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January 2016

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This week I embarked on a one year creative experiment:

I launched a podcast, “Reports on the Spiritual Frontier”, in which I get to test out my interviewing skills, questionable radio voice, and sound editing competency by interviewing people who live and work on the spiritual margins of our culture.

I’ve decided that a year (22-26 episodes,) is long enough to determine whether this is something I’m interested in pursuing long-term.

There are four questions I’m keeping in mind.

1) Am I having fun?

After all, I’m not getting paid for this, so much of its value is in whether I’m actually enjoying myself as I talk to put people, put together interviews, and share my podcast with the world.

2) Is it sustainable?

It doesn’t matter how great the podcast is if it can’t fit sustainably within the rhythm of my life.  I’ll be tracking how much time and creative capital it takes me to do this podcast well.

3) Is it making a difference?

   I’m not really interested in doing a podcast for the sake of my own vanity. After all, there are many easier and cheaper hobbies I could pursue to boost my ego. I’m very interested in being able to tell the stories of the many people who live and work humbly and courageously on the edges of our country. This is where the numbers really matter. I can track whether people are listening, engaging, and responding. There’s no point in spending a significant amount of time and energy just to shout into the void.

4) Am I learning?

In other words, am I getting better at this? Am I growing as an interviewer, an editor, and as a promoter? Am I learning something new about what it means to follow Jesus? If I can answer yes to this question, then this experiment will be (at least a qualified) success, regardless whether I continue it beyond this year or not.

I’ll be checking in publicly about these questions every so often, so keep posted for my updates.

(And, if you’re interested, check out my podcast here or by searching for “Reports from the Spiritual Frontier” in your favorite podcast delivery service.)

 

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