Vic Eliason, founder of VCY America Radio Network, promoted to glory

The VCY America network has expanded a great deal in the past few years, especially to the west, and some to the south. They also have nationwide programming. http://vcyamerica.org/radio.htm

I have had some occasions to talk to Vic, having met him about 8=10 years ago. We had him come to our church and he led a singspiration in our town. He was an anachronism in that he was raised in broadly evangelicat roots (his father was an Assemby of God pastor), but became more and more conservative. His music philosophy, which I tried to get to understand with only limited success, seems to have been greatly influenced by childhood friend and classmate Don Scovill, who some of you will recognize as music director of Pillsbury for many, many years.

The network has a mix of broadly evangelical programs (MacArthur, Back to the Bible, etc.) along with a lot of “homegrown” or developed talent and has been an incubator for ultra-conservative Bible teachers and commentators. The network would remove Bible teaching programs from the network for such issues as the changing of their introductory music (for example, the jazzed-up Doxology used by Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life).

Definitiely a man from a different era. Vic was a regular attender (don’t know if he was a member) of Calvary Baptist in Watertown, WI, which is very tightly associated with Maranatha. VCY was one of the few media outlets that continued to be influenced by fundamentalists.

Vic was also influential with a lot in ultra-conservative political circles. He had a friendship with Gov. Scott Walker, and in his role as host of radio programs, was regularly connected with conservatives in Washington as a Reagan-era conservative.

….especially as I don’t believe he was able to reconcile with his daughters before he died. Obviously I don’t know the whole story—I’ve really only seen some of the long knives out for him, whether that’s fair or not—but what a reminder to make things good here on earth.

Bert, you are correct. Here is a comment Ingrid left on my blog the Monday before Vic’s passing. She used the user name DeletedDaughter when addressing another user, Milwaukee Class of 1970:

DeletedDaughter
DECEMBER 6, 2015 @ 3:26 PM

Milwaukee Class of 1970, the public can comment on the public people who work in ministry. They cannot speak with any knowledge about family matters. The fact that Vic refused any and all reconciliation as recently as this past Monday night and then lied about his two daughters who came in peace as soon as they left the room is something you are not qualified to weigh in on. People seem unable and unwilling to wrap their heads around the fact that public figures in ministry can and often do maintain one image while the substance behind that image is far different. Take away lesson from this is that ministry idolatry and workaholism ruins families. It ruins lives. You cannot create a family and then neglect their needs spiritually and discard them when they no longer contribute to your Great Cause. Yes, celebrate and remember the public figure whose ministry helped you so much. And then please respect the fact that a public figure’s family may have an altogether different and tragic reality they must grieve over.