Good morning, you are listening to the ‘Marshall Minute.’”
With these words, Rick Marshall, pastor of Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Montgomery, introduces his one-minute weekday spot heard on three radio stations during morning drive time. Although he preaches every Sunday from the pulpit of Eastern Hills, it is through the broadcast that Marshall’s voice can be heard throughout the Montgomery area.
The “Marshall Minute” has a combined radio audience of some 50,000 people. Since the program’s inception nine years ago, Marshall has made more than 2,300 broadcasts. “It’s an opportunity to offer a word of faith and encouragement to the people of Montgomery,” Marshall said.
The “Marshall Minute” came into being through Eastern Hills church member Al Stroh, owner of Montgomery Broadcast Properties, who offered his pastor weekday air time on WQKS-Alice 96.1 FM, WBAM-Star 98.9 FM and WACV Talk Radio 1170 AM, three secular stations.
Marshall recognized it as an opportunity to “communicate the gospel in a nonthreatening manner” to an audience that exists beyond the church walls. Each of the stations offers a different music format, and the Marshall Minute is broadcast at different times on each station.
Marshall knows his minute messages have found an audience because he hears from people, especially those with questions about dealing with family issues and marriage. “I get frequent calls from people, most of whom are not related to Eastern Hills,” he said. Often they want more information, especially the source of biblical material. Many request transcripts.
Over the years Marshall has had listeners tell him that he provides their morning devotional, often stimulating spiritual discussion with kids on the way to school.
Twice he’s been able to intervene in situations where suicide was threatened and connect listeners with appropriate mental health professionals. Some listeners even have found their way to the steps of Eastern Hills when they realized that a minute a day just isn’t enough.
Connie Williams and her husband, Otis, were drawn to Eastern Hills seven years ago through the “Marshall Minute.” Finding the messages “very ear catching” rather than “cliché,” the Williamses decided to drive the 20 miles from their home to the church to “meet the man behind the message.” Once they did, “it ended up playing true,” and the Williams family joined the church.
Marshall tries to fill the minutes with snippets of current events and relevant illustrations designed to catch the attention of a secular audience. He limits his use of Scripture to a single verse dropped into the message unless it’s a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas when the whole broadcast may be the recitation of an appropriate Bible passage.
To keep up with the demands of an ongoing weekday broadcast, Marshall records 10 sessions at a time to be broadcast during the next two weeks. He writes a script, goes to the studio and records on a reel-to-reel. It’s a process that takes a few hours out of his week, but Marshall considers it time well spent.
“I think one of the best things our church does is have a presence in the marketplace of life that presents a positive gospel,” Marshall said.
Although Marshall notes that the broadcast does not communicate a “feel good gospel,” he’s had only one person in nine years express serious disagreement.
He steers clear of controversy by avoiding some topics, such as direct political discussions, but still uses hot button issues, like the recent Super Bowl halftime show, to introduce his listeners to Christian viewpoint.
If there are common themes that run throughout the “Minutes” they are helping his listeners understand God in the world in which we live and make sense of tragedy.
Marshall has been approached about syndicating the broadcast but has declined such offers. He said of the offers, “This isn’t a marketing issue for me. It’s a ministry for our church to the community.”
And it’s community needs that keep Marshall on the air. “I think there’s a need for Christ to be presented as they’re going about their daily lives,” Marshall said.
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