CHRISTIAN RADIO

I mentioned in passing this morning that I was happy there was a Christian radio station on Long Island again - WLIX resurfaced again Easter weekend on 104.5FM in central Suffolk and several other bands elsewhere in the county. The full info is at www.wlixradio.com

It's not exactly a resurrection of the old WLIX. I guess the old name is being used for its instant recognition by the person who runs this new station, Rich Anderson who pastors Holding Out Hope Church in Middle Island.

The music is generally a bit dated and some of the preaching is a little over the top, but overall I'm happy to have instant access to some Christian stuff while I'm driving.

This weekend several people suggested I should take a teaching slot on WLIX, but once I started to explain why that was not going to happen, they instantly understood.

Whatever its proponents say, Christian radio is overwhelmingly listened to by Christians. I know people who run stations say they're getting the gospel out through Christian radio, but that's not really the case. They're catering to people who know Jesus - and that's all good.

Already-Christians are not our target - the unchurched are.

Preparing programs takes time, effort and money and if we're going to use those valuable resources to minister to believers, we're going to have that much less of each of them to dedicate to our mission - to seek and save those that are lost.

That's why I don't plan to do Christian radio. It's Rich Anderson's mission and he's doing a good job of it.

But mine is different.