If you've ever had a burning desire to listen to me wax on poetically about how it is that I became a pastor, how it feels to keep one foot in the journalism world at the same time as keeping two feet in the faith world ... or any number of other faith topics, then you are in luck!
All kidding aside, I was honored to be featured in a colleague's inaugural edition of her new podcast about matters of faith several months back, and the finished product rolled out earlier this month on Forum Communication Co. websites.
The creator, Roxane Salonen, and I have been colleagues and media contemporaries going back some time now, originating some 15-plus years ago when we both wrote parenting columns for the features section of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, the flagship newspaper of the media company for which we both worked.
Roxane and I were among a collection of the original six parents they asked to write for a revolving parent column feature that was published once a week. At the time I was a single dad, and not surprisingly there aren't a lot of men who want to be featured on a page that was centered on moms. But I appreciated the opportunity to write about being a single dad and dispelling myths about what it was like in the early 20-oughts. ... Believe it or not, even in 2009 to 2012, single-parenting dads were thought about much differently than they are today.
Anyway, I stopped writing the column when Shelley and I started dating in 2012 to give us some more privacy in a new merging of families, and because our oldest son was a high school freshman by that time. And he really didn't appreciate the added embarrassment of his father writing about him in the newspaper.
Roxane then wouldn't work together for quite some time. She left The Forum for other opportunities working for the local Catholic diocese, and my responsibilities at Forum Communications took a big turn out of the newsroom.
And then, kind of out of the blue, another Forum Communication's podcaster asked both Roxane and I on his show to discuss a faith based topic. As Roxane describes in this column, podcaster Rob Port invited the two of us who by this time were both writing faith columns for Forum Communications to be guests on his “Plain Talk” podcast to discuss America’s religious decline.
This episode would eventually prove to be a milestone moment for Roxane, who later couldn't escape the podcasting bug, and thus was borne her own podcast that she calls "Matters of Soul Importance."
According to Roxane: "My earlier podcast discussion with Devlyn made him the perfect choice as my guest for Episode 1, and he kindly accepted my request. As with this first one, subsequent episodes will begin with a question that my guests will attempt to answer, with each topic relating to—as you’d expect—matters of soul importance."
The conversation is about 40 minutes long, and covers a variety of faith topics, including my call story and other matters important to my own faith.
Any way, for what's its worth, give it a listen if your interest is piqued! And tell me what you think! ... If enough followers find the discussion interesting, maybe there is a future for a "Finding Faith In ..." down the line!
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