The introduction of radio has revolutionized man's most effective approach to man. It has revamped his mode of wide appeal and of transmitting thought to the masses, and thus molding the sentiment of men Widely separated in location and in thought. That radio has often been prostituted to pander to the unworthy, is undeniable. But that it offers a mighty beckoning challenge and opportunity to the gospel herald is also undeniable, and is a fact which is being increasingly recognized. The following stenographic report of a round table hour on "Radio and the Message" should be both stimulating and suggestive to all evangelists and pastors.
L. E. F.
J.G. Lamson (Portland, Oreg.) : My work with the radio began as the result of receiving a circular letter from a local radio station, making a special price to churches. The proposition interested me to the extent that I placed the matter before five members of my congregation, and they guaranteed the cost of the radio for twenty hours at approximately $20 an hour. (The radio cost us $15 an hour, and the remote control cost $5 an hour.) We chose to broadcast from our church, where we could make use of the pipe organ and put on a strong musical program. We rented a wire from the telephone company, and they ran a special wire to the church, and then from the telephone station to the broadcast station; And the wires were equalized, so the microphone in the church gave just as good service as in the studio.
Just at this time I was holding a series of meetings in our church on Sabbath afternoons, from three to four o'clock, and I decided to make this the radio service, taking up subjects which would be of timely interest both to the people who came to the church and to those who listened over the air. The regular audience ranged from 350 to 400, and the radio audience extended over a wide area, as evidenced by letters which we received from people residing in the eastern part of Montana, in Northern Canada, Southern California, and west almost to the coast.
In my lectures I gave the doctrinal messages, and as the trouble between the Arabs and the Jews in Palestine was current news at that time, I began by dealing with the prophecy concerning the Jew. I announced my subject as "The Arab and the Jew," which attracted the attention of the people, and I carried my listeners right along down through the prophecies very much as we do in tent efforts. I talked to the people just as if there were no radio connection; and for myself I find it is easier to talk to a visible audience than to an imaginary one behind the microphone.
Our station's power was 500 watts, and our broadcast continued for seven months. We added to the attractiveness of our efforts by putting on several fine musical programs, which were well received, and the owner of the station was so well pleased with the music and the lectures that he came right to the church, sat in my study with his amplifier, and personally handled the broadcast from the church, so as to make it as near perfect as possible. After the first program was put on the air, we received a personal call from a prominent citizen of Portland, who said he wished to compliment us upon the program and the presentation of the subject that was given. We also received many telephone calls from those who were interested in what had been given, and special requests for musical numbers were sent in. Especially gratifying were the letters received from shut-ins, and from people living back in the mountains, who had not heard a sermon for many years.
One man who had been a Sabbath keeper for forty-two years, but because of deafness had not been able to get any good from public services, happened to put his ear trumpet down close to the loud-speaker, and caught a faint sound. He went immediately to the tinsmith and had a large bell made for his ear trumpet, by means of which he was able to hear every word of my sermon. He was so happy that he wrote me a letter about it, expressing his great joy in what the Lord had permitted to come to him over the radio. A great many sick people listened in, as we arranged for amplifiers to be placed in the corridors of the Portland Sanitarium, with connecting wires in the rooms, so that patients in the sanitarium could listen to the sermon as they lay in bed.
As an indication of the influence exerted by our broadcast in the immediate community, I refer to the case of a lady who had received a check from me, and went into a bank in the city to get it cashed. As she was a stranger, the cashier asked for some means of identification; but as she did not know any one in the bank, and was not known by any one connected with the bank, the situation seemed doubtful. But glancing at my signature on the check, the cashier asked, "Is this the man who gives the Lamson lectures over the radio?" and on being assured that it was, he replied assuringly, "Well, we can fix that all right;" and the cash was turned over. It seems that this banker's family were regular listeners to the Sabbath afternoon lectures, and the only identification needed was the fact that the check was signed by the lecturer.
One time I was feeling a bit despondent, and questioning in my mind whether or not I was really accomplishing anything definite and specific through the radio effort. But as I came out of the church at the close of the service, the Bible worker came to me and said, "Well, Brother Lamson, your sermon this afternoon certainly did something for us, because one of my readers, for whom I have been working so hard to get across the line, has just told me that your sermon on the Sabbath in the New Testament had settled the matter for her." That gave me much courage, and still I wondered if there could be any others who had been reached by the message. Just a few days later I was in a near-by town, and a sister came to tell me, "We have a new convert here in Salem who gave her heart to the Lord after listening to your sermon on the Sabbath." Just a few days before I left home to come to this meeting I received a letter from another sister, telling me that her neighbor had begun to keep the Sabbath as a result of the lectures. I believe in the possibilities which lie in the radio, and I hope that all who make use of this modern means of communication will have as happy a time as we have had in radio work in Portland.
