New Year, New Look, Same Solid Message

The following program is sponsored by evangelical life ministries.

Welcome to engaging truth, the manifestation of God's word and the lives of people around us. Join us each week. As we explore the impact of his message of spiritual renewal from the lesson of forgiveness forged in the crucible of divorce, to the message of salvation learned to by an executioner from a condemned killer to the gift of freedom found in the rescue of victims of human trafficking. This is God's truth in action.

Welcome to engaging truth. This is Dave schuls and bill Pruitt. We're sitting here together in the studios, uh, and looking at the of this year and looking back over our shoulder at the years, gone by since bill, first of all, became involved with us. Welcome

Bill. Thank you. Thank you, pastor. Good to be here. Um,

You started with us five, six years ago, correct?

Probably. Yeah. Think about five years ago. No.

Uh, were you surprised when you first got involved, how long this has been going at that point? I guess about six or seven years?

Well, yeah, we were about, you were about seven years under your ministry when we started at this point and we were, uh, uh, still doing things probably in the old fashioned way. I can recall that we were going down about every Sunday evening down to the studios in KK HT and downtown Houston doing a couple of live shows and then we'd, uh, scurry back to a scurry scurry back to Cypress and, uh, and make sure that everything got on. We were, when we were doing any video at all, we were capturing that on a, uh, on a cell phone, uh, video capture machine. And then, uh, and then using that to, to put on the website. So things have, have changed a bit. So as we started that,

One of the things that, uh, you and I both found very exciting during these years was our ability to enter the penitentiary at, um, south of Houston Darrington. Um, this penitentiary really is composed of men across the state of Texas who have either life sentences or close to life sentences. And what do you recall about those visitations bill when you first began to go with me and record these young men who are seminary students?

Well, it, it, it was really an inspirational, I think, and I, I, I have to call it a life changing experience. You know, that I'm a retired journalist and I've got a, I'm a skeptic when it comes to the sincerity of people. And the first thing I thought was, well, these are, these are prisoners who are in here and they're, they're wearing their religion as a, sort of a, a ticket to an, to an easy, a life of ease behind bars. And when you get talking to these guys and realize what they have essentially sacrificed, because they, they really put their reputation on the line among the other members of that, uh, of that institution when they go into the seminary and then to devote themselves to a life of service after they actual GRA actually graduate graduate from the prison, seminary is just amazing.

And you learn that, that God is really inside those walls, changing hearts. And, and we, we were, after the pandemic, we were limited in our access to the ability need to go down there. Um, I really miss it and I really hope that we can return to that. And, and also, um, the people from the, the heart of Texas foundation have now taken over that seminary and have established a seminary for women at the, uh, at the Marlin unit, uh, near Waco. And I'd really love the opportunity to go and see what, uh, what Grove and Brenna, uh, Norwood are doing with the heart of Texas foundation at that women's unit.

Well, we have an invitation to go and we will go one of these days after, uh, especially after Christmas and long before you have, uh, to leave, um, going back to the penitentiary. Um, there are a lot of life changing things happening in the penitentiary and you, when you, and I would take that hour drive back, we almost couldn't talk because of what we heard. What, what, one thing of a hundred, probably in your mind that you can think about, uh, amazes you most about a prisoner and the transformation that happened in his life?

Well, there were a couple of cases. One gentleman I know had as a youth had been involved in, in gangs, and he'd gotten involved in Aryan brotherhood, uh, sort of a as, as they like to say today, a white supremacist, I guess, and to see that transition in him and to see that one of his favorite things that he talks about doing behind the walls of the prison now is going into what used to be called solitary confinement is now administrative segregation, but to go from cell to cell, talking to whoever is behind that cell Lord, no matter their race, their creed, their previous religion whatsoever, and spreading God's word and see that kind don't have a transition in a man who was once an Arian brotherhood member is, is I, it's just, it's almost indescribable.

Yeah, it is. Um, one of the things that happened just to year and a half ago is that the pandemic overcame us. How did that affect what we did in terms of broadcasting?

