I recently attended the National Radio Broadcasters Convention in Anaheim, California.
People from all over the country attended to meet and discuss whatever projects they were involved with in spreading the Gospel. I called it being “in the Jesus business.”
Over the years I have attended other broadcast conventions for commercial radio, or what we call “General Market” radio, which means everything but religious or non-commercial radio. The difference between regular radio people and people who are involved with religious broadcasting is remarkable.
The thing that impressed me the most about the NRB was the relaxed, almost gleeful vibe I felt about the people in attendance. You could tell that, while all there were just trying to make a living, they were also dedicated to their beliefs and were motivated because of their faith. They believed what they were doing was for the right reason and for a good and worthy cause.
Contrary to mainstream radio conventions, where there are people who act more like cynical opportunists, the NRB not only reminded me of my own passion for broadcasting (which got me into the business at the age of 19), but even more exciting was the fact that Jesus has an army of people who, to this day, are “winning souls for the kingdom.” Communications people who love the Lord are doing great things – and they know it!
In regular broadcasting, people are solely motivated by financial success, the art form is secondary (which was not always the case before broadcasting became overtly corporatized).
In religious broadcasting today, what started out with Jesus and twelve Apostles in Galilee two-thousand years ago is now a full-fledged budding industry of people who use their skills and knowledge to continue to teach Christs’ message of salvation to the world.
If one were disposed to believe that Christianity is losing its impact or is less relevant today, this convention would have set you straight. There is an army of people out their doing incredible things for God in every corner of the earth.
For example, I saw several independent film companies introducing a slew of full-length television and theatrical films about Faith, the Bible, etc. If you are a Christian you are going to be impressed and excited by the numerous faith-based films about to be released.
I met several pastors who use radio in foreign countries to spread the Gospel. I met other ministers who use broadband to recruit missionaries that are needed to help teach Christ in communist countries (where you can be killed for doing so). I met evangelists who simply wanted to grow their programs across networks; one particular man, who hails from Bangladesh and who specifically tries to introduce Jesus to Muslims, spoke to me about his experiences in trying to introduce Christ to Muslims (which as you can imagine, are fraught with danger).
But the greatest lesson for me was the reminder that, no matter what your profession or duty, if you are motivated by God or Christ (or divine principles) when doing your work, then even secular things become spiritual, as stated by Jesus in paper 155 of the Urantia Book (155:6:11) from his ‘Second Discourse on Religion’:
“And fail not to remember that the will of God can be done in any earthly occupation. Some callings are not holy and others secular. All things are sacred in the lives of those who are spirit led; that is, subordinated to truth, ennobled by love, dominated by mercy, and restrained by fairness — justice.” (UB 155:6:11)
The experience was thrilling and for a Urantian like myself, I left with no doubt that Jesus continues to have a major impact in the lives of millions and millions of people, many of whom came to Anaheim to hone their secular skills for a truly divine purpose.
James Watkins is the host of Candidly Speaking on UrantiaRadio.Wordpress.com
