An Ungodly Hour - What music plays to your teen?

My son, Rob, is general manager of a non-profit Christian radio station, CALL FM in Southern Florida. We naturally subscribe to his newsletter. This most recent edition particularly touched my heart. What a world our teens face today.

An Ungodly Hour.
I recently had to make a 4:45 AM run to our Miami tower site to fix a technical issue that knocked the radio station off the air overnight. With Call FM off the air during the hour-long trip, I decided to check out another radio station that is very popular among teens (rated in the top 5). I was very impressed with the loud, clear audio quality of the music and slick production - exactly what I would expect from a station with a multi-million dollar budget. But I was soon shocked at the songs' content: sex, sex acts, glorification of drug and alcohol use, automatic weapons, derogatory references to women, violence on women, and paying someone to perform a sex act. One song even spoke of urinating on another person. All of this in just the top 20 songs on this top 5 radio station that targets teens!

Looking closely at those songs I found that:
• 80% of the songs had a sexual theme
• 50% of the songs incorporated profanity (the unedited versions)
• 45% referenced sex, and 20% oral sex or other sex act
• 40% referenced alcohol consumption
• 35% incorporated derogatory racial words
• 30% used derogatory words for women

I thought of the kids in my neighborhood who catch the school bus in the dark just after 6AM. Is this what they wake to every morning before school? Mornings should be a "clean slate" and a "fresh start." Teen girls should hear that they are beautifully created in God's image with a special plan and purpose for their life. Instead, many teens are presented with garbage and perversion from the moment they awake. Imagine how this impacts teens struggling with addictions, being bullied or harassed at school, or body image and eating disorders like Bulimia.

What a battle! But what an opportunity for The CALL! The CALL is only six "clicks" away on that very same FM radio dial! Thankfully, The CALL was back on air that morning around 6AM - back in the battle for the hearts and minds of young adults. God is using The CALL to introduce young adults to a personal relationship with Jesus 24 hours a day, to give them hope in their struggles with temptation, anxieties, thoughts of suicide, addictions, and eating disorders, and to encourage them to live in a way that pleases God.

More than ever we need your financial support to not only stay on the air but to have all of the tools and the resources that The CALL needs to effectively reach young adults in today's "toxic media culture." We need substantial financial support this month. If you could make a gift of $1,000, $500, $100, or however God leads you to give, it will enable The CALL to more effectively reach young adults for Christ.

If you'd like to hear CALL FM and don't live in their broadcast area, you can click this link and give a listen. Rob has even received email from young soldiers overseas who listen in online. While it's not my style of music, it does reach young hearts. Praise God!