Hey, hey podcast friends! This is Angie on your podcast dial! It’s great to be with you again today!
When I was younger, and no I’m not going to tell you some sad tale about all the times I had to walk to school in a snowstorm…uphill, both ways.
When I was younger, there was no internet and no email (gasp). It wasn’t that long ago! In those days, advertisements came in magazines or flyers in the Sunday paper, or the mail.
One advertisement I was always thrilled about was for Columbia House Records. They would show a few hundred cassette tapes from popular musical artists and groups, and you could join the mail-order club by getting 12 cassettes for ONE CENT! What a deal! I would pour over that thing, mail in my order, and then my parents would send it all back, which happened probably 3-4x. They knew I didn’t understand nor could I complete the club requirements AFTER I paid the one penny. Once I became a teen and had my own babysitting money to spend, I was all over the Columbia House record club deals. A few times that I paid the penny, they had a special bonus, where you actually got 13 cassette tapes instead of 11 or 12! That was an AWESOME bonus! Luckily for all you young folks, you can google what I’m talking about. Trust me, it was Gucci.
Speaking of bonus, that’s what this podcast is….our first ever Bonus episode - which, before you get too excited, is just a quick update and opportunity for you to give us valuable feedback.
You, our loyal listeners, have probably noticed that we’re dropping new episodes of Anchored Daily on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, rather than a new podcast every weekday.
And, you might be wondering why?
We aired our very first episode of Anchored Daily in September, 2020. We were deep in the pandemic and looking for ways to stay connected, while encouraging one another to stay Anchored each day in God’s Word.
Now that we’re in 2023, we’re considering again how best to utilize the podcast format going forward. As we’ve monitored metrics, it appears that most of our listeners are not tuning in the day each episode airs. And, many of us are “binge listening”. We tend to treat these podcasts just like we do Netflix shows!
We have an amazing team of podcast hosts – thanks to all of you! The weekly content has been helpful, super fun, and often thought-provoking. We want to keep that content rolling, while also considering both the pace and ongoing nature of future podcasts.
So what’s next? We’re currently in our 21 days of prayer and fasting focus. Then we’ll be jumping into the book of Mark. We'll record podcasts that will air on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week as we read through the gospel of Mark. On Tuesday and Thursday, the reading plan will include parallel passages from either Matthew or Luke, but will not have a podcast. This pivot is strategic in that it aims to develop greater Biblical fluency with all who engage in both the reading plan and podcasts. That plan will take us through Easter.
Change is hard. That same Columbia House Records company changed from vinyl records to 8-track tapes to cassette tapes to CD’s, which meant I had to eventually buy a new Walkman – no more cassette tapes. The company had to pivot. Today the majority of our music comes is digital, and I personally love that change, even though it took some time to get used to it.
Change is hard. But it’s not always bad. Sometimes it just makes things different.
We’d really like to hear from you as we consider future podcasts and what would work best for you, our faithful listeners. Would you drop an email and let us know your thoughts on these questions?
1. How often do you listen? (Daily, weekly, as my schedule allows, binge)
2. Do you like the short 5-7 minute format, or would you rather a longer episode?
3. Do you utilize the reading plan in conjunction with Anchored Daily?
4. Do you have any creative ideas for what you’d like to see in our Bethel podcasts?
5. Anything else you’d like to share?
Email to your feedback to: podcast@bethel.ch. We’d love your input as we continue to provide solid biblical content that together grows us in our relationships with God, the church, and the world.
Thanks Anchored Daily friends! We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Ps. 34:1 “I will extol the Lord at all times, His praise will always be on my lips.” Amen
