89.5 KTSY Manager's Memo

Sometimes I don’t like my staff very much. They have high expectations of me and frequently require me to justify my existence around here. It’s like they expect me to have goals and provide leadership all the time. What’s with that?

The latest challenge came from Michelle, who asked me why I kept coming to work, what my dreams were and what hopes I have for the KTSY Family. Since you’ve heard her on air recently, obviously I asked her to stay after I fired her.

But she got me to thinking. And I settled on the calling that makes me do a lot of things I’ve done my whole life. I want to make a difference. I’m rarely satisfied with the way things are, because I believe there is almost always a better way. And besides, people shouldn’t be hungry or sick or homeless or lonely when there are disciples of Jesus around. I think we are called to make a difference for good wherever we are.

Many of you will be receiving a letter from us about Sharathon, which is coming in the next few weeks. It talks about how the KTSY Family makes a difference each and every day. Look for it your mailbox in the next few days.

If you don’t get one, that means you’re not on the KTSY mailing list, so here it is.

I love my staff, especially when they offer up their opinions and they tell me they expect more from me. Such is the case with this year’s Sharathon letter. My first draft waxed eloquent about our anniversary and the beginning of our twentieth year of ministry, a topic I thought was relevant and interesting. They saw it differently, especially Michelle, my office manager, who feels no hesitancy to share her opinion. She said she wasn’t hearing my heart in it and I should try again. Then she asked me some questions.

Why do you come to the office?  What makes you stay here and not take another job where you could make more money and have less stress? What has God shown you about KTSY? What dreams do you have for the KTSY family?

Rather than fire her on the spot, which I’ve threatened to do on many occasions, I gave her questions some consideration. She made me think again about what’s important, always a good thing, even after nineteen years. And then it occurred to me I could answer all of her questions the same way. To make a difference.

I come to the office, most days, to make a difference. It’s not about the money; it’s about being part of something much bigger than I can do on my own, to make a difference. The KTSY Family, bound together by a shared purpose and His Spirit, can make a difference. And I dream that one day in eternity, we’ll gather as the KTSY Family and we’ll hear “Well done, good and faithful servant” and we’ll marvel at what God did in spite of our faults and frailties and realize that we made a difference for the Kingdom.

Michelle reminded me, as important as the past can be; it’s today and tomorrow that matter. It’s the heart touched today and the ripples of eternity they carry into tomorrow that matter. Then this story arrived in my Facebook in-box.

Not too long ago I was about to leave my husband. I had my boys (2 yrs and 6 mo) in the car and was headed out of state to my parent’s house. The entire day, every time I got into my car, the same song was playing (Addison Road- What Do I Know of Holy), even through the mountains, where normally I have no service, this song would break through. So I knew God was talking to me…through your station!! I came back home to my husband. We have since worked things out and one night I was going to pick him up from work when a song came on the radio about being baptized…I felt God telling me we should get baptized together…so we did! We are really being blessed by God and there’s nothing like being surrounded by great music, fellow believers and be in the presence of God…so again, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for being there all the time! You helped save my marriage!!!

These kinds of letters leave me humbled, that God would use us for His good works. They also remind me of the power of a song, a kind word, an act of kindness or a shared prayer and how those things echo through lives and eternity and make a difference.

As we look forward to what God is going to do today and tomorrow through the KTSY Family, please understand none of what we do is possible without your constant prayers, your partnership in service around the community and your support financially. It’s because of you, we can make a difference.

In just a few short weeks, November 17-19, KTSY will conduct its annual Fall Sharathon.  Our goal for the three days is $550,000.  I’ve included a budget summary sheet for 2010. We want to be good stewards of the resources God shares with us through you. That budget represents our best estimate on our costs for next year.

Thank you for your trust in us and for your belief in what we can accomplish together. As part of the KTSY Family, you can make a difference. Will you consider joining us as a financial supporter for 2010? Your one-time or monthly pledge before Sharathon will give us a strong foundation to start the event next month and move into the New Year. And if you would consider becoming a Day Sponsor, those days are reserved on a first come, first served basis. The sooner you respond, the more likely your are to get the day that is meaningful for you. Call the station at 208-459-5879 to find out more about becoming a day sponsor. Or you can pledge online by clicking here.

Thanks in advance for your support and for your prayers as we look forward to another year of ministry in the Treasure Valley.  Your prayer support is as vital as your financial support.

And if you could take a moment to share your KTSY story or comment, I would love to hear it. We’re going to spend the next year, in celebration of our 20^th anniversary, telling the stories of God at work in the lives of the KTSY Family. You can  call the KTSY Listener Line at 208-453-8080 to record the story.

Thanks again for all you do for KTSY. Together, we can make a difference.

Twenty years.

Twenty years.

It’s hard for me to believe, but it really is twenty years.

Wednesday, October 14^th KTSY begins its twentieth year of ministry in the Treasure Valley. When my family and I left Michigan almost twenty years ago, I was fairly certain this little experiment in Idaho wasn’t going to succeed. But at the prompting of God and my wife, I decided to give it a half-hearted attempt, just to prove I was right, again.

Now, hear I sit, chuckling to myself at my hubris, seeing my boys grown and calling Idaho home, being introduced to children who’s parents were listeners when they were children and marveling at the work of God in my life and how it has played out. If ever someone was unworthy of the grace bestowed on him by God and man, it is I.

And yet, here we are together, scarred and humbled from the years of striving together, enjoying the ups and downs that only a family can know. I am blessed beyond measure and can hardly wait to see what the KTSY Family can do together, with God’s plan and provision, in the next twenty years.

With all of my heart, thank you for being part of the KTSY Family.

I met an angel this morning and she was holding a needle. I was so distracted and tired I didn’t even think to ask her name.

I was in to have blood drawn for a check-up with the doc next week and she recognized me. She leaned in to whisper she couldn’t make it through the day without KTSY and she was so thankful we were there for her. I said thanks and commented that I had been needing the station recently myself.

“Really, how so?” I told her the pressure had been building recently, everything seemed to be closing in and I was feeling just a little overwhelmed. She smiled and said she hadn’t really thought about us needing the encouragement and inspiration KTSY brings, as well. Then she said the magic words, “I’ll be praying for you, Mike.”

In the next few weeks we’ll hang an antenna for a second FM station in the Treasure Valley using money we can’t really spare, host a listener appreciation concert and donor gala, hold the KTFY Sharathon in the Magic Valley, begin our twentieth year of broadcasting, all just six weeks away from the KTSY Sharathon and everything that entails.

Will you join my needle-wielding angel and pray for us? It would be so very much appreciated.