Albert Mohler Says Farewell to Live Radio

By Audrey Barrick, Christian Post Reporter Friday, July 02, 2010

Known for "intelligent Christian conversation," prominent theologian and cultural commentator Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., is hosting his final live radio program Friday.

After nine years of providing a biblical perspective on cultural issues and engaging with a live national audience, Mohler has decided to end his radio stint.

"As I'm now struggling with issues related to my other responsibilities it has become very clear that I'm going to be unable to continue a live radio broadcast like this on the same terms and schedule that I've experienced for the last several years," he said.

Mohler, who has been dubbed the "reigning intellectual of the evangelical movement in the U.S." by Time.com, currently serves as president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and is the media's go-to evangelical on controversial issues and Christianity.

He has been hosting a one-hour live talk show, called The Albert Mohler Program, every weekday, providing thousands of listeners with "the Al Mohler view of the world" – as Washington, D.C., pastor Mark Dever described it – and interviewing hundreds of guests.

The program was originally called "Truth on the Line."

Reformed theologian Ligon Duncan thanked Mohler for "edifying" him over the past nine years. Dever, meanwhile, lightly posed, "Al, what are we going to do from five to six (p.m.)? Just drive home in silence?"

In one of his last live commentaries on Thursday, Mohler commented briefly on this week's confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. He drew attention to her role, during her service as an adviser in the Clinton White House, in revising the language of a statement by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologist so as to delay the enactment of the partial-birth abortion ban.

"I think it gives us a rather chilling and I'll just say a rather frightening indication of what may be behind the judicial approach, the legal reasoning of Elena Kagan," Mohler said.

Nearing his final live show, Mohler commented that the experience of talking with callers on the air has been the most fascinating.

"The thing I will miss more than anything else is the conversation with America over the means of the radio broadcast. There's an incredible intimacy to radio ... because radio builds a community."

Ending the program was one of the most difficult decisions Mohler has ever made, he said, but he explained that it "simply came down to the fact that a live radio program at 5 o'clock everyday was becoming something that literally kept me from doing, as much as I loved it, some other things that for the cause of the Gospel and the Kingdom I really need to do."

"By the end of the day we've got to decide how we're going to be most maximally deployed for the glory of God."

Mohler will continue to provide national commentary on "issues that matter" but via podcast rather than live radio. The podcast, called "The Briefing," will be offered as a daily resource beginning in September.