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Ever since the Back to the Bible radio ministry was launched in 1939, the general format of the program has been the same: A Bible teacher (first Theodore Epp, then Warren Wiersbe, and now Woodrow Kroll) talked for a half hour about the meaning of a Bible passage and its relevance to listeners' lives.
Creating a stronger presence in "our own back yard" goes beyond inviting Lincoln people to participate in the studio audience, Kroll said. This summer, Back to the Bible will host a concert and an extreme sports demonstration, and by November it plans to open a coffeehouse and concert hall that will offer a hangout for local teens and a venue for local Christian music groups.
Back to the Bible will increase its visibility in Lincoln through the sponsorshop of events and concerts for the Lincoln community. This week, Back to the Bible co-sponsored Extreme Tour, including skateboarding, rollerblading and BMX bike demonstrations and competitions at Central Alliance Church, 2820 O St., and A & R Skate Center, 710 Hill St.
Back to the Bible radio ministry is reaching out to the Lincoln community
Ever since the Back to the Bible radio ministry was launched in 1939, the general format of the program has been the same: A Bible teacher (first Theodore Epp, then Warren Wiersbe, and now Woodrow Kroll) talked for a half hour about the meaning of a Bible passage and its relevance to listeners' lives.
Now the program has a new format. The message hasn't changed - it's still about delivering biblical truth to the modern world - but instead of Kroll giving a monologue in an empty studio, he gives his message before a live audience, whose members laugh, ask questions and sometimes even put him on the spot.
The new audience-participation style to the venerable radio show is only one of the new things at the Lincoln-based ministry which reaches out to the world but has been little known by many Lincolnites.
Creating a stronger presence in "our own back yard" goes beyond inviting Lincoln people to participate in the studio audience, Kroll said. This summer, Back to the Bible will host a concert and an extreme sports demonstration, and by November it plans to open a coffeehouse and concert hall that will offer a hangout for local teens and a venue for local Christian music groups.
At a recent recording session for radio programs that will be aired in August, 16 local people made up the audience. What was once a sterile studio has been transformed into a room resembling a study, with hardwood bookshelves, framed art reproductions on the walls and comfortable seating.
While technicians watched through a control-room window, Kroll presented lessons based on the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, talking directly to the studio listeners. From time to time they plied him with questions, which he incorporated into the program.
"It allows me to be more natural," Kroll said. "When I speak before an audience, I interact with the audience. I've always tried to be conversational, but it's a lot more effective with a real, live audience."
Before the recording session began, Kroll and Tami Weissert, vice president of media and communications, explained the format to participants.
"We want you to be comfortable, we want to make it enjoyable, but we want it to be a learning time for you," Weissert said. "We want to answer your questions in here, but also to ask questions for the people who are listening."
She assured them that they didn't have to have perfect diction or rhetoric, because the tape would be edited to make everyone sound good.
"We always encourage wild applause and amens," she added.
"I don't ever remember wild applause," Kroll said.
During his talk about how the story of Nehemiah has lessons for modern leaders, audience members jotted down comments on note pads provided to them, then raised their hands to ask questions.
Deborah (everyone is on a first-name basis) asked Kroll what he meant by saying that a leader must have "clean hands, a pure heart."
Kroll explained that a leader should strive to follow God's moral law in his or her life, while seeking God's help through prayer.
Later, when Kroll was talking about how a leader responds to the situation in which he or she is placed by God, Tim asked: "It is that we see a need and ask for guidance, or that God puts the need in our heart and we ask for guidance?"
Kroll answered that God works both ways, by showing us what needs to be done and by hearing our own call for help.
Another question inspired Kroll to tell a story from his own youth, when he was feeding chickens on the family farm. "I said, 'Lord there's got to be more to life than this,'" Kroll said. He added that he didn't hear God's voice from on high "but he impressed on me, 'Just shut up and feed the chickens.'"
Audience members generally are regular supporters of Back to the Bible or members of local churches who are invited to attend. But anyone may sign up for a session by calling in advance.
