The Creator Podcast

Salvation Army Massachusetts Music Director Matt Luhn took blurry pictures at a youth retreat and made an epic movie to save his failing high school Chemistry grade. When COVID hit, he and his partner in crime, Steve Warren began making worship videos weekly throughout the pandemic.

Matt has also played Star Wars with the Boston Pops under legendary composer John Williams. Three years ago, he lost his embouchure and could no longer play trombone professionally. He delves into the brokenness of not being able to play and why finding a new creative outlet is so important. (35:30)

See Matt's work at https://www.youtube.com/samassmusic

Your favorite co-hosts interview Drew's sister, Heather Huang, about how making handmade cards helps her decompress from her stressful social work job. Then Heather explains how COVID helped her discover an online crafting community she never knew she needed. In THE PULSE, she shocks the world by revealing her interest in NASCAR.

Highlights:

15:00 “I felt like my world was opening, while the world in general, was closing.”

17:00 Craft Roulette -craft gameshow, Call Me Crafty Al 

20:45 What YouTube crafters would you recommend to a someone who hasn’t yet discovered crafter YouTube?

29:30 How Salvation Army haircuts tipped Heather off about a YouTube crafter

THE PULSE

What are you reading?

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad 

Listening to?

Drew's college playlists https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5MDeYieph3k9R4ZTvwBjOA?si=85cbafb01d454605

Heather: NASCAR Podcasts

Darell: Here’s the Thing with Kev on Stage and Angel the Actress

We welcome back our first ever return guests! Outside Worship released their album Here to Remember in the midst of the pandemic. Hear how the album came together, even when Anna, Phil and Marty couldn't. Between clips of their music and a lot of laughter, Outside Worship shares the struggle of not being able to make a living with all of their ministry engagements cancelled. Learn how you can support them and other independent artists in this honest conversation.

13:00 Three members of Outside Worship, three slightly different memories of how they came up with the album title Here to Remember.

25:00 How should young/new worship leaders work on their craft? https://www.danwilt.com/the-twin-masteries-of-the-worship-leader/

32:30 Drew asks Phil why he hates good lyrics.

38:00 “Nobody is alone in feeling alone.” Phil Laeger

42:00 How the Streets, Laegers and Mikles are getting by when all their ministry engagements  where they lead worship were cancelled.

48:00 How people can support artists and worship leaders.

51:45 Some of Phil's favorite independent artists: Dave Mantel, Naal Music; Sam Arias; Brad Ellis, The Hunter Express

Baked into the DNA of The Salvation Army is a practice of moving its officers (pastors and executive directors) to different appointments every 3-4 years. Darell is moving for the fifth time in his nine years as an officer. He talks about how changing ministries inspires creativity that other models might not and about the challenges that result from staying in an appointment for a shorter stay.

Darell asks about how you bring Morning Discovery energy to your local corps or church context? And Leslie. Goes. Off.

On the importance of establishing a Worship Committee: “When we can find out what the people around us are good at, what they’re interested in, I think then we can start to dream about what worship can look like.” (3:48) "Expecting the Holy Spirit to show up is not boring." (8:20) Jay Knaggs: "When Sunday morning becomes too much of a presentation, it can be lacking celebration.” Morning Discovery had an unprecedented reach in the summer of 2020, across the United States and Canada and the Knaggs and their team are preparing for seven new episodes this summer in English and in Spanish.

The Pulse links

What are you reading? Leslie Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate | Jay The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization by Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith

What are you listening to? Leslie Spotify Playlist: 80’s Jam Session | Jay Foo Fighters Medicine at Midnight

Captains Jay and Leslie Knaggs, Territorial Youth Secretaries for The Salvation Army Eastern Territory turned morning devotions at camp into a high energy experience described as Nickelodeon meets Vacation Bible School. When Salvation Army camps closed due to COVID in the summer of 2020, the Knaggs decided to take Morning Discovery online. In this episode, they talk about what it took to make that happen and all of the people that pitched in along the way. 

(7:20) How did Morning Discovery in real life come to be? Jay said that music that makes kids dance is irresistible at camp and they tried to incorporate that idea into worship and Leslie talks about creating an experience that anyone on camp would be sad if they missed it. (18:00) Jay is the creative pusher (dreamer) and Leslie is the realist (pragmatist). “Jay pulls me along and I tell him all the ways it’s not possible and usually he does prove me wrong and thankfully, he really did, in this instance.” All the additional work that moving Morning Disco from the camp stage to the screen. (24:00) Leslie: Morning Disco is a roller coaster ride, where you really don’t know what’s going to happen next. Freedom in worship. When we are creative in worship, God is really honored. (27:00) The seeds of Morning Disco as a show on the web began in the summer of 2018 at Camp Ladore (30:00) The collaborations that were possible because everything was shut down. (33:00) Leslie on the need to "Let people in to make something more" and the many hearts, minds and hands that made Morning Discovery possible in person and online.

In Part II of our interview with Felipe and Annabel, the stars of Late Night with Los Concha are surprised by their Super Fan, John Copeland. Then at 10:25, Annabel describes their Facebook Live show this way. “It’s kind of a time to hang out in a group without being in a group.” At 14:45, the dynamic duo answers the question: Will the show continue after life returns to normal? Finally, Drew and Darell take the pulse with this week’s guests at 24:30.

Darell and Drew talk to Felipe and Annabel Concha about what inspired them to start a late night talk show from their living room and aired on Facebook Live at 10ish on Friday nights. The first half of this episode focuses a lot the version of Annabel that has emerged during this COVID creation. Felipe says, "Annabel is an introvert. During COVID, we have been pushed to have to do things that are completely out of our comfort zone. I’m like the plow trucks. I’m like the blade in front. I do the pushing, but you are the engine behind all of it. Without you, I’m nothing." At 15:00, the conversation turns to how the need to provide live worship online for their congregation in Red Bank, NJ, led to Late Night with Los Concha. They discuss both the challenges and opportunities presented by shifting from in-person worship to online worship e.g. prayer requests in the comment section! Annabel explains that one thing they've learned about their local church expression is: "We don’t need to be more attractive, we just need to be more welcoming." In Part II next week, a Late Night Super Fan joins the conversation and the hosts take The Pulse with Felipe and Annabel!

Drew and Darell catch up after a yearlong hiatus. In our second season, we will focus on COVID creators, people who for various reasons, found new ways to express their creativity during the global pandemic.

In this special episode, Drew tells the story of finding out about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing while his wife, Jen, was still on the course. The theme for this Moth Story Slam in Cambridge, MA was Beg, Borrow, Steal.