Ron Harris

What’s the big deal about excellence?

I’ve admitted before that I’m a lifelong learner (LLL). And I am thankful that the Lord put that drive in me. Full disclosure...I wasn’t that good a student in school, so this desire to learn has come to me a bit later in life. Part of it is curiosity about the world around us and the people God created. That has been greatly enhanced by the opportunities I have to travel internationally and meet such great people from so many different cultures.

Part of this LLL syndrome is looking for ways to improve myself, to learn from masters, to see levels of excellence in many different arenas of life. Sports. The arts. Literature. Spiritual commitment in the life of people I admire. Learning...always learning.

The Apostle Paul talked about the process of fixing our mind on the best things. You remember the admonition he gave to the believers in Philippi.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8 NLT

As a media person I try to find things of excellence to observe and from which to learn. I’m sometimes surprised where that takes me. I often come across some of the audition stories from the American Idol television show. Some of the performers are quite good, but it is usually the stories about those trying out that catches my attention.

Most of these vignettes are not faith-based. Yet many tell the story of overcoming hardship and difficulties, bad home environments and economic downturns. Some emphasize the value of a family member or friend who has provided encouragement. Many are quite moving.

Storytelling. It is quite an art, but there is much we can learn by seeing how others craft their stories for maximum impact. Here are some quick points I have gleaned from those who are successful in telling stories for impact.

1. Create a strong narrative arc. This is the story line, with beginning, middle, and end. There is usually some conflict in the story, and then it is resolved in the ending.
2. Keep your target audience in mind. Who is watching your story? Who do you want to influence?
3. Appeal to emotions. The best stories touch our hearts and tug at our emotions. Use this in a way that brings impact to your story.
4. Show...don’t tell. Use the visual impact of the tool to express information...not just words.
5. Learn the power of composition. Shots, angles, sequences of shots. Filmmaker Phil Cooke says watch good videos and movies with the sound turned off. See how the filmmaker uses composition to move the story along and provide impact.
6. Draw from your own life experiences. Observe life. Slow down long enough to see what is happening around you. Then think how to apply what you are seeing in your story.

Phil Cooke quoted well-known American naturalist and author Henry David Thoreau.

“It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”

What do you see? How can you express that with excellence? What impact can your storytelling have on others? Work toward excellence at crafting your storytelling skills. Then see how God uses that to touch a life for His purposes.

God’s best...

by Ron Harris

What in the world are we doing?

Another meeting. It seems like every time we turn around there is another meeting staring us in the face. And it doesn’t seem to matter if the meeting is virtual or in person, those meetings often leave us wondering if we just wasted our time...and the time of everyone on the team.

My friend Bob Tiede in his “Leading with Questions” blog quoted Mark D. McIntyre, the head of an agency based in Washington, DC. McIntyre talks about those meetings we all have experienced that seem rather unproductive, and he offers some suggestions on how to get to the point. He suggests that each person in the meeting should be able to answer the question, “What’s the objective of this meeting?”

That sounds good, but it isn’t always easy to discern what that all-important objective really is. McIntyre offers five words to help nail down the objective.

1. What?
2. So what?
3. Now what?

Mark McIntyre suggests the leader of the meeting ask, “Okay, so who are we and why are we here?” While this can sound humorous, it serves to 1) define each participant’s role and 2) state the objective for the discussion.

This sounds like good advice for more than just ministry or business meetings. What about couples, families, students, and churches making key decisions? Wouldn’t it be good to know where you are headed...the objective...before you set out on the journey?

The Lord gives us that kind of wisdom when He talked of “counting the cost” before starting a project. If you don’t have a clear understanding of the objective of a project or decision, it is hard to evaluate and harder still to reach a good sense of direction. Coming out of a meeting without a plan of action causes everyone to wonder about the time spent and the path forward.

As a leader, it is critical that your team have clear directions and a clear understanding of the objective before them. Jesus’ direction for His disciples gave them a clear understanding...a clear path...to the objective.

Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Matthew 10:7 NLT

So...now what?

God’s best...

by Ron Harris

What’s on the air?

