In a recent Daniel Mount blog that reported on the announcement of my decision to step down from the day-to-day management of enLighten, a large number of comments were posted – some of which were critical of how the channel has been programmed. The main focus was that we have played recordings that did not put forth Southern Gospel music’s “best foot.”
Negatives don’t bother me … only the lack of specifics when these accusations are made. During my 50+ years in programming musical formats for radio – most of which has been quite successful in audience satisfaction – I’ve received a reasonable number of critical comments about my programming. In more than one case, receiving a negative comment brought to my attention that I was veering from the desired course, and led me to quickly get back on track.
In that, as I noted, these comments regarding enLighten’s musical content are totally non-specific … there’s no way for yours truly or my successor to react. Are those making the comments speaking of poor singing performances, quality of the recordings, or is their judgment based more on the name of the artist or group?
Related to the latter … three or four years ago a fairly well-known artist with a reasonably prominent group wrote, sending a set of guidelines for programming the channel which were based very much on playing only the most popular “upper tier” groups. If his recommendations were followed to the letter, even his own group would not have been heard on enLighten!
Whether others agree that’s the way this channel should be structured or not … it’s not the way the Holy Spirit has guided me to do it. Of course, not all groups are treated equally, but if a particular selection is deemed of sufficient quality and carries a strong message – regardless of the group – it receives an opportunity for airplay.
However, these account for far less than 50% of all the CD’s received. Hence, I offer one more “epistle” on the subject of a matter that does truly impact the image of Southern Gospel:
The next Booth Brothers . . .
I can say with certainty that the Booth Brothers trio is not at “the top of the heap” simply because Michael is so lovable. It is because they have an unwavering commitment to excellence in every aspect of their musical ministry.
I know, I’ve written about this before … but it seems to bear repeating. We had several groups and individuals stop by our enLighten booth at the NQC, as is typically the case each year, whose name was not familiar to us or we had never heard them sing. They all brought us a CD with the hope that it’ll get played on the channel. Unfortunately, most will never get heard on Channel 65, as they are simply “not ready for prime time.”
In one of the comments posted as part of the about-referenced blog was this statement: In a Facebook post, Bryan Hutson of the Soul’d Out Quartet said that “some are called, some are sent, and some just picked up a microphone and went.” Think about that statement. He’s talking about being truly anointed to minister through music. Without that anointment any group will fizzle.
Sadly, so many of these folks who visited us fall into Brian’s third category. I recognized that at least some are genuine in their spirit and heart … but they are going about things in the wrong way … “putting the cart before the horse,” as the old saying goes.
When your heart’s desire is to launch a music ministry, the first order of business is not 1) making a CD, 2) buying a bus or 3) paying a promoter to put you on their comp disc and get you on the charts. The first order is to learn to sing and communicate the message of the song with a sincerity that emanates from deep in your heart. And that goes for every member of a group. Next, get a recording of yourself in performance and review it “with a fine tooth comb,” looking for flaws and where you need to improve. A recording will show the weaknesses that may not be evident in a live performance.
I shared my counsel with several to look to the Booth Brothers and commit to achieving a level of excellence that you hear in every performance by Ronnie, Michael and Jim. I’m sure some weren’t too thrilled to hear that from me, but I felt I had no choice. At the same time, I know there were groups heard in the NQC afternoon showcases that strive for and are close to delivering performances of this caliber … and one day will become a marquee name if they stay true to honoring our God with only their best talents.
Marlin
