Radio Ministry II

NOTICE: The first part of this title has already been posted, and may be seen by “scrolling down” the “elevator” on the right part of your screen, using your mouse and “left-clicking/holding” on the elevator.

Please read it first, in order to properly understand this one. Thanks.

Previously, I’ve described my early “religious” home life, followed by finally “receiving Christ”, and being “Born Again”, or “getting saved”.

The narrative ended by my relating how, when we returned home from Stanley and Miriam’s, I stayed up and read the Bible that Miriam had given me 9 years earlier.

The beginning purpose of this title was to relate my experiences prior to, and following my introduction to a “Radio Ministry”. What has preceded has been preparatory to that.

After leaving the Army in 1946, I joined R.W. Schetter Jewelry and Radio as a radio repairman. When the radios were repaired, I was trained as a “clock repairman”, starting with large wall clocks.

By 1949, Television had reached our “shores”, as we say. And, I took some training in their repair. Radios still broke, so I fixed some of them as well. But, TV took up more and more of my time.

Right now, I can’t quite come up with the reason, but I offered to buy the radio/TV section of the store, then opened up my own Maddex Radio and TV business. (This was BEFORE I received Christ.)

While repairing mostly television sets, I had a radio on to listen to.

Though I started my business in January of 1951, it was in December of that year that we had our “Salvation Experience”.

After that, I listened to as many Christian radio ministries as I could find. Of course, "Back To The Bible" from Lincoln, Nebraska was a daily favorite. Sidney and Helen Correll’s "Wings Over Dayton" ministry from the Christian Tabernacle in Dayton likewise. I found others from across the nation, and, while listening, I was repairing Television sets.

One local area program I began listening to was “From The Bible”, featuring Pastor Alvin G. Ross, of the Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Springfield. I listened 6 days a week.

One Saturday, early in 1953, Pastor Ross announced that that day would be the last time the program would be aired.

I was dumbfounded! Why would that be? Why couldn’t it continue?

Outgoing guy that I was, I couldn’t “take that lying down”. I called the station right away.

Fortunately, the Pastor had not left the station yet, so he got on the phone to talk to me. I asked him the reason he was no longer to be on, and he said the Church just felt they couldn’t afford to continue.

“I’m in business in Mechanicsburg. Why can’t I sponsor it? And if so, would you continue?” He said, “Let me come up to talk to you.”

He did, and I signed up to sponsor it right away.

The next day, Sunday, Jean and the boys and I drove to Springfield to attend the Pastor’s Church.

I’d better say this: We had not been very happy with our former church (in whose parsonage we had been married), ever since we “got saved”. I took my Bible to Church there, and I was the only one to do so.

Our minister “left out” what I felt was an important part of the Bible passage he was expounding, so I called him to talk the next day. Turns out that the Salvation message of Christ was not on his agenda.

We left.

For the past several months, we had been driving to Columbus on Sunday nights to the non-denominational evangelistic outreach across the street from the State House. It was named Souls Harbor. During that time, Jean and I were immersed as believers there.

Also at that time, we attended a once-a-week Cottage Prayer Meeting and Bible Study, led by George Woodburn from Urbana.

Now, with the Church in Springfield, and the weekly Bible Class, we didn’t have to drive all the way to Columbus to be “fed”, spiritually. We got it 3 times a week right there in Springfield. And, I continued to sponsor “From The Bible”.

Since all my family had always sung in Church, I kinda gravitated to the Music Ministry of the Church. I sang in the choir, and the Pastor had me lead the Evening Song Service. Then, the Pastor took me with him for a week of Evangelistic Services in a mission church in Kentucky.

Pastor Ross was a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. He told me about WMBI, the pioneer christian radio station there, and wondered if I would feel called to a Radio ministry. Whether it was helpful or not, several of the Church members assured me that I would be “called” into the ministry - in some fashion.

In the Spring of 1953, a local Mechanicsburg man named Joe Hinton, came into the Shop one day and asked me if I would be willing to sell out the business. Shocking!

I sold - he bought - and I was not only out of a job, I was now free to see if I should get into the ministry.

Of course, Moody Bible Institute loomed large before me, due to the influence of Pastor Ross.

In about July of that year, I wrote to Dr. William Culbertson, (who else?), President of MBI, about the possibility of my employment at WMBI, the Institute’s radio station.

I heard nothing.

Well, maybe a Music Ministry was what I should do.

With financial support from Stanley and Miriam, and leaving the boys with Grandma Anderson again, Jean and I drove to Chicago to see about enrolling in Day School at Moody. I HAD to be in the Ministry.

We arrived at Moody, and after relating our desire, we were shepherded to the office of the Assistant Dean of Men, Ralph Snow.

He wondered what I would do to support my family, if I entered Day School. I indicated that Radio was the only experience I had, but since that was my “old life”, I wasn’t very interested. However, it was what I knew, so I was willing.

Dean Snow then called the Personnel Office, to see if there would be any possibility of an incoming student teaching radio to the Missionary Radio students. (After being at Moody for some time in 1954, I learned that Dean Snow shouldn’t have called Personnel, it should have been the Student Placement Office.)

The Personnel secretary, Virginia Robinson, asked the Dean my name. He responded, “Maddex”. She apparently left the phone for a minute or so, then came back on and said, “MYRON” Maddex? Dean Snow - “As a matter of fact it is. Do you know him?” “No”, Viginia said, “but I know the name. We just sent him a letter and application for an engineer’s job at WMBI.”

Dean Snow said to us, “This is out of my hands. Go see Miss Robinson.”

We did, and she confirmed what she had told him, and then introduced me to Leigh Robinson (no relation), head of the Studio Engineers.

We went home, to find that the application had arrived. I filled it out, and returned it. The most difficult question to answer was: “Would you feel employment at Moody Bible Institute would fulfill your desire to be in the full-time ministry?” I finally was able to answer affirmatively.

Thus, on January 4, 1954, I joined the WMBI engineering staff, and stayed for 11 years. It didn’t take me long to “feel called” to a Radio Ministry. That call remained for 45 years, until Retirement, at the end of 1998.

“For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” Hebrews 10:36.

Thank God, for HIS Patience!