The A-List

Issues, Etc. came out with spinning wheels and burning rubber this week with a terrific A-list of guests. Here's the lineup from week one:

Dr. Carl Fickenscher of Concordia Theological Seminary
John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
Chuck Burge of the Presbyterian Lay Committee
Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason
Rev. William Weedon of St. Paul Lutheran Church-Hamel, IL
Rep. John Shimkus
Dr. Paul Maier of Western Michigan University
Colleen Carroll Campbell of the Ethics and Public Policy Center
Dr. John Warwick Montgomery of Patrick Henry College
Mark Hemingway of National Review magazine
Dr. Angus Menuge of Concordia University Wisconsin

Any fears that Issues, Etc. would not be able to draw serious guests have been quickly allayed. My guess is that people are going to be scrambling to get on board this pioneering medium. In a way, the cancellation of Issues, Etc. and the ensuing controversy, especially in the blogosphere, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It brought to light a little known or appreciated fact - that the strength of the show was the internet, not conventional radio. Over the past few months we marveled at how the blogosphere could be used for rapid response and analysis and to mobilize people from all over the world. Now we are seeing the power of the internet as a mass communication tool. I know people who struggled long and hard to try to get Issues, Etc. on our local radio here in southern California, a very expensive radio market. Now Issues, Etc. is reaching a worldwide audience on a continuous basis 24/7. I'm listening even as I type.

Some folks may be befuddled by the name of the network: Pirate Christian Radio. I must admit that I initially was one of them. In my mind, "pirate" is synonymous with criminal - murder, rape, robbery on the high seas. Not very nice people. Pirates are unsavory characters, never mind the romantic and comedic versions you see in the movies. "Piracy" refers to stealing or illegal use, such as pirated movies and music. But in the world of radio, "pirate radio" has become synonymous with unregulated, rules-free radio - no FCC, no mommy government, no soap in your mouth for saying a naughty word. Just unbridled, unregulated, uncensored free speech, which like any exercise of free speech can be used for good or ill. In this age of politically correct speech, and even the sinister prospects of "coerced speech," coupled with the censorship of institutional interests, pirate radio may fast become the new Areopagus of the internet age. The only folks who are threatened by this kind of "pirate" are those who are threatened by things they can't control.

The real threat is not the image of "pirate" but the "scurvy splagues of pop-psychology, goofy fads, self-help, pietism, purpose-drivenism, the prosperity heresy, contemplative mysticism, seeker-sensitivism, liberalism, relevantism, Emergent nonsense, and the sissy girly Oprah-fied religiosity that is being passed off as 'Biblical Christianity'."

It's great to see Lutherans at the leading edge of things again.