Here are Five Things On-Air Personalities Should Consider Before a Pledge Drive. 

(Note to All Bosses: Please Don’t Read This. Thanks.)

“’Prayerfully’ consider? Really, Brant…?”

My friend Chris was smirking while grilling our burgers.  He’d heard me doing a pledge drive. I rolled my eyes.

“Man, I don’t know half the stuff I’m saying. So embarrassing,” I told him. And it was true. I was just saying stuff. Everybody says stuff during a pledge drive. Lots of stuff. Stuff we normally wouldn’t say. Like “prayerfully”. I don’t ever say “prayerfully”. I can’t believe I said “prayerfully.”

It’s not entirely our fault. We’re asking people for money – a difficult and potentially awkward thing, anyway – and we’re doing it non-stop for four for five hours. And then we turn around the next day, and do it again. We’re under pressure, too. Lots of it.

I remember coming home from “Sharathons” and feeling icky. I wanted to take a soul-shower. And yes, I just made up “soul-shower”, but you know what I mean. (In other news, I just decided “Soul Shower” is going to be the name of my next funk-fusion band.)

My point is this: Over time, and after doing about 50 of these things, you learn some stuff., and there are some things I now tell myself going in:

1) When the bosses say “We’re not judging you based on whether or not the phones ring,” they’re usually not being entirely truthful. I think I’ve heard that everywhere, and I’ve never been employed anywhere it didn’t matter. People are under pressure to make the numbers work. I get it.

But that’s okay, because…

2) What is it that’s really at stake? You know what: If the radio station fails miserably in the pledge drive, the Kingdom will march onward. Yes. It’s true. In fact, if radio disappears completely tomorrow, we’d miss it, and the transition would be tough, but God will take care of you. He will. “Trust God” isn’t just something to say on the air to other people.

It’s for you. He loves you, DJ-person.

He always has.

And that means…

3) You truly don’t need to be manipulative. There are few things – I think you’ll agree – creepier than when a personality, or an entire station or network , suddenly “finds Jesus” when asking for money. The whole year can go by, where we “let the music do the talking”, and now we’re suddenly quoting Bible verses and “step out on faith” and talking passionately about Jesus?

Awkward. That’s not what friends do. In fact, there’s a term for “friends who suddenly turn into salespeople”:  Non-friends.Yes, the station has to sound a little different during a drive. Momentum is incredibly important. But I want to sound like the same guy they heard last week. It’s called integrity, and I really do want to have it.

4) Speaking of integrity: Do we really want people giving out of guilt… ever? Heck yes, it “works”, but heck no, it’s not Biblical. We’re called to freely give, and to cheerfully give. And yet, let’s acknowledge that some listeners DO feel guilty that they can’t give.

It works to take scriptures about giving to the poor (Malachi 3, anyone?) and twist them to our purposes, but we don’t want to do that, either.

So let’s do something crazy: Let’s let people off the hook.

I say it, on the air: “You know what? If you feel guilty about not being able to give, you do NOT need to feel that way. We are SO glad you are still part of our community. This should NEVER be a guilt thing. It should be pure joy. If you’re a single mom or someone stretched so tight, do not worry about this! It’s all good.”

This may cause your bosses to wonder if you’ve lost your mind. But (and this likely won’t surprise you in the least) people appreciate it. They think, “There’s something different about this place,” and they’re right, if you really mean it.

Don’t ever use it as a “tactic”, but a chance for you to be open and honest and genuinely trusting that God has your back on this.  It’s so good to hear yourself saying it, too.  Sounds like something someone who trusts God would say.

There’s something about lovingly dropping our agendas, taking a breath, and letting people off the hook that is addictive. It’s called “grace”.

 

5) Don’t be nervous or embarrassed about asking for money. Look, more than ever, people understand this. They call it “crowdfunding”, and many people are aware of Kickstarter campaigns. Christian radio has been “crowdfunded” long before it was cool. People understand the concept.

No one has a Biblical obligation to give to a radio station. Ever. But they will, if they love it. (Just today, I sent $10 to a guy who asked via email today, because I love his daily newsletter about art and ideas. I’ve never met him. I just know I love what he does.)

People get it. It’s an easy ask. Don’t over-think it.

6) Let’s repeat #2: You’re going to be okay. Worst-case scenario: NO ONE CALLS.  Nobody. Complete and utter and total rejection by the masses! You lose your job!

… and then God will take care of you. Again: He loves you. He loves your family. His Kingdom does pretty well, even in apparent “defeat”. 

And, if you’re like me, and you go through something that bad, it’ll mean sitting, months later, with friends on a porch somewhere and laughing the time you poured your heart out and… crickets. Laughing heartily. Genuinely guffawing.

Brant Hansen is "Storyteller" for CURE International, and hosts a syndicated radio program debuting October 20th. His first book, Unoffendable, will be released by Thomas Nelson Publishers in April 2015. Brant's dog, Nigel, enjoys sunning himself and also barking for no reason whatsoever. He was once featured on a radio doggie-adoption drive. He was the only dog adopted. Because the host felt guilty. Contact Brant at brant@cure.org Twitter: @branthansen

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