Well, we, we had to change our focus and it, it, it allowed us to do, um, use some resources that we had not considered before previously when we were doing remote broadcasting or any other sort of broadcasting that wasn't in a traditional studio setting. Uh, we'd have to go out and take a bunch of remote equipment with us, uh, set up, find interviewees, these sorts of things. We were able to use things like zoom and that sort of technology to use that for remote broadcasting. It actually really broadened the scope of our ability to find and use people on a, on a regular basis. For example, Greg Seltz, who is the, uh, director of the, uh, former voice of, uh, the Lutheran hour. And then now the director of the, uh, Luther and center for religious Liberty in Washington, DC has become a regular contributor and a regular member simply because we can contact him through zoom and use, uh, those resources to bring his message, um, of explanation to our listeners as well. So those kinds of resources have really been a blessing. That's grown out of the technology we've been able to use during the pandemic, but

To pandemic, um, probably was for all of us, uh, a disgusting thing to begin with. We could not even begin to imagine how, uh, the technology that was available then could be used by us to cast and do the things that we were doing before and even do them

Better. Well, and, and, and one of the things that part of our audience and our target audience, and we've, we've discussed this in the past. And a lot of people know, this is people who are either de-churched or unchurched and the pandemic caused to not be able to congregate. And so it S SunEd churches and churches, congregations themselves were seeking ways, technology ways to reach and continue to spread the message of, and the gospel of Jesus Christ to people that are, that were normally in pews, think it gave us a great opportunity to use the resources that we had. And we've been using for years, uh, broadcast resources and, and our website and podcasts, and continue to spread that message to people who suddenly didn't have the means to go find it because they weren't able to get into their church. Come congregations.

Lots of change has taken place. One is you just mentioned it, the use of podcasts. Why is that important in this culture, in which we live

Today? Bill, um, young people, especially young people, millennial millennials, and, and some of the younger ones don't have the, the luxury of being able to take the time to do thi or in their minds. They don't have the luxury to be able to take the time to go to, uh, a church and spend an hour and a half, two hours on a Sunday morning, necessarily sitting down to hear the message of God, but they do have a lot of travel time. They do have time to take 15, 20 minutes to listen to a podcast and they can get the, that word and that inspiration that they miss on Sunday mornings. Basically anytime they want it on demand through a podcast

We're even told by our media director that, um, we can do one a one minute broadcast and they are very popular simply because of the fact that people have one minute to listen to something. And if we can provide for them just a little bit of direction in Christ, we will have accomplished what maybe we didn't accomplish with 30 minutes of broadcast. Well,

I think it's easier for people to, to digest things in those small snippets or ministry minutes as we like to call 'em. And we've, we've, we, we've worked on establishing a program with, um, clergy across the spectrum of, uh, our area here in Cypress and, and across Houston to get people to contribute those ministry minutes to us so that we can use them as filler spots during our broadcasts, uh, just on our Facebook page and our YouTube channel where people can go in and get that inspirational, just an inspirational touch or word, or just a little bit of a lift when they need it from, from God's word. And, uh, and so we are encouraging, uh, a lot of the, a lot of the clergy in our area to, to join us in this effort, to give those ministry minutes to people as inspirational choices,

Newspapers has been in your past, in your present. And, um, what does newspaper look like for the future bill with what's happened in the pandemic today in the culture in which we live

Well, it's difficult because the, the, the paradigm for newspapers was always sort of selling advertising, retail, advertising as source for the funding that, that, that allowed them to distribute the news. And as more and more commerce is done online, uh, from, from your computer, from your cell phone, from your hand, whatever handheld device you happen to have, um, people don't require daily dose of paper in front of them any longer to find what they want. In fact, it's easier to find what they're looking for by going across the internet to find it. So, uh, and also because most newspapers have chosen to give away their content on the internet as a, as a sort of a freeze service and an inducement to get people to, to view, uh, newspapers are becoming a, a luxury. And in fact, it's very, very difficult for publishing companies to make money on newspapers, nowaday. Well, how

Do they make money then?