C. T. EvicasoN (Pueblo, Colo.): During the last three years I have conducted radio services in connection with the evangelistic campaigns held in various cities throughout the State of Washington,—Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane, and more recently in the city of Pueblo, Colo. The most effective influence of the radio service, when combined with the evangelistic campaign, to my mind, lies in creating a sentiment in favor of the meetings at the tabernacle.
I prefer to broadcast from the studio, rather than the tabernacle, as I find the large building is not well adapted to broadcasting, and the voice sounds hollow when it goes out over the air by remote control from there, while from the studio the voice sounds absolutely natural; and I consider this a matter worthy of careful attention, for the sound of a person's voice plays a large part in establishing confidence on the part of a radio audience. Another reason for my preference in this matter is that we can broadcast from the studio cheaper than from the tabernacle by remote control. In some places the remote control broadcasting would cost us $50, while we can go out over the air from the studio for $20, or even less.
My plan has been to broadcast once a week, on Sunday afternoon. While we cannot reach so great a distance in the daytime as at night, yet on Sunday afternoon there is the advantage of having only a few stations on the air, as the stations from a distance cannot get in, and the National is on only at certain periods. In Seattle the National was on from one to two o'clock, and we came on from two to three, so we practically had the entire field to ourselves. In the evening, programs are coming in from everywhere, and it is necessary to divide up the time with everybody else. We found that our Sunday afternoon broadcasting extended within a radius of two hundred miles. When we went to Victoria to start our effort there, we found at one of our early meetings that there were nearly two hundred people in the audience who were present because they had heard us over the air in Seattle.
While we cannot always, with propriety, preach our distinctive truths over the radio, we can always preach the wonderful character of Jesus, and such preaching finds its way into a person's heart. After his heart begins to soften, and ' he thinks the matter over, he says, "I really think I would like, to go and hear that preacher." Just a short time ago, in the city of Pueblo, a man and his wife were listening to our service over the radio, and at the close of the service the man turned to his wife and said, "I don't know who that man is, but I am going down to hear him." They have been baptized and are rejoicing in the truth today as the result of the radio influence.
We have a message to preach which exalts Christ in a way that no other evangelists can do. When the people see this precious Saviour placed before them from the standpoint that we are called to present Him, their hearts are touched, and they begin to reach out to find the rest of the truth bound up in Christ's message to the world at this hour. To my way of thinking, the only way to bring people to decide for truth is to blend that truth so thoroughly with Jesus Christ that they cannot possibly separate the two. If a man can separate Jesus Christ and the Sabbath, Jesus Christ and immortality, or any other doctrinal truth, he will do it. But if he cannot separate Jesus Christ and the truth, he will, if honest, take them both. I think that is the secret of getting people to accept and conform their lives to the solemn message which we are commissioned to proclaim in these last days.
H.A. Vandeman (Allentown, Pa.): For nearly six years I have been broadcasting every Sunday afternoon, from 5:30 to 6:30, and I have abundant evidence to prove that we have a radio audience of between fifty and sixty thousand people, scattered over an area of between forty and fifty miles from Allentown. I am glad to be among those who are seeking to do the greatest possible service for God through every possible avenue of approach to the people. As I pass through the great cities of our land and see the millions of aerials, I am reminded of that statement in the Scriptures, "that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets [the microphone in the studio] shall be proclaimed upon the housetops," and I believe we are witnessing the modern fulfillment of that prediction at this day.
The experience of being initiated into standing before the microphone is different from any other phase of public work. To stand and talk to cold steel with all the enthusiasm. and emphasis which is required to interest an audience, causes one's knees to shake. It is necessary to learn how to use the voice over the microphone, so as to speak distinctly, but in a quiet conversational tone. Sometimes the thought of addressing fifty thousand people causes the speaker to become excited, and to raise his voice to a high pitch, and begiri to shout, just as he would feel it necessary to do were he facing such a large audience in an auditorium. But this must be avoided.
I have endeavored to have every minister who comes to Allentown speak over the radio, and the various experiences have been very interesting. One of our well-known missionaries from South America was asked to speak before the microphone, and when he had talked for eleven minutes, he turned to me, And said, "Say, I am through!" The 'aspiration of the visible congregation was lacking, and he soon came to the end of his talk. A missionary from India spoke for me one evening, and he did well. On our way to the train the next morning we stopped at one place where I knew the people had been listening in to the radio talk, and I said to him, "I want you to see one of the men who heard you last night." As the man came out to the automobile to talk to us, I saw a smile of satisfaction come over my brother missionary's face as he realized that some one actually heard what he said over the radio.
I find that a radio address requires a great deal of preparation. Some people have asked me what I talk about over the radio. I am glad to hear Elder Everson say that the Christ of the message which we have to proclaim is more attractive than any other presentation of Christ. That is the main point which I emphasize in my work. Someway there is a freshness and a buoyancy to this blessed message which just keeps springing up perpetually. I see more in the message today than I saw fifteen years ago. Thousands of Catholics are listening in. I give the message from A to Z, and keep emphasizing it through my question box.
