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Giving each other dignity

Dorothy Siebert

GodTalk is a three-hour live talk show supported by MB Communications/Family Life Network, a ministry of the Manitoba MB Conference. It airs Sunday nights on Manitoba’s CJOB 68 AM, rated as Canada’s number one talk radio station. GodTalk is hosted by Greg Musselman (a Vineyard pastor and broadcaster), Chris Wells (a Baptist pastor) and David Balzer (a producer with mbc/Family Life Network). The secular station crew they work with has dubbed them the “God guys.” Dave Balzer was recently interviewed by mbc/Family Life Network staff writer Dorothy Siebert.

The three hosts of GodTalk with guest, Winnipeg’s mayor. (l-r) Greg Musselman, Mayor Glen Murray, Chris Wells, David Balzer.

On September 19, Glen Murray was your guest on GodTalk for two hours of open-line talk radio. Murray is Winnipeg’s mayor and also an openly practising homosexual. What was your purpose in having him on the show?

Balzer: We’ve had a wide variety of guests – professionals in different fields, Christians, non-religious people and people of other faiths. What intrigued us about the mayor is that in several speeches, including his speech at the Pan Am Games, he concluded with the statement, “God bless you.” We wanted to ask him, “Who is God to you? Is this a political statement, or is it based on personal belief”? We knew that the issue of homosexuality would come up and that callers might focus on that, but our intent was not to exclusively address that issue. As with every guest, we wanted people to get to know him and his views on issues of faith.

Is that the purpose of any GodTalk show?

Balzer: Sure. Through GodTalk we create a forum for open discussion around issues of faith in our society. It’s one way of creatively sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We capitalize on the resurgence of spirituality in society and bring on guests from different perspectives. This creates a natural dialogue between skeptics and believers. Of course, our own views [the hosts’], the evangelical Christian beliefs, are the springboard for every discussion. With rabbis, Hindus, Muslims, atheists and agnostics, our platform is always: “This is what we firmly believe; what’s your view”? High profile people like politicians make for interesting guests, so Mayor Murray was an obvious choice.

What were your impressions about his personal faith statements?

Balzer: It was really neat to watch the conversation unfold. We were in a very intimate setting, sitting across the table from him, so there was no way to go the route of “us and them.” I really commend him on his openness and willingness to share intimate faith struggles. He shared that he felt it was risky for a politician to express faith because then people think you’re flaky. But he felt his political skills come from his faith. He said he prays a lot and that God is real and gives guidance to him when he seeks it. He was raised in a devout Anglican home and said he calls himself a Christian. When the topic of lifestyle came up, he shared that he felt anger toward God for making him a homosexual.

He mentioned that he’d felt devastated by the rejection of the church community. After attending an Anglican church regularly for a year together with his partner, the leaders asked him to stop coming.

Balzer: Yeah. We asked him then, “They hadn’t talked to you before that”? He jokingly replied, “No one talked to me all year – I guess I should have got the message.” I sensed a lot of pain in that response. He also added at some point, “Maybe the people who reject me are right.”

How difficult was it for you to respond to callers who approached your guest differently than you did? One caller said to Murray right off the top, “You call yourself a Christian, right? I believe that homosexuality is a sin – and I want to hear that from you”!

Balzer: The call-in format is based on callers expressing their own opinions. So I’m easy with that. But it was sad that this caller’s first priority was so blatantly a setup to say, “You are wrong.” While I agree with the caller’s theological position, I ask myself, “Is this the best that we have to offer about being Christ-like in our approach to people we disagree with”? The caller didn’t seem to understand that I was sitting beside Glen having a personal conversation and that there was relational stuff going on. I believe it’s possible to give each other dignity even when the choices we make put us on opposite ends of certain issues.

What did you accomplish by having the mayor on the show?

Balzer: I felt privileged to sit with a community leader for two hours talking about issues of faith. In my view, raising the profile of faith and validating that experience in mainstream media is worthwhile. When the mayor left the studio, he asked if we could all get together for coffee sometime to continue building bridges. If GodTalk helped create a sense that we are approachable even when we don’t compromise on our convictions, then maybe we’ve experienced a moment of grace that is God-given.

Anyone interested in Glen Murray’s story and the resulting dialogue may order a cassette copy of the program by calling mbc/Family Life Network at (800) 565-1810.

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Last modified November 23, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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