Christian radio has been leading the way recently in talking about mental health and I’m proud of that.  Even so, I still get the feeling when a radio DJ admits to dark days of foreboding, they do so with a posture of apology and shame.   

Honestly, I don’t know one creative person who doesn’t struggle with some degree of emotional overwhelm.  Not one!  And here’s the thing that no one is talking about…

The very thing that cripples you emotionally, is also your superpower!  It’s WHY you’re so good at what you do!  

You feel things the average person misses, you show empathy with the stories you choose, you connect emotionally in 14 second ramps.  And the listener has a God-moment and sobs!  

Conversely, it’s also why you hate your show most of the time!  I’m smiling as I say this because I can count in single digits the number of radio shows I’ve been truly proud of.  My husband Ken:  “How was your show today?”   Me:  “Terrible.  I hate it!  I don’t know what I’m doing!”  Next day, Me: “Oh I just loved how a break turned out today!  I love my job!  I’m just know God called me to this!”  Ken: “…Okaaaay.”

I remember once hearing Mandy Young from KLOVE say, “I always feel like I’m 15 minutes away from being fired.”  I was so oddly comforted by that.  We creatives are hard on ourselves!  We always set the bar too high because we can visualize ourselves up there but we never feel like we get there.   

Am I suggesting putting all that emotional drama on the radio.  No.  I think it was consultant Todd Stach who said, your breaks should be 20% hardship and 80% hope.  Use your emotional ups and downs as a springboard to hope.  With as many people worldwide struggling in this area, you are probably the only one they’re listening to with experience and something helpful to share.

I know several radio people who think their mental health challenges disqualify them.  

They do not. 

They do have to be managed, yes, but mental health challenges are the underbelly of very good gifts.  Emotion.  Empathy.  Exuberance. They’re not uncommon.  They’re not disqualifying.  And the world needs you.  I promise.

The post The Superpower You Thought Was Kryptonite first appeared on CMB.

The post The Superpower You Thought Was Kryptonite appeared first on CMB.

From beloved radio personalities being plucked from this earth way too soon, to world-class talents scrambling to start over in the 4th quarter of their careers…it’s been a year! DJ’s are mentally and emotionally exhausted. But what do they do when they feel that way?  

They serve. They console others. They pray. They find a win. They keep going.  

Why?

Because this is what they’ve been doing their entire lives for listeners. This is the DJ’s super-power. They show up for work when their personal lives are falling apart. They nod as listeners tell them long, detailed life stories at concerts. They pick up the studio phone to hear a rant about a song that gets played way too often, and they listen. They’re respectful. They put others first, day in and day out.

They create beauty out of thin air! They don’t just see objects; they see story-seeds. They collect these seeds on their smartphones and notebooks and let them germinate until it’s time to arrange them into a beautiful bouquet. delivered over the airwaves to the listener. Yet the listener assumes it was all off-the-cuff.

A lot of people assume a DJ job is a cushy one because they get all the attention. Everybody knows their name. They’re popular. But few realize all that’s required when the mic is off.  Even so, a DJ will tell you, it’s all a labor of love. 

Yes, let’s celebrate DJ’s. And as we do, we can be sure they’ll be celebrating everyone else.

The post National DJ Day first appeared on CMB.

The post National DJ Day appeared first on CMB.

I was just reading in Matthew, where the disciples ask Jesus why he told stories and Jesus said (Message Bible): 

“You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom.  You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there’s no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight.” 

As radio DJs, we all know the benefit to telling stories but I’m not sure we always tell the full story. We leave out the messy parts and the warts.  But the warts are actually the good part. The warts are the dumpster fire that people want to come and watch. 

You have so many clumsy faith stories.  Stories about how you first heard about Jesus.  Stories about people that you met who were like Jesus and many, who were nothing like Jesus.  You’ve got stories about what inspired you to wanna go deeper with God. You’ve got stories about your first attempt at awkward prayer. You’ve got stories about taking one step forward and two steps back.

I’d like to challenge you to take an hour and just brainstorm your spiritual journey. Think of every emotion you might have experienced… Inspiration, disillusionment, excitement, abandonment, fearlessness, fearfulness, pride, humiliation, success, failure, understanding, misunderstanding.  As you think back on your faith journey stories, wherever you find an emotion, pull on that thread.

After an hour, you’ll have a nice list of stories that you can unearth and begin to process for the airwaves, always starting with the listener and then you. 

And as you do, remember, Valerie Geller’s wisdom. Tell the truth, make it matter and never be boring. 

