Mainse is overjoyed to see the new momentum, even if his family’s prominence in the ministry is waning. “I’m glad the day of big time TV evangelists is over,” he says. “It’s good to see the whole body of Christ joining in.
“Crossroads never was a family ministry,” he continues. “From day one I resisted advisors who wanted me to establish the David Mainse Evangelistic Association. And when my sons wanted to join the ministry as 16-year-olds, I told them, ‘I’ll never give you a job, never give you a promotion and never give you a raise.’ But they wanted to be involved in the ministry. Anytime they were discussed at the board, I’d leave the room.”
Uh huh. Look up Founders Syndrome.
From The Last TV Evangelist: Why the next generation couldn’t care less about religious media by Phil Cooke – page 72
“It’s been said that Hollywood is brilliant at making fake things look real, and Christians are brilliant at making real things look fake. Authenticity matters. In a culture where design holds a powerful influence, taste – or lack of it – is noticed.”
Now firmly ensconced as CEO, Simmonds is launching an ambitious $20-million “Loud and Clear” capital campaign to ensure that Crossroads is well positioned to meet the next wave of media challenges. The new vision calls for Crossroads to double the amount of original programming it produces, triple its viewership and continue its care services, offering spiritual support and resources for viewers who call in.
For his part, Simmonds is managing to keep other familiar faces on board as he leads the overhaul of the organization. Jim Cantelon will be looking after the opinion and talk segments. Bruce Stacey is back with a large mandate as chief content officer. Lorna Dueck is working to set up a daily news and current affairs program.
Stacey is family.
Plus ça change,plus c’est la même chose.
I asked the editor of Christian Week if Crossroads approached him for these interviews.
I got a prompt and courteous response.
Not directly, he says the interviews just happened when he attended the  Thank You Canada pastor breakfast, another Mainse cross-Canada tour.
Phil Cooke talks about transitional leadership in his latest post btw.
The initial second generation transition at Crossroads was a disaster, this media organization can’t afford to lose any more public trust. All the capital funding in Canada isn’t worth spit if the institutional sins of Crossroads can’t be erased from public memory. (Crossroads is hitting up deep pockets for 20 million)
My take is this. Since Mainse is out on the road fund-raising, and the Christian Week editor was attending the morning event, Simmonds (CEO) and Mainse (founder)  gambled the editor would show up and made sure to make themselves available. No editor of a religious magazine ( as much a trade magazine for CCCI as any broadcast magazine would be)  is going to pass up an opportunity to get these guys on record even when calculatedly stuck under his nose loud and clear.
Strange things can happen in this area. I was looking at my local TV listings book, and I noticed that Garner Ted Armstrong’s ministry was buying time in the early hours on one of my local TV stations.
That’s funny, I thought, haven’t heard of him in years.
I looked him up in wikipedia and he *died* a few years ago. Wikipedia goes on to say that his son has merely repackaged the old shows and is still showing them on TV.
(The last time I recall this happening was back in the 70s, when my local Christian radio station ran Kathryn Kuhlman’s (sp?) radio show after she died.)