Are you responsible for programming a station or Christian media outlet? Let me ask you a pointed question. What are you embracing as truth? There is a struggle common to almost all who are responsible for a Christian media outlet. It often goes like this:

If I’m not able to pay my bills, I can’t stay on the air. And if I am not on the air, I can’t share God’s Truth…the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That seems to make sense.

So, a decision is made to carry a program that is popular, even though some of its key theology is off base spiritually. The programmer pays their bills on time, and they pay generously to put their program on the station. And that means we can pay our bills, stay on the air, and get the Gospel out.

But what does that say about you or me? First of all, it says we are embracing and endorsing this teaching, this theology, even though we know it to be non-biblical or an over-emphasis of a biblical truth. And the result is that our listeners and viewers are misled in important areas of their spiritual life.

If we do this, it also says something else. It says that we don’t trust God. We don’t trust our Sovereign Lord to provide for His ministry. We are saying that unless we lower our spiritual standards, God’s ministry will fail. In essence, we are actually doing the Lord a favor.

Can I remind us of something? God doesn’t need you or me. He could communicate His Truth any way He wants. However, He chooses to work through us to accomplish His will. And truth is important to the Lord.

God can meet our needs in our ministries as well as in our personal lives. We don’t need to lower our standards to accomplish God’s will. We need to proclaim Truth…sound theology…with the understanding that our God is still sovereign and can help us in all areas, including the financial well-being of our ministries.

The Apostle Paul understood this and taught his believing friends in Philippi that truth.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 NLT

You can show your faith even by how you program your ministry outlet. Easy? Rarely. Rewarding? Always.

God’s best...

by Ron Harris

You talking to me?

Do you ever wonder if God is speaking to you? I mean, directly?

I recently recorded a promo for a new sermon series by my pastor. The series is called “Invincible,” and the promo begins like this:

“What is your Everest? That mountain you keep coming to that seems insurmountable?”

Then I picked up a book by Mark Batterson titled Chase the Lion. The theme is based on a brief passage about a man who became one of King David’s mighty warriors. His name is Benaiah. Have you heard of him? I didn’t recognize the name, but later found him in a listing of some of David’s most valiant warriors. Batterson, a pastor in Washington, D.C., has built a philosophy of life around that short scripture. Here it is:

"On a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it." 2 Samuel 23:20 NLT

I had to look that up. I know I have read through the Bible multiple times. I know I have read the books of Samuel. I don’t know that this passage has ever caught my eye...until now.

Batterson says that chasing a lion into a pit on a snowy day is not a normal action. That’s an understatement! It is probably the exact opposite of what I would do. Are you with me on that? I hope to never be in a position to have to find out how I would deal with that exact situation. Mark Batterson says that action is “…one of the most counterintuitive acts of courage in all of Scripture.”

It was that display of courage by Benaiah that seemed to set the pattern for the warrior’s life, and it ultimate propelled him to a high position in David’s army. And Batterson says that “chase the lion” is more than a catchy phrase.

“Most of us spend our lives running away from things we are afraid of. We forfeit our dreams on the altar of fear. Or we chase after the wrong things.”

So, what is your “Everest?” is there something before you that is holding you back from doing what you believe God wants you to accomplish? Something keeping you from being who the Lord has called you to be?

Mark Batterson has gone so far as to write a “Lion Chaser’s Manifesto” to challenge and encourage those facing challenges. Here are a few of my favorites from that list:

• Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.
• Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-given passions.
• Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.
• Grab opportunity by the mane and don’t let go!
• Live for the applause of nail-scarred hands.
• Dare to fail. Dare to be different.
• Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.
• Chase the lion.

Have you decided what it is keeping you from that “thing” God has for you? That Everest? That lion that seems to be in your way? I have. And I’m working on setting a goal...pursuing that God-given opportunity...chasing the lion.

by Ron Harris

Love, love, love...

Love is in the air. Yes, Valentine’s Day was yesterday, but the feelings of love should linger on.

You may have heard me say that I have a rather simple philosophy of life. Here it is:

Love God. Love people.

