Tag: podcast

  • Caught between two religions

    If you are a fan of storytelling, and chances are good that you are, you need to subscribe to the Moth podcast. The Moth is a non-profit organization dedicated to the art of live storytelling. They put on live storytelling events where members of the audience get a few minutes to tell a story, live and without notes, on a theme. The best stories make it onto the podcast. It’s 13 minutes I look forward to downloading each week.

    The story I’m linking below is poignant for a couple of reasons. First, it’s great storytelling. Jen pulls you in. Second, because the content of her story is just a little too close to home for a lot of my friends. Jen is caught between two worlds, Evangelical Christianity and selling Mary Kay. In the end she isn’t sure which one she is selling anymore.

    1. The Moth Podcast- Jen Lee – Targeted     

    (Note to RSS readers – you can come to the site and listen to the audio)

    As a communicator, storytelling is one of the things I wish I were a lot better at than I am. I’d kill to have a group of friends who regularly got together and practiced telling stories. Some ground rules, some themes, and some live audience feedback to refine the craft. Because ultimately, we need to tell stories that matter!

  • the 50th Episode

    I can’t believe it’s already been 50 shows. Fifty! One thing is obvious, Ian Robertson is a complete saint to put up with me for a year. Producing a weekly show is a joy, a challenge, and a discipline. It’s insanity and fun wrapped into one. I’m especially happy with how this episode turned out. This may be our best show yet. Ian worked really hard on it. And the segment with Wayne Rice is brilliantly shot. Like, holy cow… our show has Wayne Rice in it!

    The show has introduced me to a lot of stuff. I’ve met an amazing amount of people. I’ve shared deep moments as they shared what was on their heart. There have been many goofy moments as well. A year ago I was completely intimidated by Ian’s camera. Now I know what a little bit about things like frame rate, aperture, focus, lighting, sound, framing, and working with talent. Being a part of this podcast is one of the best parts of my job. All I can think about when I think about the first 50 episodes is joy. It’s hard work. It’s not always pretty. But it’s a labor of joy.

    Here it is, episode 50.

  • Podcasts for Preachers

    podcasts-for-preachers

    Since April, I’ve been a regular commuter using San Diego’s excellent public transit system. Essentially, it takes me an hour to get to work and I use this as me time. While walking, riding my bike, standing on the platform, or riding the trolley I am typically listening to music or podcasts.

    My weekly repertoire includes exactly zero “Christian” podcasts. (Unless you count my own!) What I’ve found that I enjoy listening to most are shows that tell stories really, really well. The other day it hit me that some of the shows I listen to every week would actually be excellent to listen to for those who craft messages each week.

    So, here’s my list of shows I’d recommend preachers listen to in order to sharpen their delivery: (add you own in the comments)

    1. This American Life. I’ve joked around in saying that Ira Glass is the best preacher in America. Clearly, Ira is not a pastor– he’s Jewish. But TAL regularly tells the best stories out there. The pace, the clarity, the way that the commentators often get out of the way and allow the subject to speak. If you are serious about crafting an oral story… you need to list to this show.

    2. 60 Minutes: Listen to the audio version of this show. (Available on iTunes) This show is always good on TV, but there is something about listening to it as audio only that makes it better. I love the manner in which they track a story. Almost every story uses the same pattern but it never gets old. Also, I love how they tease the stories up front to keep the listening intruiged. The worst part of the show is Andy Rooney. But just hear him as the old man who grabs your hand every week and annoys you.

    3. The Moth: I love this show for two reasons. First, it’s first person stories. Second, it’s a single story per episode. These are stories told live on their mainstage in LA or New York. If you like to integrate testimony into your messages, this will help you.

    4. This I Believe: More stories told in the first person. This concept has been around for decades and has captured the core beliefs about famous people, everyday people, and people in-between for that entire time. Essentially, people write an essay about something they believe to be true and then perform it in their own voice.

    5. TEDtalks: If you had 18 minutes to present your life’s work, what would you say? This is the premise of TED.  This is like the Willow Creek Leadership Conference for everyone else. Each week you’ll see a well-known person make the presentation of their life.

    What would you add to this list?

    I think evangelicals are just coming back to the concept of story. For whatever reason we’ve gotten into a habit that preaching ought to be a lecture instead of a story. But with our cultures fascination of story, many leaders are seeing that in order to preach into people’s lives they have to be a better storyteller.

  • College Ministry 101

    college-ministry-101aToday, I am driving up to Los Angeles to meet with fellow YS blogger and YS author, Chuck Bomar. Chuck’s new book, College Ministry 101, is an important read for the church today. While church leaders have known of a significant drop-off of kids from high school into college few church are doing anything serious to rectify it.

    Some churches run programs like glorified youth groups that really just delay the problem.(Eventually you do need to transition them to an adult-like ministry, right?)

    Most churches do nothing. Their action provide an implied rumschpringer where Christian children go off and experience the worlds delights and horrors. (And 20% or so return later.)