These are the stories Jesus wants us to tell.

The post Stories with Warts: The Ones Jesus Wants Us to Tell first appeared on CMB.

The post Stories with Warts: The Ones Jesus Wants Us to Tell appeared first on CMB.

Cheering erupts. The crowd goes wild! That’s us! The other contestants hug us as we make our way to the microphone, center stage, unsure of what to say, feeling a huge weight of responsibility for what this means moving forward. What a dream! We never expected this!

It’s true. We are in a season of unprecedented favor in Christian Broadcasting. I’m not sure if it’s because our numbers have risen, or if our competition got wiped out because their younger, tech-savvy listeners are more fickle. Either way, the moment is ours. You and I were born into this time period, to be in radio, for such a time as this!

And as CMB always does, it prepares us for what’s coming next. I am over-the-moon excited to apply the wisdom of the experts at Momentum 2024. Here are a few takeaways:

Lisa Turkehurst from Proverbs 31 Ministries told us, in a nutshell,  “why” we share our personal stories on-air: “I need to be reminded, through someone else’s story, that in the deepest parts of MY story, it’s worth hanging on.”

Mark Ramsey from Mark Ramsey Media. He gave us the good news/bad news  about all this popularity. Yes, Christian radio is growing rapidly, but overall, people going to church has dropped from 42% to 30% in just 20 years. Similarly, people claiming no religious affiliation at all rose from 9% to 21% in that same time period.  And NONE is the fastest growing religion of today! More bad news…all cume numbers for radio in all formats are down, even Christian radio is down 37%.  We need to stop asking what’s the future for our format and industry (thinking towers and buildings), because that’s not what we are!  We are a community of fans and content and distribution!  

Our challenge is: How can a brand which brings faith and positivity and encouragement, bring more to more people in more places and more ways?  Truly, Christian radio is the best format there is! And that’s because you’re the best at what you do. And that’s because, you’re not about the radio. You’re about the mission. Your listeners are about the mission. So make sure it’s their voice, their faces, their content, their platforms, all swirling around the brand at the center of which…is you.  

Dennis Clark from iHeart Radio gave a firehose amount of content to grow our radio shows. We have the best news in the world and these are excellent ways to get that word out. 

He said, realize our listeners have become snackers. They come for the M&M’s and then they’re gone. So be sure they know your name, and the station call letters. Make sure they know the names of your on-air team so after they’ve finished with their snack, they remember you by name and they’ll be much more apt to return.

How is your show different from other shows?  Is it positive? Fun? “On your level?”, “topically dependable yet unpredictable”?, “Informed and interesting?”, “Community?”, “Relatable?”, “Empathetic?”  Remind listeners of how you’re different and why it matters. You want to be the one to hold your listeners hand through all the changes and evolving of what’s next in the world.  

The digital game is massive! Get into it fast! Make sure you are searchable!  what your listener is coming to you for. Get to the point. What do they need to know?  Embrace freshness, newness, specialness. Establish an interactive environment, whether it’s social media, texts, comments or calls.  

Also, the podcast era has not peaked. This is where your listeners can get more of you, go deeper with you and get more of what you talked about on air. Our listeners have an appetite to get to know the hosts as often as possible. Companionship and personality is becoming paramount to music. Talent must extend into podcasting, social media and events. Be everywhere your listener is.  

Phew! That’s a lot, isn’t it?  

Jesus said, YOU (people) are his church, not a building. And YOU (people) are Christian radio, not an FM stick. Let’s tell good stories, know why we’re different, use all the technology we can and show people not only where the hope is but WHO the hope is! 

The post And the Winner Is… first appeared on CMB.

The post And the Winner Is… appeared first on CMB.

Think of these questions as you watch:

1. Who’s story is it?
2. What is happening that’s making the story difficult to tell?
3. What could Jenna have said to keep the story moving forward?
4. When have you tried to tell a story but your co-host pulled it in another direction?
5. What tricks have you learned to keep focus?

The best teams I’ve heard always affirm the one telling the story with only those things that either show “I’m tracking with you” or showing an emotional response.  But I’ll say, even on a solo show, it’s tempting to add a bunch of parentheticals that just muddy the story up too, like “The other day I saw this mom, well, I’m not sure if she was a mom or not but she was carrying a purse that looked like a diaper bag so…” I’ve really had to grow in this area. I’m the WORST with adding unnecessary detail. Never stop learning.

The post Team Shows and Storytelling first appeared on CMB.

The post Team Shows and Storytelling appeared first on CMB.