Nothing could have ever prepared anyone for what happened in 2020. So many scenes playing out on the global stage including political division, racial injustice, global disease, natural disasters, and an economic shutdown are just the tip of the iceberg of the trials and struggles that were seen. All of these have occurred before but never all in one year to the degree that was navigated in 2020....
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I confess I was mindlessly scrolling through images on my phone, as I waited at the doctor’s office last week. I paused at a photograph showing a line of baby strollers sitting at a train station. The caption shared how people were bringing strollers and leaving them for mothers with small children, fleeing their homeland with almost nothing but a suitcase or the clothes on their back. I was so touched by the kindness of strangers. Simultaneously, I felt a deep sorrow over yet another world crisis....
Songwriter Gloria Gaither once said, “Satan labels you, God names you.” Her quote profoundly reiterates what we believe at PAR about our listeners, our donors, and each person serving on our teams....
Congratulations! You have arrived! I always chuckle when my GPS navigation tells me this after a long road trip. “You have arrived!” It’s a statement from the GPS navigation that it has successfully brought me to where I need to be. I guess the congratulations should be for the GPS navigation and not me because it did all the hard work. But what does ‘You have arrived’ mean for you in your personal, professional and spiritual life? Is it a good thing? Let’s dive in. ...
For the past couple of years my wife and I worked really hard, but we did not allow ourselves to venture out much during the pandemic. In fact, we haven't gone much past our back deck for an adventure...and it is difficult to play hard there! Are we duller because of it? Uh, yes....
While Christian radio is not a traditional business, I believe Jack’s quote is still relevant to you even 18 years after he said it. The ways of doing business today are vastly different than they were even a few years ago, and seem to be ever changing on a daily basis....
Our mission at Positive Alternative radio is to create and deliver experiences that inspire people to live passionately for Jesus Christ. As the GM for Walk FM, I have to be careful with the experiences that my station creates. My decisions have the power to make those experiences joyful or full of disappointment....
Stories are the oldest way for people to pass the time and stories allow us to communicate and connect to each other. Sharing stories is the fastest way to build relationships, break down walls, and bring people together. Stories don’t just pass the time, they help us communicate purpose, important information, and even inspire our listeners to believe. This is why stories matter....
He was being stalked…hunted. His killer was deranged—so deranged in fact that he actually visited the jail where he knew he’d be kept after the deed was done. Why visit? The assassin wanted to make sure the accommodations were to his liking....
The next leadership principle I’d like for us to consider is this: as a leader, you work for the team. Never adopt the attitude that they work for you. ...
I haven’t written a blog for industry consumption in over two years. To be honest, that was intentional. Instead of trying to inspire and inform leaders outside of PAR, I focused on learning. ...
Here we are…2020. There is a global pandemic, economic distress, civil unrest and deep political divides in our country. People are getting sick. People are dying. Businesses are closing. Jobs are being lost. Many are dealing with anxiety, fear, depression and loneliness. It feels like the world has gone crazy.... ...
Red. Yellow. Black. White. They’re ALL precious in HIS sight. The events in Charlottesville demanded a response. Three of PAR’s brands cover Charlottesville. This is our backyard. We took a few days to allow the “fog” to clear. On Thursday, August 17th – all five...
Scripture is chocked full of the call to be grateful in all circumstances. Society has now adopted the phrase, “First World Problems.” That draws a conclusion that the irritants of our day are usually petty when compared to long-suffering of others around the world, or certainly when compared to life and death issues. Enter the pandemic. ...
Of all the things I’ve had to learn to do, keeping my mouth shut has been the hardest. Can you identify with that? Maybe it’s because at every turn, another opportunity presents itself to share my opinion....
If you clicked on this article and thought that you were going to find out about the next big hit that your station needs to be playing, you might be disappointed. If you are looking for a better way to reach your listeners through the music…well then, this is for you....
As a parent, a friend, and as a leader we are always looking for more time, money, and energy, but have we ever asked God for more wisdom? The strongest example of wisdom many of us know is King Solomon....