Our touch with the homes of the people opens up avenues for successful endeavor by our workers in the Harvest Ingathering and the Big Week. Solicitors for mission funds are often met with the familiar statement, "I have my own church, and give to that;" but when mention is made of "The Little Church on the Corner," by which our radio work is known, the attitude changes at once, and they say, "O well, I have something to give for that."
There are times when I am tempted to feel discouraged, and wonder if it is worth while to go on without having my congregation before me. Then suddenly letters begin to roll in from distant points, telling of interest and help received from the sermons, and my enthusiasm for the radio work is quickly revived. Sixty-five people have been baptized as a direct result of the radio contact thus far during my six years' experience. I hope the time will come when all our ministers will have a radio outlet.
Alger Johns (Matheson, Colo.) : We have been fortunate in being permitted to broadcast without a cent of cost, through the courtesy of the owner of the radio station, to whom I explained the nature of our work. We were given one hour a day for three days in the week,—Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The most interesting phase of our broadcasting proved to be our Bible class. There would be several speakers, and questions were answered from the Bible, covering all points of the message. As a result, we know of six converts to the truth during the eight months of the broadcast, and since that time we have received word that two or three other persons have taken their stand for the Sabbath. This was a small station, of about fifty watts, which reached a radius of fifty miles, and we feel that the radio effort was well worth while.
John Ford (San Diego, Calif.) : When we take into consideration that we are paying about a dollar a minute for the time spent in broadcasting, we realize that we should not send forth any program which is not worth while. Usually the first impression is made through the music, and if that is not of the best order, the other features of the service will not have the attention they ought to have. I seek to make the radio song service as personal as possible. I see in imagination the audience before me, and ask that all bow the head while we pray. Many times I work out short stories in connection with my songs, and find that this is very helpful. If we are to have a lecture on the second coming of Christ, I work out a little song story which blends with the theme. This prepares the hearts of the people for the sermon, and the results are much more effective. It should always be remembered that we are singing, not for our own glory, but for the glory of Jesus Christ, and that the good old gospel songs are always appreciated by the listeners.
H.N. Williams (Newfoundland Mission): I have had experience in broadcasting over several stations, and have seen good results. At least half of my converts during the last eighteen months have been reached through radio work. The Sabbath before I started to the General Conference I baptized a number of people who were entirely the result of radio work, and they had been keeping the Sabbath for several weeks before orr workers found them. I am convinced that in order to make radio work successful, attention must be given to thorough follow-up work. It is like casting out seed over a vast field and never cultivating it, when we broadcast and do not follow up the work. We must get the personal workers into the 'field to find the people who are interested, before the enemy steps in and sows the tares which so quickly choke the impulse to investigate truth.
In regard to the music in the radio program. I agree with what has been said about the desirability of having the very best, and I note that some of our evangelists feel that it is necessary to call for the services of professional singers. Personally I believe in doing the best we can with whatever ability is available among the brethren and sisters in the church, by training them to sing the good old gospel songs in the spirit and the understanding of the message which is presented. We had an experience along this line a short time ago. Our little group of brethren and sisters had been furnishing the music for our radio services as best they could, but one night two professional singers, who had been listening in to our services, offered to sing for us. They were Christians, and took leading parts in the church choir, and also made a specialty of singing over the air. We accepted of their offer, and they came and sang hymns for us.
Before they got through singing, telephone calls came in to the station requesting that these singers should not take the place of the former chorus. The people who sent in these telephone requests were not Seventh-day Adventists, and ,I found that three of them were members of the very church to which one of the singers belonged, but they did not know this. They said that while those professional singers are singing gospel songs, and are doing it well, there is not the old ring to it, and "we know they do not belong to you people." I believe that singing by consecrated voices, in which the Spirit of God is recognized, is just as necessary and just as vital to success as is the prayer or the sermon.
Some are in doubt as to what subjects are appropriate to deal with over the radio. I believe we should broadcast the message, making Jesus the central theme of every sermon. There are some things, of course, which we cannot preach to a public audience, but in general I preach the same things over the radio that I preach in a theater or a tent. There are some things that we have no business to preach in a theater or a tent that may be all right in our own Seventh-day Adventist churches. There is a way of giving the message without offending people of any church affiliation. Roman Catholic priests, both in Newfoundland and in the States, have telephoned to me and have written me concerning their interest in the themes presented over the radio. One priest in Massachusetts has written me three times to assure me of his interest. Catholic nuns have also responded, saying, "It is against the rules of our church to attend Protestant services, but no one can prevent us from listening to your lectures over the air."
Souls are accepting the message as the result of the radio broadcast, and there is being created a widespread respect and better understanding of Seventh-day Adventists.