Well, they make money by selling advertising content, doing that kind of stuff, but being an, being an avenue for the advertising. So basically they they're still like it used to be before it used. They're a platform that carries advertising with it, and their revenue comes from the advertis few with a great deal,

Fewer, uh, readers. Correct.

Uh, the readership is, is drastically declined because, and, and people are drawn to media that they can tailor to their own desires and wishes. So instead of the, the role of a newspaper back in the forties, fifties, and sixties, was to prioritize the news that's available out there and give it to the reader in what we, as editors thought was the most important format, uh, from most important on the front pages to least important on the back pages. Um,

Nowadays people who are looking for news are looking for the content they wanna look at, and they're gonna be able to find it using search engines, and they don't need somebody to format or, or to, to prioritize their news for 'em. And we often find that that prioritizing process has been taken. So the size now, right in newspapers, that, that people find, find that prioritization either off putting or offensive where it used to be. You just thought, well, these people are trained journalists, and it's their role to provide for us some sense of importance. So among the news and people don't trust that any longer, one of the commissions that Jesus has given us in Matthew 24 is, um, that his words should go out. His words should be proclaimed. And he says in 24, verse 14, uh, the gospel of the kingdom must be preached in the world as a witness to his name, and then show the income. How does that, how does that reflect in what we are doing, uh, as you see it today and peeking around the corner for tomorrow?

Well, you know, the commission, this is one of the things that we always talk about in, in every, every time I talk to somebody about Elm, who we are and what we do, it's go and tell that is our soul purpose is to go and tell the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we like to do it in a method that we call applied theology. So we like to find people, the guests on the air that have a unique ministry that serves God in unique and inspiring ways, and take those stories to the people and say, this is how God is at work now in your community or in the world. Not so much as a, not so much as a, uh, an of how we think people ought to be doing God's work, but how God's work is manifesting itself in what the people are actually doing. So we're not urging people to go out and do to start a specific ministry. But when we find something that we find inspirational and compelling, we wanna bring that message to the forefront and show others. This is the way God's being served here. And this is the, this is the example you can go out and follow

Is that as you see it peeking around the corner, is that, um, the viable ministry for the future, do you see something changing for the future in terms of the gospel proclamation? Um,

We we're always gonna need good solid proclamation of the word, but a lot of people like living models of that, um, they, they like to hear how we're supposed to treat each other and how we're supposed to love one another through the example of Jesus. But when you can see the way that's being done by God's people in a godly world, now that's a true example of what, what we call applied theology that is, that is living our religion outwardly in service to others. And that's what God expects of us to do. He demands it of us.

One of the, one of the, um, guests that we had on the air sometime ago was a high official in, in the Navy. And one of the things that he said was, what is desperately needed today is an evangelistic explosion in the world. Can you see that around the corner? Is, is that a possibility? And, and I say that in light of what Luther said, the gospel passes, the gospel passe is over a place, but once, and then onto another receiving place, um, we have been blessed in this country, especially during my ministry in the last 60 years, uh, where the, this, these are the golden years of Christ centeredness in proclamation, but how does that look for

The future? Sure. Well, I think, I think one of the things that we've done at evangelical life ministries and I'm, I'm quite proud of, of what I think we've been able to accomplish is that we've been able to embrace emerging technologies. As I, I think the gospel path, the gospel's more like waves than a sing flood, and the gospel passes over places in waves. Sometimes through one technology followed a decade later, a generation later by another flow of the gospel using another technology to, to spread it. So I think each time we have the opportunity to use a podcast, a video broadcast radio, we should take advantage of that new technology and find a way to use it, to promote the gospel of Christ to a different unique, but very, very hungry audience. And I think the hunger of the audience never changes. It's just the spoon we use to feed them. And that's the technology we use

When you look at a nation like India, for instance, that is, uh, Hindu. And you look at, uh, some of the guess that we've had, who have been missionaries in a Hindu country with, with one Christian in a hundred thousand people in population. Um, does that look like what the gospel looks like for the future?

