On the Radio


Yesterday I learned from a friend’s Facebook post that it was National Radio Day. This man shared a photo of himself at the first radio station he worked at over 40 years ago. I responded by posting the meme above featuring Wolfman Jack and cast members from the old sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati.” That brought back memories of my disc jockey work.

As a boy, I pretended to be a DJ using my Panasonic tape recorder and playing records on my parents’ stereo system. Listening to Casey Kasem’s “American Top 40” was an inspiration. It wasn’t until my first year in college I became a DJ for real. I volunteered as an announcer for the radio station at Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota. That same year, the roller rink I worked at promoted me to floor guard. Part of that job was playing the records. I had a blast doing that but resigned after eight months due to disagreements with the managers.


Less than a year later, I landed my only paying announcer job on terrestrial radio. I conducted telephone surveys for KVOX-AM and convinced the station manager to let me have a shift on his station. The format was oldies music fed through a satellite service from Chicago. I came on the air every 20 minutes to give weather forecasts, sports updates, and station IDs. The pseudonym “Todd Richards” was used. I didn’t want my real name connected with the music played. I desired to possibly work for a pop/rock station in the future, but that never happened. 


Over the next few years, I deejayed at other roller rinks plus nightclubs, company parties, school dances, and wedding receptions. Meanwhile, I attended one semester of broadcasting school at Brown Institute in Minneapolis. Because of my prior experience, I got to skip the first six weeks of class. I didn’t continue my schooling there after realizing a full-time career in radio wasn’t something I wanted. I preferred live deejaying because of better pay, instant feedback from the crowd, and more control over the music played. I also learned radio announcers usually start by working at stations in smaller markets. I didn’t want to leave the Twin Cities area then.


Just before giving my life to Jesus in 1991, I lost interest in DJ work. I had enough of the smoke-filled rooms, alcoholics, and getting requests to play the same old songs every night. I never really desired to be an announcer at a Christian radio station. Most of the religious music heard on the airwaves bored me. I ended up started a station online.


In 2002, I had a dream of riding in a car that stopped in front of a radio station with “WWW” in big red letters on it. The Lord wanted me to go on the radio over the Internet. At first, I thought it would simply be a program about evangelism. I wrote out several scripts for when I would have the opportunity to produce such a program. Later, I realized God wanted me to launch an actual station. Thanks in part to an unexpected donation given by a friend, Signs & Wonders Radio began airing in April 2006. The station featured mostly modern worship music plus recordings of myself sharing soul-winning tips. 


During the next decade, Signs & Wonders Radio attracted listeners from over 100 nations. (I also helped start an online station for another ministry). Then in September 2015, I closed my account with my streaming service. I did not approve some of the ads inserted by Live365. A short time later, they temporarily went out of business due to increased licensing rates. Broadcasting through Live365 again is an option, but I cannot justify the higher expense. My number of listeners had gone down. One key reason is platforms such as YouTube and Spotify now allow people to hear just about any song they want at the time of their choosing.


Although I’ve performed a few live DJ shows (called “glory parties”) and continue doing podcasts, I haven’t ruled out going on the radio again. The right situation could bring me back to the airwaves. I’m open to using every form of media to reach people with the gospel.


“And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” - Matthew 24:14 (NLT)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gospel Soul Winning Script

Image
During my early days with evangelism, I developed an approach called the Survey Technique . By asking short direct questions, you can maintain control of the conversation and find out quickly what a person’s spiritual beliefs are. Although the Survey Technique has helped me lead thousands to the Lord, I’m still open to utilizing new methods in reaching people with the gospel. Rodney Howard-Browne 's ministry uses a tool called the Gospel Soul-Winning Script , which originated during their Good News New York campaign in 1999. I became familiar with it a few years later during evangelism outreaches with Rodney’s church in Tampa, Florida. At first, I resisted using the script. I found it restrictive and thought sinners wouldn’t be receptive to me reading the whole thing to them. Then while taking part in a 2009 outreach with Rodney’s ministry in Washington, D.C., my team leader asked me to “stick with the script.” Wanting to maintain unity, I complied with his request. Initially it fe
Read more

Toking the Ghost Revisited

Image
Back in February 2007, a fellow missionary I was traveling with started talking about “smoking the weed from heaven.”   He would pretend to have a joint of marijuana between his fingers and have “smoke breaks with Jesus.”   He also encouraged other believers to take “hits.”   I was a bit uncomfortable with this idea but didn't contest it. Then in October of that year, I heard John Crowder preach on “toking the Ghost” at a church in my hometown of Fargo, North Dakota.   I was inspired to make a video with John to share with my missionary friend.   During the filming, I experienced much laughter. I decided to make the video public figuring other people might enjoy it also. Two weeks later at a church in Minnesota, I heard Benjamin Dunn share testimonies of people getting healed from “toking the Ghost.”   This was just before he and John Crowder started ministering together.   I believed this was God confirming His word in the mouth of two or three witnesses.  
Read more

Is That Gold Dust Real?

Image
Twenty years ago I made my first visit to Calvary Campground in Ashland, Virginia. One of the speakers for their Winter Campmeeting was a Brazilian named Silvania Machado. After standing on the platform for about twenty minutes during praise and worship, Sister Silvania brushed gold dust out of her short blonde hair plus had oil flow from her hands. I didn’t dismiss these signs but questioned the purpose of them. A few people in the congregation later testified of being healed. I’ve seen gold manifestations at other places. The year before during a church service in Oklahoma, the fillings in my mouth changed from black to a whitish-gold color. Other people supernaturally received gold teeth (I later met a man in Germany who received four of them). I’ve also seen gold dust appear on ministers such as Joshua Mills while they are preaching. Although I don’t seek after signs like this, gold dust has shown up on my face and in my Bible. One time with the latter, I found some w
Read more