I base that on Jesus’ words when asked what the most important commandment was. Remember?

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39 NLT

There is also a third “love” that I live by. I love life! God has richly blessed me with a wonderful wife (over 53 years of that blessing...and counting), a wonderful family of kids, grandkids, extended family, and many great friends from all walks and lands. And our ministry takes me to countries all over the world to be with people I love...to help them share the love of Christ in effective ways, so that others will come to know of God’s love for them. Love.

That’s not to say that everything in my life has always been, as we say, “peaches and cream.” There have been hardships, struggles, health issues, financial needs, at times broken relationships, misunderstandings...the list could go on and on. But all that is overridden by the love and blessings that God has poured out on me.

No...that is not exactly right. The blessings sometimes have been enhanced by the struggles of life. Have you ever experienced a terrible storm in the night? Lightning. Thunder. Pouring rain. You think it will never end. Then comes the morning.

As the sun breaks through the clouds, there is a sense of exhilaration that would not be there were it not for the storms you have just come through. In fact, you might have missed the beauty of the sunrise if the storms had not raged.

Andrew Murray, a South African pastor in the late 1800s, wrote about the value of difficulties.

“Have you ever noticed what part difficulties play in our natural lives? They call out man’s powers as nothing else can, strengthening and ennobling character. ...it is in the mastering of difficulties that our highest attainments come.”

At a critical time in the apostle Peter’s life, after he had denied even knowing Jesus, the Lord tenderly asked Peter, “Do you love me?”

Paul the Apostle would tell the Corinthians and the Philippians of his love for them. And then he followed up that declaration with this admonition.

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

Philippians 1:9 NLT

Love.

It isn’t just for Valentine’s Day. It’s not just about greeting cards, candy, and flowers...though those things can be important. It is about relating to God and those He has placed around you and me in the same way our Lord relates to us...through His love.

By the way...I hope you don’t mind me saying this. Because of the Lord’s sacrificial love for me, I can proclaim this from my heart.

I love you!

by Ron Harris

Talk is cheap!

There is probably a comparable saying in many countries to what we say in the U.S.... “Talk is cheap!” That phrase can take on meaning at various levels. It may mean that it is easy to say something, hard to do it or live it. It could mean that “much speaking” is not necessarily a virtue. And while we are communicators, we need to choose our words carefully.

Valerie Geller has been part of our MEDIAlliance Institute. She travels the world teaching communication principles to broadcasters. Her book, Beyond Powerful Radio has become a classic, and has wisdom for all in the media field. In fact, the subtitle to that book is A Communicator’s Guide to the Internet Age. I have drawn wisdom from it for courses and seminars I teach for years.

In a section called Avoid Useless Chatter, Geller says, “Just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should.” And she says this applies no matter what medium you are using, radio, television, or social media. Wow. Half or more of Facebook and Twitter might disappear if people took this to heart. My posts included!

Valerie Geller also quotes air personality Turi Tyder who says, “Think of all the available content as crude oil. There may be a lot of it, but it’s no good to you unless it’s refined.” One of your roles as a communicator is to take raw material and refine it for the audience. Your role is not to just replicate what you hear or read. Many have been caught on the internet passing on “fake news” because it sounded good, only to (hopefully) retract it when the false story was discovered.

Our communications need focus. We need to know our topic and the point we are trying to make. We need to be aware of the “brand” we are building. People associate what they see, hear, and experience with a person, a station, a blog, or even a product. Most of us have been disappointed when we purchased a consumer item based on the brand, and discovered that the brand had produced a low-cost, inferior product. Just because they could do that, should they have done it? Not if it costs them their reputation.

The Bible even addresses this topic. Solomon was pretty direct in his writings in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes.

        ...too many words make you a fool.

        Ecclesiastes 5:3 NLT

Sometimes we can improve our communication process by simply finding the “off-ramp.” Exiting the conversation in a timely way. We may make a solid point, then continue to ramble on with the result that the good point is lost in our many words. Use your words carefully and communicate truth in a clear and powerful way. That will have the greatest impact for your audience.

by Ron Harris

I don’t like networking!

