As I spoke of on the air during a couple of our live broadcasts from Louisville … there comes a point in one’s life when you recognize that it’s time for a change.
While I love the music and the folks involved in the world of Southern Gospel music and, of course, you our huge family of devoted listeners, with the years passing by and my coming near the end of my eighth decade on this earth … it’s come time to make a choice as to what is best for myself and the dear lady I’ve been married to for nearly half of those years, and for the two channels that I have managed over this past decade.
Where has the time gone? It’s been nearly nine years since we birthed enLighten as an On Line Internet only channel and I’ve had the privilege to have been its “shepherd” for all of the days since. Earlier this year, the Holy Spirit began nudging me saying, “yes, you love all that you do but you must recognize, with the years going by, carrying this load is becoming increasingly more stressful.
As I’ve noted before, I am responsible for two channels, not just enLighten. The other channel is Escape, which lives just “four doors up” on Channel 69. It, like enLighten, has a devoted listenership that can be counted in the hundreds of thousands – the majority of whom listen to little else. That genre of music is where my roots and my historic position in the radio broadcast industry lies … a format that the Lord gave me the ability and inspiration to create some 50 years ago when I was involved in launching a brand new FM radio station in Philadelphia.
It is also a channel that’s been in a stepchild role for much of its 11-year history on satellite radio. However, when it was announced in 2004 that XM Radio would be launching a Southern Gospel channel as part of its new Internet Radio service, they included no plans for hiring an experienced Southern Gospel music person to manage it. Immediately, the Lord spoke to my heart, saying “Marlin, you may not know the music but you know Me and you, as an experienced broadcaster, understand what I expect a channel devoted to my music needs to sound like … so you need to take on this challenge, and trust that the Holy Spirit will guide you.” At no time in these past nine years have I regretted this action … it’s been my joy and honor to serve our Lord in this manner.
What it comes down to is making a choice between which channel to stay with … and making that decision has not been easy. With all that said, I have chosen to step away from the day-to-day management of enLighten and pass the baton to someone younger … and that is now under way.
I will tell you that the channel is in the good hands of a committed Christian and dedicated professional broadcaster, Kyle Cantrell. Kyle lives in greater Nashville and has been with Sirius XM Radio for several years, working at our Nashville studios, which are located just across from the historic Ryman Auditorium, and is a member of First Baptist Church of Nashville, located just a block away.
While the years are rushing by ever more rapidly, I have no desire to retire or dis-connect from the radio industry … a love affair that began more than 65 years ago. I plan to continue with Sirius XM, devoting more of my energies to Escape.
As for my future role with enLighten, that has yet to be determined … only the Lord knows what His plans are. However, my sense is that I won’t be going too far away, at least in the near term.
Regardless, I will continue to be an advocate for Southern Gospel music and all that it stands for, as well as enLighten’s role in providing it … because I know from firsthand experience the comfort and encouragement it provides to hundreds of thousands across this land day in and day out!
As the old King of Wisdom, King Solomon, wrote in Ecclesiastes Chapter Three:
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, And a time to die;
At this point, I can only rejoice, and thank and praise Him … as our God has blessed me over and over throughout my 78 years of life. Thank you for all the love and prayers you have showered upon us during these past nine years. I don’t know where we would have been without this support.
Marlin
