On-air Content
Mission Statement:
" Create a Christian radio station that's
not exclusive to Christians."
As with our music, we're currently in the process of structuring our programming. As a Chrsitian station, we're clearly going to include some Christian-based shows but a large focus is also on the nature of our typical radio banter.
Our on-air approach and balance...
Before we go into great detail about our on-air policy, have a read through the following story, which will give you an idea of our approach...
The Old Lady, Her Dog and the Caster Oil
Every morning before breakfast, the old lady called her beloved Border Collie into the kitchen for his daily dose of caster oil, which she believed made him a healthier dog. The old lady went to great lengths to prepare the scene putting the bottle ready on the counter, a table spoon by its side and a towel to hold her dog in place between her knees as she crouched down to force the spoon into his reluctant jaw.
Every morning, for many years, the dog would hear the old lady's call and run and hide behind the sofa. The old lady would have to reach behind the sofa to grab him, sometimes she would have to chase him around the house, other times she would find him hiding in the cupboard under the stairs. Despite the old lady's best intentions, her four-legged friend was not keen on this daily routine. Eventually, she always managed to force him into the kitchen and the caster oil into his mouth.
One day, the old lady was preparing the scene and dropped the bottle of caster oil onto the kitchen floor. It didn't break but caster oil spilled everywhere! She quickly grabbed a cloth and started to clean up what she could but the oil seemed to continue to spread. Her cloth soaked, she went into the cupboard under the stairs for a clean cloth. She half-expected to find her dog hiding in the cupboard but he wasn't there. When she returned to the kitchen, she was most surprised to find him lapping up the caster oil from the floor!
The old lady smiled. All these years of needless effort! It turned out that her Border Collie quite liked caster oil, he just didn't like having it rammed down his throat!
So how do we translate that approach to our on-air content and balance between Christian and non-Christian material?
Here's our plan...
We meet so many cool, educated, intelligent and inspiring Christians and we want to introduce them to you. Don’t misunderstand; this isn’t going to be a radio station that rams The Bible down your throat at every given opportunity. In fact, we’re only loosely positioned as a Christian radio station, more of an internet radio station that’s run by Christians for Christians and non-Christians alike. It doesn’t mean we won’t mention Jesus - indeed some of our shows will be largely based on the lives of modern-day Christians and their reasons for believing – but we won’t be singing “Hallelujah!” at the end of every song, we’re very unlikely to be waving our arms around in the air and we won’t be conducting morning prayers on the Breakfast Show!
Imagine your favourite radio station, doing all your favourite radio station things, but not being afraid to bring God into the equation. Yes, some of our songs will be Christian songs, and we won’t be playing songs that discourage the Christian message, but many of the songs you’ll hear us play are the same as you’ll hear on radio stations around the world. Just because we’re Christians, it doesn’t mean we frown on songs that aren’t! If you’re interested, read more about our playlist.
In essence, we’re a Christian-friendly radio station; family orientated, fun, positive and welcoming of debate. There will be specialist shows that deal with the misunderstandings of Christianity (too often brought about by people misrepresenting the Christian message), interviews with both Christian and opposing representations, “Question Time” style shows with panel members of varying backgrounds and beliefs and a fantastic rock show on Saturday nights (amongst other great music shows)!
If you’re a Christian, or are intrigued by the faith, or simply want to be part of an environment that’s both safe and supportive of you, an individual with individual needs and desires, you should check us out when we launch in 2015. We hope you’ll love what we do and that you’ll want to be part of the station but if you don’t like what we do, please get in touch and tell us why.
Why the name "Lighthouse NetCast"?
Ah! Good question!
A lighthouse is an unmoveable object that stands firm despite any storm it has to weather. But more than that, it provides a light – a beacon – to guide others through turbulent scenarios.
The Lighthouse NetCast aims to shed light onto the Christian message at a time when there is much disillusionment with churches, religion and general belief in God when certain scientists, atheists and many others are more vocal than ever in wanting to paint an incredulous picture of the Christian faith. It’s fair to say that many Christians have made the job of the outspoken sceptics far too easy by acting and speaking in a way that only fans the flames of dissent from our faith. For example, if somebody feels judged (and even condemned) because of who they are by somebody who tells them that God will punish them and make them face eternal damnation, they’re hardly going to run along to the nearest church on Sunday to learn more about this God that hates them so much.
The Christian message is a message of love and is there for each and every one of us. That is the starting point. Along the way, as we come to develop our faith, we all may (more than likely will!) be faced with some challenges that will lead to us looking at the way we conduct ourselves and live our lives. Those challenges are a matter for each of us personally and we should not face judgement from others based on how we deal with them. All Christians should fully understand and respect that only God can judge any of us.
That is a large part of the message of The Lighthouse NetCast that we aim to portray through the light we hope to shine on the Christian faith. We’re not going to do this by reading excerpts from The Bible every five minutes and we’re not going to try and sideline listeners with hidden subliminal messages to brainwash you! Not at all! We’re just going to be ourselves on-air and hope that you feel the love of Christ radiating through us and perhaps, once you see we’re just normal people, you won’t be afraid to ask us questions about our beliefs both on and off-air. The misunderstandings and misrepresentations of our faith have left very murky and gloomy waters to navigate through when trying to understand what we’re all about, all we’re trying to do is shine a light to help you navigate through the questions you may have about Christianity.
Ok – so what about the NetCast bit?
The short simple answer is that we are an interNET broadCASTer.
For the more theological answer, read John, chapter 21, verse 6.
Does this mean we’re trying to catch you out and hoist you up in a net?! Haha! No! No! No! The relevance of this Bible verse to us is simply that once you’ve made your mind up about all this God and Jesus stuff, perhaps you’ll find it comforting to know that Jesus’ love casts a wide net and you’re welcome to be part of it, or if you choose, not to be part of it. We’re not here to catch you out and fool you into believing anything. The conclusions you come to and the choices you make are yours alone but if you would like help in making that choice, we hope you’ll find our representation of our faith to be true, honest and inviting.
There. Lighthouse NetCast! Got it?