There. I’ve said it. I don’t like networking. The term emerged a few decades ago as a business tool for people to grow their own business or organization by exchanging ideas, business cards, and other pertinent information. If you look on the internet, here’s what comes up for a definition.

    …the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

There are network meetings whose sole purpose is for businesspeople to get together to...yes...network. More casually, folks at social gatherings come prepared with business cards and make it their purpose to get with almost everyone there and share what they do and “how happy they would be to work together.”

A few years ago, the Harvard Business Review wrote on networking. While they were promoting it as a legitimate way to grow a person’s business, they had to admit many people are like me...they don’t like it.

    “I hate networking.” We hear this all the time from executives, other professionals, and MBA students. They tell us that networking makes them feel uncomfortable and phony—even dirty. 

That’s why it was refreshing to see Jon Gordon, noted author and speaker on the topics of leadership, culture, sales, and teamwork, say, “Don’t be a networker.” He went on to list things you should be doing to build up those around you.

    1. Add value to people’s lives.

    2. Lead with love, not an agenda.

    3. Find ways to serve.

    4. Show you care.

    5. Encourage others.

    6. Look to give instead of receive.

    7. Connect people.

You can almost hear the words of Jesus in these points. Think of others ahead of yourself. Love your neighbor. And, as the Apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica,

    "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus, wrote the forward to one of Jon Gordon’s books, The Carpenter. In it, Blanchard underscores the philosophy that Gordon expressed in his books, speeches, and motivational coaching.

    “... shift your focus from ‘winning’—whatever that means to you—to using your business to love, serve, and build up others. If you do this, you will succeed, and your business will grow in ways you never imagined.”

As I look at the list above, I am encouraged that the Lord has led us to build MEDIAlliance in a way that embraces those seven points. And God has blessed beyond expectations and measure.

Let me encourage you for the next seven weeks to take one of these items from Jon Gordon’s list, look up scripture that applies to it, and then make that your leadership focus for the week. At the end of that time you will very likely see a difference in your ministry or organization as well as in you as a leader.

by Ron Harris

Definition: Optimist

What's the definition of an optimist? 

Optimist: A person who thought January 1, 2021 would mean the challenges of 2020 would be over. 

Sorry. Flipping the calendar over or hanging a new one on the wall doesn’t dramatically change things. But the new year can be different and filled with optimism. 

My friend Dr. Jim Denison says we Christians should always be looking into the future with an optimistic sense of hope.

“Christians have better cause for optimism. God's word describes our faith as ‘the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). According to Scripture, our hope is based not on our attitude but on God's actions and character. We are people of ‘radical optimism’ because of our radical faith in a God whose love and power give us rock-solid reasons for hope.”

Look around you. See the ways God is working...in you, in your family, in your country and your culture. The pandemic of 2020 drove people to media like never before in history. Millions of lives have been changed for all eternity and many millions more are looking and seeking for hope. We who are using these media platforms and tools are seeing God at work like never before. That won’t end in 2021 if we continue to utilize these God-given technologies to tell the timeless story of God’s love for the world.

Throughout the ages great Christian leaders have helped us face new years with more than human optimism and hope. These great men and women have pointed us to the Lord and His promises rather than just looking at the events and circumstances of our day. 

“...the object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but rather that we should have a new soul.”

- G. K. Chesterson

“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.”

- Helen Keller

“If we build our lives on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ’s eternity-shaping redemptive work, we can be optimists. Why? Because even our most painful experience is but a temporary setback. Our pain and suffering may or may not be relieved in this life, but they will certainly be relieved in the next.”

      - Randy Alcorn

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

- Jeremiah 29:11

What can you and I do to make 2021 a year to remember...for all the right reasons? (We will certainly remember 2020, but not always with fondness.) Here are some suggestions.

1. Seek God’s plans for you, your family, and your ministry.

Remember Solomon’s wisdom and use it as a guide.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT

2. Remember that you have God’s full resources to do His will. He has promised to be with you.

In fact, it is the hope of Christ in us that brings us the hope of glory. And we have access to God’s full power to live the life He has for us. Listen to the Apostle Paul’s powerful words.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Romans 8:11 NLT

And Paul had this word for his young friend Timothy.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work....