    Some churches expect 18 year olds to join adult Sunday school or small groups.

    Long story short, Chuck has spent a lot of time helping churches figure out the college-aged ministry and now he has a book. Today I am meeting up with him to do some filming for the podcast as well as some stuff about his book.

    I’m looking forward to meeting him. And I’m looking forward to what he has to teach youth workers about college ministry.

  • DCLA Recap – directors cut

    Let’s see… so much in this show to cover!

    – Brittany did a great job hosting the DCLA recap. She ran our registration area… but once she was done she got to join “the fun team” and run around with me capturing video and pictures.
    – The opening thing we shot on the Mall. It got super hot and by the time we got back to the convention center, about a mile away, we were both exhausted.
    – Right before we shot this opening scene Brittany and I witnessed one of the most bizarre moments of our lives. A woman was laying on the grass with the monument in the background above her… that’s all I can say as this is a PG rated blog.
    – Each night before we let the students into Big Room there was a massive “walking in” moment where we tried to slow everyone down. Here’s a video I took on my flip camera the night before. That’s Tic Long leading the way. Awesome moment.
    – The worship times with Starfield were insane. I had a hard time squeezing to the front. The kids jumping, dancing, and worshiping was a lot of fun. I’m glad we captured Scott Erickson painting and dancing as well. He makes his art fun!
    – I love the clips from students sharing about their DCLA experiences. You’ll hear a few of them reference the storyline. During 4 big room sessions the speakers covered the entire Bible and weaved students into God’s story of redemption for the world.
    – Shane Claiborne’s point about God loving Afghanistan and Iraq reverberated all weekend long. I heard people say AMEN but I wonder how many people are still wrestling with that point.
    – I’ve seen Tommy and Eddie (The Skit Guys) do their thing a bunch. But I have to say… I loved how they came up with new skits, even a serious one, to fit into the storyline.
    – There’s a couple of clips from the concert on Saturday night with KJ-52 and Hawk Nelson. Holy cow… the kids were into that. I was in the little pit between the stage and these barricades they put up. Lemme tell you, it was a little scary!
    – I’m happy the clip with the kid answering his cell made the cut into the podcast. That was stupid funny.
    – I’m also glad we included the part with the youth pastor, Verne. He and I exchanged a bunch of tweets during DCLA. I love how a couple students were like, “No, Verne doesn’t fart a lot.” But the one girl is like… “Yeah, he farts all the time!”
    – Brittany scared me to death. I found this little walkway above the ballrooms. I am positive we weren’t supposed to be up there as it was like 100 feet above the floor. You can see on the video that she is standing in front of this chest high wall. She was freaking me out since she wanted to stand on top of the wall! I’m not afraid of heights. But I am afraid of people falling off of things.
    – I caught the youth pastor from my in-laws church, Larry, talking about labs. He was great. I’ve never gotten to know him but I know he’s a big help to YS.
    – I think every student I interviewed, except the kids in Verne’s church, were from Jersey.
    – My favorite line in the show comes at the end… “DCLA is dipped in awesome sauce.” Amen to that.

    Big ups to Ian. He took 90 minutes of raw footage and strung together a 7 minute show.

  • Tom Sine on Movements in Church Planting

  • Spike that weekend football

    Sometimes good weekends come unexpectedly. This past weekend was one of them.

    Coming into the weekend was cool because I am finally feeling good about my Monday-Friday workload. The first few weeks after YS’s re-organization I just had a hard time relaxing. There was so much to do! (Or so it felt) A lot of that has settled into routine so I can really, truly, chill on weekends.

    Friday afternoon I took advantage of a whole in my schedule and took Kristen on a little mid-afternoon date. We went to a little beach bar for some pub grub and took a walk on the beach. It was the perfect way to kick things off even though we had to cut it short so I could get back to work and Kristen could get the kids from school.

    Saturday morning Kristen got up at the buttcrack of dawn and climbed Cowles Mountain. This is an important part of her weekend routine. When she came back Paul and I took the dog to Ocean Beach for a little chase the ball and Stoney sniff butt time. Dog pack rules are fascinating to me, but that’s for another post. After we had been at the beach for a while I got a call from Mandy, who is new to YS and lives in the Ocean Beach neighborhood. She and her husband, Jon, came over for a while and we caught up while Paul built the Great Wall of China. An amazing feat.

    After the beach trip we came home and I fell asleep watching golf on TV. About an hour and a half later Paul jumped on me and said, “Let’s go to the beach!” Since it was a perfect weather day I couldn’t resist that. Really, we went to the beach and frolicked in the sand to honor our friends who were shovelling snow, sandbagging, or otherwise being tortured by an early Spring blast of cold weather. We splashed around Coronado beach for a few hours. The kids played in the sand while Kristen and I waded up to our ankles in the cold water looking for sand dollars. We came home, got some carry out from a taco shop, and everyone crashed before 9 PM.

