We get to the gas station, buy oil and head back to the tower site.

1:34am- We get back to the tower, hike back out the 200 meters.

1:40am- We get to the tower and put the oil in and fire it up again.

1:50am-The station is finally back on the air, so, of course we walk all the way back to the car to head home.

2:01am- We get back to the car, my brown dress shoes are ruined……

2:30am- Finally, we go back to bed.

The evening was alot of fun, but very tiring. Also, the next day I discovered that 90% of my clothing was in the washer, locked, since there was no power…..I lived off of 1 pair of pants and a pair of socks for 2 days. Still, I wouldn’t trade the memory for the world (or an extra pair of socks)

Well, if you’re my Facebook friend, you got a little dose of some of the annoying things we deal with in our line of work this week.  Here was my status update this morning:

What is it this week with mean people? I’ve had it. NEWS FLASH…if you want us to keep promoting your event, don’t call in and yell at us because YOU haven’t heard it yet. Then, when we explain how it is already in the on-air and web calendars, QUIT INTERRUPTING…(exhale).

Sometimes I feel like the station should have a huge sound effect with a horn that shouts: “Get your kindness armor on this week, folks!!  Mean people are out in force!” 

I don’t know if it’s the cold, the wind, the messy conditions this week, or what.  People seem to be on the warpath!!   So…just remember this- if you have something to promote or advertise, your approach and attitude with people in a business setting…and yes, we do run a business in an educational setting here…will make or break people’s perception of you and the event or cause you want to promote. 

And if you’re a professing Christian, the stakes are even higher, because you can easily destroy a person’s perception of Christians or Christianity by the way you treat other people.

It’s another good reminder that our Christian walk is not limited to the walls of the church!   So when you feel like unloading on someone…exhale, say a prayer, and think again.  And if you’re the one who got unloaded on, exhale, say a prayer, and know that this guy appreciates you!

-Joe

You know what never gets old? Getting a Christmas gift that you didn’t expect….a good one that is…..not the “honey I totalled the car” ones. This past Christmas my parents surprised me with tickets to see the buckeyes play in the sugar bowl!

I immediately started planning a road trip down south for the game with my friend. We left on January 2nd, in the middle of all the New Years traffic. We arrived with a day to spare and enjoyed catching up on our sleep from the all day drive the day before. Finally, game day came! We took our seats earlier than most fans just to enjoy the sights and sounds of the stadium. It was then that we realized our tickets placed us on the Arkansas fans side of the stadium; far, far away from the safety of the Buckeyes.

Our seats put us right in front of the ESPN broadcast set. Which was really cool until we realized Lou Holtz was doing the broadcast. Lou was the former coach at Arkansas and all their fans where extremely excited to see him. Every single Arkansas fan that walked in immediately exclaimed, “Lou Holtz is here! Hey Lou!” As if he knew who they were, and of course he didn’t. This got very old after the first 4,000 fans arrived.

After pregame it was very clear that, even if we didn’t win the game, our band absolutely destroyed theirs. I mean 30 or 40 times better.

The game started and it got awkward quickly. There we were, in the midst of thousands of angry Arkansas fans as we were winning by 18 at halftime. Of course that feeling didn’t last long as awkwardness turned into frustration when the Arkansas Razorbacks starting coming back. Quiclkly we found ourselves standing with our arms crossed, shaking our heads in unbelief amoungst the roaring Arkansas crowd. Thankfully, the Buckeyes managed to hang on…….barely. A sigh of relief marked the end of the game and we quickly realized we were essentially the only ones on our side of the stadium. The Arkansas fans had all left in anger as soon as the game ended, while all the Buckeyes fans remained for the post game celebration.

The trip was not in vain as Ohio State came out on top. We drove back happy the next day. After a frustrating run through Louisville during rush hour we decided that Ohio drivers are the definitely the best. What a great Christmas Present!…..and a complete surprise.

– Jayme

In December, we spent a signficant amount of time during our Thursday shows in the book of Luke, looking at its unique contributions to the Christmas story and the overall story of Jesus.

I think one of Luke’s most signature moments comes in Chapter 6:

 ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

   ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

For some, this might be the great oxymoron of the Bible…in other words, two things combined that should normally counter or cancel out each other.  But this is what’s SO AMAZING about Jesus.  He doesn’t operate by the world’s norms or opinions.

One devotional I read about this passage reminds us that this passage doesn’t mean we let others just roll over us.  What it means is that when we are confronted with an enemy, or a situation where we are damaged, we don’t lash back and allow emotion or anger to control us.  We allow Christ’ s influence to put things in perspective, and respond calmly and rationally.

Oh, and by the way…the DAY AFTER we read this on the air, I had to put it into practice.  I had to decide if what I read was just empty scripture, or truth I should live my life by.

