One thing about the NRB convention during an election year, it’s never dull. This year saw presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Dr. Ben Carson present their candidacies to attendees.
In addition to the excitement around the candidates, there was plenty of buzz around the debut of the new Museum of the Bible, opening in 2017 just blocks away from the United States Capitol building. This new museum will house hundreds of rare and important artifacts from ancient through modern times. It seems that Keith Cleghorn, one of our VP of Client Services, walked through the exhibit backwards but still came away quite impressed.
Beyond the exhibits and the events of the weeklong convention, there was a good deal of business taking place. Once again Doug Shaw, co-founder and CEO, was re-elected to the NRB Board of Directors and Wiley Stinnett, Sr. Vice President of Strategy, was nominated to the board. Unlike presidential elections, the vote counts were not published, but I’m sure that Wiley was edged out of the race by a narrow margin. Perhaps next year, Wiley!
A personal highlight is visiting with longtime friends and making new ones. It’s also increasingly clear that the need for Christian broadcasting is as strong as ever, and many ministries who have been struggling for the last few years approached our team asking for advice and guidance.
Thursday evening, Douglas Shaw & Associates hosted our annual Thank You Dinner for our partners (both in broadcasting and those based in the area). It really is a privilege to serve so many ministries that are changing lives all around the world. One goal always remains top-of-mind, to positively impact the lives of one billion people through the ministries we have the privilege to serve. And we’re well on our way to meeting that goal.
The Gideons’ International Executive Director Craig Warner exacted a promise from me over dinner, too. The next time we’re in town together we’ll meet for breakfast at the “scattered, smothered, covered and chunked.” (I’m sure many of you know where we’ll be eating but write me if you don’t and I’ll fill you in!) It’s a breakfast I won’t be missing.
We also were able to plan upcoming projects with new full-service partner, Haven Ministries, and long-time partners, Revive our Hearts, Far East Broadcasting Company (whose Mongolian radio station WIND FM won the NRB International Radio Ministry award), and Moody Church Media. It’s so encouraging to see how God is using these incredible ministries to impact his Kingdom!
Speaking of Moody Church Media, once again Douglas Shaw & Associates had the pleasure of hosting Pastor Erwin Lutzer and the Moody Church Media team for their annual Breakfast with Broadcasters. More than 50 broadcasters and friends filled the room for breakfast and a message from Pastor Lutzer. Those who’ve attended in the past will not be surprised to hear that, once again, Pastor Lutzer delivered keen insights as well as his signature impression of Dr. Billy Graham.
Now if I may, I’d like to borrow from both Dr. Graham and Dr. Lutzer: Until next time may God bless you real good!