    Sunday continued the fun. We did our normal donut routine in the morning, headed to church, and came home for lunch. After lunch we went to the Rolando Village street fair and got a better feel for our neighborhood. When the kids had eaten too much cotton candy and mom/dad had seen all the crafts, we headed home.

    From there, I took off to meet-up with Dave from work. Dave had arranged for us to do a podcast shoot with the guys from Family Force 5 before their San Diego show at the House of Blues. That was a blast, I got some cool footage of the band. What they had to say was a little bit goofy, but a lot important to youth workers. Later, we headed over to the show. I’m used to Christian shows… so this one was a bit wilder than I expected. About 1000 screaming and sweaty high school kids, mostly girls, filled the club for the 5 act show. We got there for the 2nd act, The Maine. They were good… clearly I’m old since I have no clue who they are. But they had a fun sound. It always cracks me up that high school kids can’t remember to do their homework but know every word to every song. If it weren’t for the annoying habit of them walking up to a mic and just saying random cuss words between songs… I probably would have liked them more. “S**t yeah. How are you mother F**kers, tonight?” Again, showing my age.

    Family Force 5After a little swap out of equipment, Family Force 5 took the stage. If you’ve never seen them, they have an incredible energy. I was given a photo badge so I could take some shots for the bands DCLA appearance. As I snapped pictures stageside I could literally “feel the heat” from the crowd who was mashed up against the barriers. I’ve seen them perform before in Christian venues… same songs, same intensity, ten times the energy. Dancing, bouncing, screaming the words. Makes a geek like me wish I had chosen to be a rock star. This band will light up the stage in DC this July.

    After their set, Dave and I headed home. We’re old people… two acts and we’re done! I caught up on some sports news… congrats to Tiger Woods on his comeback victory after knee surgery. Super congrats to Tom Izzo and Michigan State. If ever a state needed something to cheer for, it’s this weekend in Detroit.

    Great weekend. Lots of good stuff cooking for this weekend as well.

  • YS Podcast

    Hard to believe that this is the 28th episode of the re-launched YS Podcast. I like that we’ve kept it simple, short, and all about youth ministry.

    I’ve talked to Sean a bunch of times about this piece. His ministry helps youth groups around the country buy airtime on local radio. Not event spots… but real ministry time. A very cool concept and surprisingly cheap. The second segment is from Tic… obviously! I love what he says about Lent and taking care of yourself. I know I need to hear this type of thing and I’ve already watched it a couple of times.

    The most consistent feedback I get from the show is from the closing. It always amazes me, but at least once a week I’ll get a voice mail, email, or Facebook message says… “I needed to hear that my ministry matters this week.” All that to say, if you know a youth ministry volunteer or paid staff member take a couple of minutes this week to express to them how they are making a difference in your church and community. Don’t assume they feel appreciated.

  • Check out the Youth Hacks podcast

    A couple weeks ago I shared a great hour of fun with Josh Cook and friends on the Youth Hacks podcast.

    You can listen online here.

    This was a lot of fun for me. We talked a little about life, a little about my transition to YS, and shared some fun tech stuff for youth ministry.

  • Episode 023 Backstory

    I have to tell you, I’m especially excited about this week’s podcast. Every episode is fun to work on… but this one uses two segment that were especially meaningful to me. The tip is from Kerry Loescher. She’s not someone I had ever met before and since she isn’t a published author… I hadn’t heard of her. She is a youth ministry prof at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. Before the shoot she had a great chat. Even after the shoot, the chatting continued and I was really happy to see her around the convention center the rest of the weekend. I love how she leads you into this simple tip with a compelling story. Great communication! A few weeks later I shot this piece with Danielle Strickland. (She’s the social justice director for Salvation Army Australia) I had heard some really cool stuff about her so I had a feeling the piece would turn out good. What I wasn’t prepared for was how easy she was to talk to. In her eyes I wasn’t just some dude with a camera to bother her on a very busy day. (This was about 2 hours before her general session talk) She had carefully arranged the meet-up time, then apologized for being ready early, (which NEVER happens) and was extraordinarily kind through the whole thing. Then, when she started to teach I found myself captivated. By this time, I had shot dozens of these segments at the conventions. But for whatever reason I was really into it. And she really challenged my heart with this devo. When the shoot was done I felt a little awkward… like stunned to silence as contemplated it and let it soak in. I looked over at Cathy (my co-worker who was with me) and she had the same look I did. It was quite a moment when I realized that I wasn’t just shooting a devo for a podcast. My heart had been ministered to as well.

    The only other side note on this episode worth sharing has to do with the timing of my segments. In order to get the show to appear on YouTube, we need to get it as close to 10 minutes as possible. We knew Danielle’s segment was longish for what we normally do… which was fine because Kerry’s was shortish. All that to say… Ian and I were rushing to fit my intro, segway, and outro in as fast as possible. Never fear, we have something fun planned for next week’s show!