Set up as a network to encourage and grow younger Christian leaders, the podcasts were part of a communication strategy trying to link experienced leaders with those just starting out on the road to Christian leadership.

The quality of the podcasts were always good and the interviews provided some really useful information, so why are they stopping after almost two years.

David Couchman who presented the podcasts wrote the following on his blog…

In the future, the main way the Slipstream resources will be delivered will be through the e-letter. Users identified email as their preferred way to receive information. This will be more frequent, shorter, and will not have a regular schedule, but will be sent out when there is something specific to say – a new resource, an upcoming event etc.

Read the full post here

A few thoughts

1. We can often get caught up in schedules and loose the plot of what we are trying to do. If you plan to release something once a month you have to produce something once a month, regardless of whether you have good quality content or not. I don’t think this was a problem for Slipstream, they had lots of good stories – including interviews that I recorded with Andrew Hamilton and Eric Bryant that never made the cut.
2. You have to use appropriate media for what you are trying to share. It’s far quicker for me to read an e-mail than it is for me to listen to a podcast. Much of what was shared through Slipstream could have been conveyed faster in writing than by listening to the audio.
3. Finally, does the technology limit the audience? I reckon more people can be reached by e-mail than by podcast. I listen to podcasts because I have an iPod and use iTunes on my home computer. If it wasn’t for my attachment to the Mac I probably wouldn’t bother. In other words, a podcast may be convenient for me but not necessarily for everyone. I reckon the e-mail route will give access to a wider audience.

What do you think?

A film to make you smile.

HT Eric Bryant

Organised thinking

Tips on organising your thinking, self motivation and following up on ideas from Paul Merril based upon the book, Hot Wiring Your Creative Process, by Curt Cloniger.

One of the useful parts suggests making little cards with concepts on them to stimulate your thinking. The ideas can be actions or thoughts. The idea is to pull out a few when you are facing a creative block.

My friend Ed made some little notes – without even reading the book. (I’m guessing on that point.) Some of his ideas: “Sort out 3 things to go to a charity shop” and “Scan in a pattern”.

The $100 tip

From Eric’s blog, again, the story of the $100 tip, given to change someone’s life.

A good friend of mine shared with me how he felt compelled to give a $100 tip for a meal which cost much less.   He included a note encouraging her to use the money to live out her dreams.

Read the full story here

I Am Second

Again, from Eric…, although I’m going to stop linking to him now before he gets an overrated Google rank. : )

I Am Second is a collection of stories from actors, sports stars, musicians… about their journey with faith. Lots of different points-of-view, backgrounds, lives… including actor Steve Baldwin and Brian Welch from Korn.

As work has been getting busier it’s becoming harder to think, but at times like this it’s even more important. In the office I’ve tried to instigate some reflection time into the week. We spend 30 minutes on Monday talking and praying about what’s going to take place during the week ahead, on a Friday afternoon we look back and see what has happened and pray and thank God.

This week we reflected on:
The Eden to Eternity tour. I went on Wednesday to see the production and was really impressed. Tany describes it as being like seeing the Reduced Shakespeare Company, which is a huge complement. Anyway, after a shaky start it’s picked up, both in the quality of the production and the size of the crowds.

On the back of that we are getting some good PR and some local radio stations are going to be doing some interviews around this on Sunday morning.

We also had a guy on UCB Radio on Tuesday talking about lost languages and the work we do to protect native languages. This also required some updating of the website and loading the first properly edited (but still rough) Wycliffe podcast.

I also interviewed some of the people who are meeting here discussing scripture use. It’s a bit of the operation that we probably don’t talk about enough, as the aim of Wycliffe isn’t just to translate Bibles, but also to enable communities to read and understand them. To do this we have to teach literacy and provide some level of education.

Then there were just the straightforward, unglamorous stuff that has to take place during the week, mailings, filing, meetings and minutes.

So I’m looking forward to this weekend. Time with Tany, a friend’s wedding, more marriage preparation stuff… but also the drive home. Have a good weekend folks.

The long story, as I have time, is as follows.

A few months back I went up to visit my friends Eddie and Sue at Wycliffe. Eddie had been appointed as Director a few months previously and they had eventually moved as a family up to the High Wycombe area. Part of the reason of visiting was to catch up on life, but the other part was to discuss the possibility of me joining Wycliffe in their marketing team.

While it was Eddie who originally spoke to me about the role, we both were keen to keep our friendship out of the process. So during the course of the week I had an informal interview – which actually took place during a car journey to a nearby design/advertising agency – and the other was a more formal interview involving the personnel department. I also had the time to talk through what takes place at the centre with a number of different heads of department. There’s a lot that goes on in that place, more than you’d realise just by looking at the outside of the buildings.

After all this I still had to complete some paperwork and wait for a final confirmation that they wanted me, but just before Christmas I received an e-mail with the formal offer of the position of Head of Marketing.

Lots of people have enquired how I knew this was the right thing for me to do. It’s not an unreasonable question, I’m very aware that I’m about to leave a job with a salary to take an unpaid position the week after the UK government finally faced up to the fact that as a nation we are in a recession.

Wycliffe's discovery centre at Horsleys Green

Part of my sense that this was the right thing came on my first day of visiting. Eddie took me for a tour of the Discovery Centre. It’s a wonderful facility which gives a history of Bible translation as it has taken place since… well, since Bible translation began. I was walking around, reading about how people had given most of their adult lives to go and live in communities, to learn the language, develop an alphabet, start translation projects and finally translate books of the Bible into a language that the local people could understand.

Walking around there and looking at the displays I couldn’t work out why I wouldn’t want to be involved in this. Personally I believe that what the Bible says is true. I believe that it is the word of God and that it contains a wonderful story of love and compassion that everyone has the right to know about. By providing translations in local languages people have the chance to work it out for themselves. They aren’t reliant on missionaries and they can also judge for themselves if visiting speakers are telling them the truth of what is in the Bible. In the UK we have multiple versions of the same Bible, many very good translations written in a way that we can understand. In other parts of the world that isn’t the case and that’s where Wycliffe comes in.

However, the discovery centre wasn’t the place where I made up my mind finally. You see I am a ‘bloke’ (Tany’s definition – if you disagree take it up with her), I work hard at hiding my emotions, enjoy action films and like fast cars. When it came down to the Wycliffe job I wanted to make sure that the things that I am good at would be useful to them, I wasn’t just going to base my decision on a gut feeling. As we were discussing a marketing role I was very honest with everyone there that I’m not a designer, copywriter or a really strong salesman – while I can do elements of all of these things and more they aren’t my strongest skill sets. However, I can manage the sales, advertising, writing processes. I can develop effective strategies, support teams, work with agencies, develop people’s skills…

As the week went on it became quite clear that what I can offer would fit very well with what Wycliffe needs. My conversations with staff members showed that a bit of planning, some management and reconsidering some aims would make a considerable difference. In other words, it was the right job for me, at the right time and in the right place [I’ll say more about what I’ll be doing in another post].

OK, there are going to be some huge challenges, but it comes as a good time. I’m going to have a place to live on the centre, which means I’ll have one of the shortest commutes ever. It’s also going to be a strange start to married life for Tany and me, but probably a good one. We get to move to a new area as a couple. We will start our new careers in a new location and we have somewhere to live. The next few months should be good fun.

You probably don’t remember, but in April 08 I managed to combine my holiday with a few interviews with church leaders working in different situations. Since then a suitable slot for the interviews hasn’t been forthcoming, until now. Seize the Day is a new podcast from Focus.

You can listen to it to get more info, but the important bit is that it uses my interview with Brandon Dickerson.

I hope you all enjoy it.