The new format hit the airwaves in January and has been very well received,Kroll said. "I've had people tell me they like me better this way," he said.
A former pastor in Massachusetts, Kroll has been president and senior Bible teacher at Back to the Bible since 1990. His English- language radio program is heard on some 900 radio stations nationwide and in many other countries.
Back to the Bible also has more than 70 Bible teachers worldwide, with ministries in 25 languages.
A new addition to the organization's radio ministry is Solid Sounds, 60-second spots that are broadcast on some 700 stations across the country, featuring excerpts from popular Christian recordings and an inspirational message.
One Solid Sounds spot begins with a man and woman name dropping about athletes and politicians they know, then cuts to the song "Friend of God" by Phillips, Craig and Dean. "How do we become friends of God? Through faith," the male voice says. He tells listeners to visit Solidsounds.org, and log onto "Meet Jesus."
The spots began two years ago and are being used by more and more radio stations, said manager/producer Kerry O'Bryant.
He plans to expand the ministry by creating new spots specifically geared to teen and young adult listeners. "We want to use more youthful, edgier music," he said.
Until now, Solid Sounds has been using actors in Chicago, but is now seeking local Lincoln talent for both the adult and young adult spots.
Back to the Bible will increase its visibility in Lincoln through the sponsorshop of events and concerts for the Lincoln community. This week, Back to the Bible co-sponsored Extreme Tour, including skateboarding, rollerblading and BMX bike demonstrations and competitions at Central Alliance Church, 2820 O St., and A & R Skate Center, 710 Hill St.
Solid Sounds is sponsoring an outdoor concert July 21 by the well- known Christian recording group SONICFLOOd and on Aug. 20 will host "Livin' It," a skateboarding and BMX bike demonstration.
By November, a 20,000 square-foot section at the east end of the Back to the Bible building will be converted into a coffeehouse with seating for up to 250 people, plus an auditorium with seating for up to 500 people for concerts, conferences and meetings.
The coffeehouse will be open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening, providing a place for teens and others to hang out, and offering a venue for local bands, said Suzy Carter, strategic ministry advancement officer at Back to the Bible. There also will be some nights with music for all age groups, she added.
Other public uses of the Back to the Bible building, in a former Nebraska Book Company warehouse, are being planned for the future, Weissert said.
"Dr. Kroll decided that if God was so gracious to give us this building, we ought to use it all," she said.
"We have focused on the world, but we don't want to forget our own back yard," Kroll said.
Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or at [email protected].
Contact Back to the Bible
The Back to the Bible radio program is broadcast Monday through Friday at 5 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Lincoln station KLCV (88.5 FM) and at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. on Omaha station KCRO (660 AM).
You can listen or read current or archived programs at www.backtothebible.org.
If you'd like to be a member of the studio audience, call 464- 7200 and ask for Terry Wright.
If you'd like to try out to be one of the voices on Solid Sounds, visit solidsounds.org/newvoices.php. Back to the Bible is seeking a male and a female in their 30s or 40s and another male and female in their 20s to be regular voices on the 60-second radio spots. Each position involves two to three hours of work per month.
SONICFLOOd will be in concert beginning at 7 p.m. July 21 in the parking lot at Back to the Bible International Headquarters, 6400 Cornhusker Highway. Tickets are $7 in advance or $10 the day of the show. Advance tickets are available at Family Christian and Lemstone bookstores in Lincoln and Parables in Omaha; or by calling (800) 759- 6655. Group discounts are available.
"Livin' It," a free skateboard and BMX exhibition with speaker Steven Baldwin, will be 12:30-4 p.m. Aug. 20. For more information, call 464-7200.
Caption: 1, 2. (Above) Woodrow Kroll says it seems more natural to record his radio program before a live audience. (Below) Radio Production Engineer Martin Downing watches from the recording booth during the taping of the Back to the Bible radio program. 3. A formerly austere studio was transformed into a living-room-like setting with bookshelves and art. PHOTOS BY ERIC GREGORY/Lincoln Journal Star
Credit: Lincoln Journal Star
Copyright Lee Enterprises, Inc. Jun 11, 2005