SiftPop

– If it would save someone I love.

– If Chick Fil A was only open between the hours of 4AM and 5AM

– If Jesus personally asked me too, like in the flesh, or at least by uploading a video to my Facebook.

– If I got to be on the radio.

There’s this misconception that morning show hosts are all morning people.  It’s not true.  In fact, I’m pretty sure the whole morning person idea, itself, is a myth.  No person in their right mind actually prefers getting out of bed closer to midnight than noon. I refuse to believe it.  So for me to be willing to know firsthand that the 4 o clock hour actually does come twice each day can only mean one thing. 

I LOVE what I do!

When I wake up at 4:30, the thought that pushes my legs over the side of my warm and comfy womb of sleep is that I get to have conversations about things I love, hopefully make people laugh and smile, and maybe even on occasion say something that changes someones day or even life (a process, by the way, that still blows my mind, considering how little I really have to do with it).  Oh, and by the way, they actually pay me for it.  Not to mention the fact that the people I work with (and for) are incredibly talented and amazing people who I get to not only call co-workers but also friends.  If you don’t listen to the station (88.3 The Wind), I’d encourage you to click that link and stream it or even download the app for your phone.  They really do a great job and I’m proud to even be a small part of the team.

So why start a podcast?  Shouldn’t that 4 hours each morning be enough to say everything I have to say?

A few reasons:

1) There are some things I can’t really talk about on the radio.  I’ve made a promise to my listeners that I will be respectful of the fact that they might have their kids in tow while listening, and I craft my words very carefully each morning in light of this.  I still get a chance to cover a lot of ground (some of it creatively) but there are some topics that I just can’t work around. And it’s not just to keep parents from having to answer tough questions (“Mommy, what’s pornography?”) it’s also because my purpose each morning isn’t necessarily to just provoke thought.  My goal is to encourage and lift up, not that I don’t acknowledge the tougher things in life, just not with the freedom or depth that this new podcast would allow.

2) I want to play you your favorite music.  88.3 The Wind is a music station and my show is no different.  I love that I get to play these amazing songs for you and because I want to make sure you hear them I try to keep my blabbering short and to the point.  In a longer form show, like the podcast, there is more room for deeper discussion and the ability to really dig into the meat of these topics.

3) I have a couple of friends I want you to meet.  I’m joined on the show by my good friends Andy Dayton and Colette Hamlin, two of my favorite people in the world.  Andy and I traveled together for our college singing, doing skits, and creating mischief (unless any of the college administration is reading in which case we were total angels, halos and everything.)  He’s now a pastor in Indiana and is as smart as he is funny (which is very, just to be clear).  He’s also actually the only guest blogger this blog has ever had (you can find his posts with the label “Andy”) and I can’t wait for you to meet him.  Colette is one of the most genuinely funny and honest people I have ever known.  I met her when she tried out for a DJ contest put on by my previous station in Michigan, a contest she won by the way.  She still does a daily show on that station (FuseFM) and her ability to be both candid and hilarious make her a perfect candidate to join in on the conversation.  I’m positive you will fall in love with her quickly as everyone who meets her does.

The truth is this new venture isn’t a replacement for what I do each morning, it’s an extension of it, and it will hopefully allow us to get to know each other even better.

The new show, called “No Longer Safe”, debuted today and you can listen to the first episode on Facebook (click here, and go ahead and like us if you don’t mind, you will also soon be able to subscribe on iTunes).  The title is a reference to the fact that I want to have real, honest, conversations and break out of that desire we seem to resort to as Christian’s to play it safe.  It won’t be done without a sense of humor though, I don’t know that this trio could shut that part of us off if we wanted to.  I also hope to eventual do interviews with others who work inside the Christian bubble and explore more about what it means to be in but not of the world.  I’m also looking forward to you joining in the discussions at our Facebook page, and together we can open a dynamic discussion on some of the tougher issues we face as people of faith.

I don’t know if we will solve all the problems of humanity, but I do know I won’t make you get up at 4:30 to do it.