I think the gospel looks like that. I think the gospel looks like the growth we've seen inside prison populations. I <affirmative>. And I think we have a generation of younger people who have, have missed traditional religion that is hungry for, and it will be a fresh for a new wave of Evangel evangelism that addresses their concerns, their fears, because we have, as, as culture changes, we have new challenges and new fears that alarm people in the same way, they were alarmed in the very first generation of man. And they turned to God to find solutions. And we simply have to use every resource available to us to give them that message of reassurance that God's in control. He knows what he's doing. He's the one that's gonna take care of this. If we place our faith and trust in him, it's interesting.

Paul told Timothy, he said the, the, um, the will of God, the imutable unchangeable will of God, is that all men be saved. So, you know, and you say, as a result of that, then what doesn't he do something well, he has done all that he's gonna do. He said his sin, his son, the savior to redeem the world from their degradation. Now it's up to us to see the, the use of that particular word that has been left to us in the technologies of today to spread it wherever it needs to be spread. Cuz the word of God tells us it will not come to a screeching all until, uh, the world has heard

His message. And Jesus said on the cross, it is finished, his work is done. The salvation has been accomplished and it's our job to go out and tell everyone about that message to let them know that they are covered by that message. And the salvation covers all people.

We are, we are coming close to, um, the conclusion of this particular reflections time bill. Um, what could you ask of the listening audience, uh, in terms of, of how they could support what we do, how they could, uh, um, actualize what we do with their assistance?

Well, the first thing of course is pray. Um, prayer is a miraculous vehicle and it accomplishes, uh, anything we want accomplish. God tells us if we ask for it sincerely and with faith, it will accomplish it. So we, we pray. We ask that you pray for the success of our ministry, that we actually do get word, get God's word, spread to people who are hungry for it. We also ask that you, if you are inclined that you provide support for us, uh, financial support, um, to, uh, via our website or to, uh, to Elm houston.org, uh, or to post office box, uh, 5, 6, 8, um, Cypress 77, 410. And um, and any amount that anybody would wish to contribute would be used. All our, all our on-air personnel, uh, are volunteers. And um, every, every, every penny we get in donations goes to, uh, goes to, to spreading God's work.

Let's be real bold. There's probably in the listening audience, uh, uh, some father, some mother, maybe a young man, uh, who has yet to be married. Uh, his resources are far beyond his ability to spend, but he is hearing this message tonight. He's hearing the importance of the proclamation of the message of Christ and that's what we do. That's what we've always done is just some, please spend our time. What would you say, um, to ask for, in terms of dollars, if, if you had one person out there who could, let's say support one whole year of broadcasting, what would that be?

Um, our, our broadcast, um, fee essentially the, what we pay the studio for our air time is about $18,000 a year. And that covers, uh, the Lutheran IER broadcast followed by the two engaging truth broadcasts. And that's simply the air time. That's what we pay the radio station to broadcast our message. Uh, if we can cover that, then can use our other resources to enhance our multimedia offering, uh, our website and, and some, some of the other, other services as well. So that would be a, a wonder, a wonderful gift, a wonderful amount. But if any, if somebody wanted to say donate, uh, on a regular basis, $10 a month, $20 a month, we'd be more than happy to entertain that as well. Bill,

This has been an exciting time just sitting down with you and, um, we are the seniors on our team.

We are, it's been a sincere pleasure and

We are seeing that we are soon be disposal, uh, disposed of, of the responsibilities making place for some young people. I just wanna say thank you to the listening audience and thank you bill for all the time that you've spent sharing the gospel, helping us share the gospel, the message alone, that saves souls. Come back again to us on engage you. Thank you

And goodnight. Thank you for listening to this broadcast of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time to help support our ministry, contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 68, Cypress, Texas 77, 410, or visit our website@elmhouston.org or find on Facebook at evangelical life ministries. Thank you.