Christian Radio Station Goes Secular for Christmas

For as many years as I can remember, Christian radio station KDNW Life 97.3 has had a lighted nativity scene in front of their station on Central Entrance in Duluth, Minnesota. The display would go up sometime in late November and stay up through the season. It was comforting to me to see the nativity figures when traveling past the station in snowy as well as clear weather. It seemed right to remember the Christ in Christmas in this manner, and especially for a Christian radio station whose mission was to point to Christ as the light of the world.

Accordingly, the station would begin playing Christmas carols and songs about the baby Jesus after Thanksgiving, gradually increasing the frequency of Christmas music until Christmas Eve. Throughout Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the radio station played non-stop Christmas music with very little interruption.

This year, however, is different. This year, when you drive past the KDNW radio station, you will not see a nativity scene. You will see bushes and shrubs with lights twinkling and a Christmas tree with a star to top it. If you glance at the station sign beside the driveway, you will see a large cut-out Santa hat outlined in lights sitting jauntily on top of one corner. No baby Jesus, no manger, no Mary, Joseph, shepherds or wise men.

If you listened to the station from 9:15 PM to 11:45 PM as I did on Sunday, December 19, 2010, you would have heard an interesting combination of secular Christmas songs and traditional Christian carols. Dean Martin singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Andy Williams with "Happy Holidays" were sandwiched in with two playings of "How Many Kings" by Downhere and Mariah Carey with "O Holy Night," among others. The station website has a scrolling list of what has been played within the last two and a half hours. Some listeners were not pleased with the inclusion of songs about Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman among songs celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Their comments may be seen as older posts on the Life 97.3 Facebook page.

The station promoted two events this Christmas season. One was an event which is exactly what Christians should be focused on: loving others through actions and not just words. The event was called Drive Through Difference. The suggestion was to surprise the person behind you in line by paying for their meal, then leaving a note with the cashier. The note, printed from the KDNW radio station website tells the recipient that 97.3 FM was sharing stories on the radio of these surprise acts of kindness. At first glance, this seems to be a feel-good thing to do for a stranger. The note mentions 97.3 FM twice but does not mention Jesus Christ or the fact you are a Christian and KDNW is a Christian radio station at all. On second thought, the note sounds like a marketing technique designed to bring listeners to the station, hoping to hear their personal story aired.

The second event promoted this Christmas season was a Tour of Lights contest. The contest winner and up to 25 of his family members and friends would get to tour Duluth's finest residential lighting displays from the comfort of a stretch limousine provided by a local limousine service. While an exciting prize to win, this sounds like the type of contest a secular music station would run.

All of this seems to be part of station manager Scott Michaels' strategy to increase the listenership of KDNW and KDNI from 5 percent to 15 percent by appealing to younger ages and non-Christians. Michaels himself, in an interview with Living Stones News reporter Connie Scott, said the station's message is "about a mile wide and 3 inches deep spiritually, and that is intentional."

In his quest for increased listenership, Michaels discontinued station support in January 2010 of a pro-life ministry. For years, the ministry was allowed access to the radio station parking lot as a temporary parking space while the driver and others walked a half block to the Planned Parenthood offices and displayed pro-life signs. Michaels has been at the helm of the radio station since November 30, 2009. KDNW has been a Christian radio station since 1983 and is owned and operated by Northwestern Media, an outreach of Northwestern College in the Twin Cities.

The changed direction of the KDNW Life 97.3 radio station raises some concerns in my mind.

If you are a die-hard country music fan and you play your favorite country music station, you do not expect to hear a violin concerto, do you? If you love the music on National Public Radio, you do not want to hear Pink Floyd or Lady Gaga when you tune in.

When you attend your local Christian church this Christmas Eve, you would not think a hired Santa Claus would be invited to hand out toys or deliver the sermon. You do not expect to see the cross stripped from the church's exterior or have it covered by a huge cloth Santa hat.

Why then, would a Christian radio station invite Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to play on their airwaves at Christmastime? Why would Christian radio station management be so afraid to offend that they decide displaying a nativity, a symbol of the reason for the season, can not be done?

In the quest to appeal to a younger secular audience by airing a shallow Christian message, is the Christian radio station compromising the faith?

If this is what the radio station management does with Christmas, I can't wait to see what they intend to do with the Easter message. Maybe Peter Cottontail hiphopping across Calvary's hill and laying Easter eggs at the base of the cross?

http://www.life973.com/ KDNW website
http://www.facebook.com/life973#!/life973 KDNW Facebook page
http://www.livingstonesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=495&Itemid=108 "Life 97.3 / Faith 90.5 names Michaels general manager." Connie Scott. Living Stones News. 05 April 2010.
http://operationsaveduluth.blogspot.com/2010/01/radio-station-in-duluth-bans-pro-life.html "Radio Station in Duluth Bans Pro-Life Van from Parking Lot." Jim Tuttle.