CCM Coaching Tip #78 - Ministry Thoughts: You Have To EARN Them

Just the other day, I was working with a very bright talent, CJ Lusk, who's on WAY-FM in the afternoons ("CJ & Joy"). He's new to the format, but he's the best type of person to coach, because he's always curious about how to get better. He worked with my friend Randy Lane in Atlanta, so that was a good sign before I even met him.

Like everyone just starting to do CCM radio, he's struggling a bit with ministry thoughts, and that's a good thing, because way too many people in this format ASSUME that the listener wants to hear you blather on about your faith.

But here's the hard truth: you have to EARN the right to talk about your faith. In our daily lives, we don't just walk up to strangers and start talking about Jesus. (And if you do, just know that this is not the way to win people over.) We share our more intimate thoughts about our faith with our closest friends; people we've spent the most time with and know the most about. Consider the listener's perspective: I just heard a four-minute song about Jesus; that you're a Christian isn't exactly a surprise. Part of doing our jobs well is talking to the person who may not even go to church.

So here's what I told CJ, and hopefully it'll help you, too:

1. Make sure that there's a top-of-mind or topical REASON to bring it up. (The same as all Content.) This is the quickest way to get the listener's attention, by tying it into something she's already thinking about; something that already matters to her.
2. Keep it short. One minute is a LONG time. Two minutes is an eternity. You'll get better the moment you start to believe that anything past 30 seconds is starting to get stale.
3. Whatever thought comes naturally to you, put that on the shelf and know that you can use it, but then move mentally into someone else's shoes and view it from THEIR "camera angle". Chances are, one-third to one-half the time, that alternate angle may be better than the one that came easiest to you.