It seems we have gotten so busy that we have lost sight of the power of response. I’m sure you have experienced leaving phone messages that are never returned. Or, you send emails that never get a response. Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on all the calls, emails and texts you receive in a day? If you’re like me, it’s probably a large number! How important do you think it is to respond to everyone? How do you think people feel when you don’t respond?...
Lately I've been thinking a lot about legacy. In the beginning of 2022, I lost my dear friend and long time Pastor Max. He was my pastor when I lived in North Carolina and shaped so many things in my walk with Christ. He taught me about generosity. He taught me about having a positive attitude and he always had a perspective that saw the beauty in everything. No matter what things looked like, he always was able to see the beautiful world God created....
For those of you with siblings, have you ever uttered these words? “I’m Mom’s favorite!” If I’m honest with you, my twin and I believe our older brother is Mom’s favorite, but I digress. By very definition, favorite is such a lovely word. It means “a person or thing that is especially popular or particularly well liked by someone.”...
When we choose to lay down our own lives and love His people the way He does, amazing things are possible. This is what I’ve seen in 2020, a year that has been labeled as both a dumpster fire and unprecedented. These are the moments where your mission has to be more than a nice thought hanging on the wall in some hallway. ...
Recently I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the why of our programming. Specifically, why does our programming matter? Of course the question is not just why our programming matters, but why does our programming matter to her?...
In November 2019, I was picking my daughter up from daycare on a Thursday evening. I had a special daddy-daughter evening ahead, but I was unsure what activity we should enjoy together. Before picking her up, I remembered that “Frozen 2”--a sequel to the ever quotable and singable “Frozen”--was premiering that night in movie theaters. For my two-year-old daughter, she couldn’t be more excited when I asked her, “Would you like to go see ‘Frozen 2’?” I couldn’t have received a more resounding “yes” answer and with that we were out the door to the movie theater....
We have a problem. We have big goals and an even bigger vision. However, we aren’t having the desired effect on the culture-at-large. "The test of the vitality of a religion is to be seen in its effect upon culture," Elton Trueblood writes in his book The Company of the Committed....
Hi, my name is Derek, and I am a recovering perfectionist. It wasn’t until the age of 36 that I actually figured it out. This personal discovery took place while reading Dare to Lead by Brene Brown. Her book and its revealing insights hit the nail on the head. ...
We are the products of our youth. Our adult behaviors are often direct reflections of the influencers and experiences we had growing up. Perhaps it’s for this reason that “The Sandlot”—originally released in 1993—became a classic with audiences around the world....
On February, 26, 2021 my dad passed away one week before his 69th birthday, due to complication from COVID. It was unexpected, not because he was in good health before COVID, but the doctor had just met with my family six hours earlier and told us that he seemed to be turning a corner and starting to improve. So, we decided to leave the hospital to get cleaned up and try to rest. We get the call just after midnight that we needed to come back as quickly as we could. By the time we made it back dad was already gone. With the ones you love death always feels too soon, but we all thought we had 20 more years with him, instead from the time he went into the hospital to the time God called him home we only had 20 days. ...
If I don’t have the answer when someone asks me a question, I feel like I’m failing. How ridiculous is that statement? It’s true for me, though, and there is a lot of pride wrapped up in wanting to be seen as someone who always knows just what to say. The glaring issue is that I can’t know everything, and that doesn’t make me a failure or a bad leader. ...
Never in our nation’s history has there been so much animosity and vitriol spewing forth from so many places all at once. Neither the left nor the right sides of America’s political divide are innocent when it comes to chumming the waters with incendiary comments designed to set the opposing camp ablaze. We don’t agree much on anything these days, except this: we are angry!...
There was a fire – there’s no way of sugarcoating the situation. I inadvertently set a pan on fire attempting to cook dinner. Flustered at the cooking mistake I had just made, I ushered my young son out of the kitchen so he wouldn’t be near the flames and reached for the fire extinguisher. I grabbed it, aimed, pulled the trigger, and extinguished the flames. ...