I read an article about an athiest group that was launching a six-figure ad campaign against Christmas…that’s right…an anti-Christmas campaign.  What do you think my first reaction was?  You guessed it…anger.  But then as my Bible sat near my computer, I remembered Luke 6.

And I prayed…for my enemy. 

Not that the ads would somehow all supernaturally be destroyed…but that whatever had driven the hearts of these men and women against God would be driven from them.  That something great would happen to make these folks embrace the Christmas story.  That a Christ-follower would blow away their negative notion about Christians and the Christian faith.

Luke 6 is the oxymoron to obey…and man, sometimes it’s hard.  But Christ commands it!

Happy New Year!

-Joe

The most emotional moment I’ve experienced in my adult life was the birth of our daughter, Rachel on April 8, 1998.  It seemed like one moment I was laughing with joy and the next moment I was crying with joy.  I still remember holding Marcy’s hand, holding Rachel for the first time, then hugging Dr. Joe Nussbaum in the delivery room at Knox Community Hospital, clutching onto him and thanking him as the tears flowed openly.  By that point, I think everyone else in the delivery room was crying, too!

Today I learned of Dr. Joe’s passing at the age of 70.  Friends, this was a man that had an incredible impact on the lives of many Knox County families.  I know the Rinehart family is not alone when we say Dr. Joe will always have a special place in our hearts. 

I met Joe for the first time when I was calling Mount Vernon High School football and basketball games on the radio.  His son John was an assistant coach for the football team, and I had the privilege of watching his youngest children, twins Jim and Anne, compete in football, plus boys and girls basketball.  Both Jim and Anne attended MVNU and I was able to continue watching Anne’s career as a member of the Lady Cougars basketball team.  I admired Joe because he and his family were always a fixture at games and wildly supportive of their children.  I’m sure that wasn’t easy considering Joe’s constant “on-call” status. 

My wife will be the first to tell you that she doesn’t like going to the doctor’s office…but she trusted Dr. Joe implicitly and valued his expertise…and so did I.  Early in our marriage, Marcy found out she suffered from endometriosis, and it was Dr. Joe who walked us through the uncertainty and helped us through it…a couple years later he did it again when we suffered a miscarriage, then shared our joy when Rachel arrived.

So to his wife Christine and the Nussbaum family, our prayers are with you…we will miss Joe but are so thankful we had the honor of calling him “our doctor.” 

-Joe

A few weeks ago, Marcy, Rachel and I sat down and watched the film “To Save a Life,” recently released on DVD.  Some of you may know about this movie…it’s getting a good amount of play in youth groups and churches and did pretty well in its limited theatrical release last fall.   And since it’s rated PG-13, it’s something you shouldn’t show to small children.  But I highly recommend this film for parents and youth leaders, and PLEASE don’t give up on it just because the content makes you uncomfortable.

“To Save a Life” follows the story of Jake Taylor, a high school basketball star in California whose life is turned upside down when a childhood friend takes his own life in a school hallway.  Jake struggles with guilt and “what if?” as he considers how he could have potentially kept this tragedy from happening.  In the process, he meets a pastor, starts attending a youth group, and finds that making a life change has it’s fair share of challenges, especially within his current circle of friends.  As his journey continues, he realizes that following God can be tough, but that he likes the change happening inside of him.

The film’s screenwriter is Jim Britts, a youth worker who told us this week on The Morning Thing that he wrote the story not as a “Christian movie,” but instead to accurately depict the challenges, questions and pressures that young people are facing in American society, and give parents and kids a chance to open up a dialogue about them.

Sex, alcohol, drugs, social cliques, divorce, teen pregnancy, cutting and Christian hypocrisy are all addressed in this film.  This film is as real as it gets.  Some teens who saw the movie told Jim in emails that they felt like he just set up a camera on their campus and started filming.  

The movie attempts to show how no problem, no matter how big or small, is apart from God’s plan and His love.  It also challenges us to not just talk the Christian talk but walk the walk…there’s one scene in particular that really hits home, when Jake, brand new in his Christianity, calls out some of the fakers he meets in the youth group and asks them, “what good is this if it doesn’t change you?!!”  And you know he’s right!  How can we convince others to walk alongside us in Christ when we aren’t following his will ourselves?  A very humbling and convicting scene.

So, parents, as your kids watch the film, be ready to have these conversations.  Be ready to share your experiences, both your triumphs and your struggles, and how God’s love and God’s plan can comfort and heal us when we are broken or confused. 

And don’t be afraid to tell your kids that the journey is a LIFELONG journey.  One thing I did like about “To Save a Life” is that the ending simply takes Jake on to the next phase of his life…showing that a walk with Christ doesn’t end in an hour and 45 minute film.  It is a continuing journey.  Jim’s sequel book, “Jake’s Choice,” will be released next month and follows Jake to college as a scholarship player at Louisville, and the continuing journey as he faces new pressures.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”   Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

-Joe