 1 Timothy 1:12 NLT

3. Take responsibility for your past...but don’t dwell there.

We need to accept responsibility for our past mistakes and deviations from the Lord’s will. But we need to move on from there. If God chooses to forget our past, we can also live in a way that accepts His forgiveness and uses that to strengthen us for His future. That’s called God’s grace. I especially like this passage Paul wrote to the Christ-followers in Thessalonica. 

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NLT

4. Taking a cue from Paul, list all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

These can be your priorities in the coming year. And you can have the assurance that the Lord will be with you as you strive toward that mark, God’s high calling.

5. Finally, be focused on others more than yourself.

What would the Lord place as a priority for the new year? Well, we don’t have to wonder too much. Christ’s parting words give us a sense of what the Lord would put on our agenda.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

Share the hope of Christ with those around you and be sure to disciple those whom God has called into His kingdom. Focus on others. You will be amazed at how much you will grow in the process.

May the New Year be filled with all the Lord has for you in life and ministry. And as we come to the close of 2021, may we be able to sing,

To God be the glory!

Great things He has done.

God’s best...

P.S. Over the next three weeks our MEDIAlliance Vice President for Communication Kyle Gilbert will be providing thoughts for the Monday MEMO. He is a great blessing and a gift from God to our work. 

by Ron Harris

What. A. Year.

by Ron Harris

Gifts at Christmas

Adapted from a previous Monday MEMO

Christmas. Just saying the word evokes many memories…of childhood celebrations, of glorious music programs at churches, of gifts given and received. 

Christmas.

I remember one year when I was quite sick on Christmas day. (Though not extremely serious, my folks had me in the hospital before the day was out.) On that morning that is always filled with so much anticipation, I could not get out of bed. My folks sacrificed to get some gifts for us kids. I had wished for several things that year, but the thing at the top of my list…a toy train. 

As I lay in bed that Christmas morning, I listened as the family scurried about the house making the last-minute preparations. And then I heard it. The clickity-clack of the toy train. I remember wanting with all my heart to go play with that train, but simply could not do so. What a disappointment. 

I remember another memorable Christmas time. It was my first year to work in radio, now 55 years ago. While the other college kids went home for the holidays, I stayed in Oklahoma working evenings at the radio station. My folks sent my gifts up so I wouldn’t miss Christmas. I remember waking up in the quiet of an empty college dorm room on that Christmas morning…looking at a box of wrapped presents…realizing that the presents weren’t the real joy of Christmas. It was several days before I even opened the gifts. There was no one to share the joy with, and the joy of receiving was empty without the gift-giver being present.

Christmas. 

There is a gift that is above all other gifts ever given. Jesus. God’s Son. The Christ of the cradle, who would become the Christ of the cross. And through His life, death, resurrection and ascension, we have the hope of all eternity with Him.  

Ralph W. Sockman, the pastor of Christ Church in New York City in the last century, was well known for his radio broadcasts and for impactful little sayings. One has had significance for me for several years.

The hinge of history is on the door of a Bethlehem stable.

Christmas…that night that brought out the angel hosts…that silent, starry night on the Judean hillside where shepherds were startled by the celestial announcement of Christ’s birth…that night changed history forever. Not just world history. My history. Your history. For if Christ had not come as a baby born of a virgin, then God’s prophecy would not have been fulfilled, and we would be left in our sins with no hope. Everything in history “hinged” on that first Christmas. 

As I learned many years ago, gifts represent something greater. Love. And as I also learned a long time ago, we must receive the gift...God’s gift...before we can truly enjoy the celebration. 

My prayer for you this Christmas is that you have received the glorious gift of God’s Love represented by that babe of the manger. And my prayer for you is that you enjoy the love poured out on you by a loving Heavenly Father. 

From all of us at MEDIAlliance International...

Merry Christmas!

by Ron Harris