for the past year i have kept the exact same message on my cell phone voice messaging system. here’s what it says:
- hi, you’ve reached the voice mail of robert terrell, associate pastor of student ministries at parkview baptist church and the emergency minister on call for the week beginning sunday, december 28, 2003. if you have an emergency please leave your name and number and i will call back immediately. i am most likely just distracted at this moment and couldn’t pick up the phone. otherwise leave your name and number and i’ll return your call and i’ll return your call just as soon as possible. if it is an emergency please state that it is an emergency.
as you can see by the date that i say in the message it is way out of date. i was the emergency minister on call for the week that i recorded that message and after it was done i just decided to see how many people would say “hey, you need to update your message.” my goal has worked because i get that allot people telling me that i need to update my message. it’s sad but it makes me laugh every time. it’s a cheap laugh but still al laugh none the less. the absolute best part has been when i get the same person to tell me over and over again that my message needs to be changed. that’s the greatest.
the problem is that my message seems to have lost some of its punch. i guess people begin to realize you are not going to change your message after they listen to it for a year. the only people who ever say anything about changing my message now are those who call me for the first time. i guess it’s time for a change. so i’ll change the message when the 28th rolls around. that way it will have been on my phone for a year. for now, hopefully i get a few other people to say “you need to change your message.”