Best Christian 10Q Moments of 2022

This week, we look back at 2022 with the best answers to some of our best questions.

Evan Craft
Artist
Evan Craft Music 1/10/22

I can't wait for fatherhood. My career has been incredible, but I think it will pale in comparison to the joys of fatherhood. I have friends who are worried about it, but it seems like such a joy to me.

Mack Brock
Artist
Capitol CMG 1/17/22

Spend just as much time being quiet and listening to God as you do talking and bringing things to Him.

Amanda Carroll
On-air
KKFS (103.9 The Fish)/Sacramento 1/24/22

I love to sit at my son's baseball games and remind him not to get impatient and swing at that sneaky high and a little outside pitch. You gotta choose your pitch wisely in life.  Wait for just the right opportunity and knock it out of the park. Never swing at high cheese.

Riley Clemmons
Artist
Capitol CMG 1/31/22

Being busy doesn't always equate to being productive.

John Cooper
Skillet
Atlantic/Fair Trade 2/7/22

The most challenging part of last year for me to be honest has been watching people that I love just fall into fear. It's been hard to watch people live their life in a bubble. Some have fallen into depression, some have fallen into alcohol abuse, and others loneliness and isolation. That's been the saddest thing to me. I just think we have a big job to do as Christians to speak about joy.

Jessica Thomas
Mornings with Seth & Jess
Spirit FM/VA-WV-NC 2/14/22

I respect anyone going through a hard time, suffering or struggling, but finds the strength and courage to move forward and press on in spite of their circumstances.

Meredith Leatherwood
Radio Promoter
Leatherwood Promotions 2/21/22

Life is about juggling balls. Some balls are glass and others are plastic. Its ok to drop the plastic ones but keep the glass ones in the air!

Jon Reddick
Artist
Gotee Records 2/28/22

Give grace, not just because it's your duty as a Christian, but even more because of the limitless grace He has given you.

Jeanette Kaufman
Middays
WLCQ (The Q99.7)/Springfield, MA 3/7/22

I continue to learn and grow by remaining teachable, processing what I've been told, and never allowing myself to get too comfortable and park.

Julie Pierce
Mornings
WEEC (Hope 100.7)/Dayton, OH 3/14/22

I wish that I hadn't been so afraid to be myself or to be "real." For too long that belief/fear seeped into how I approached my air shift, and I know it kept me from truly connecting with my listeners.

Cody Johnson
Artist
Warner Music Nashville 3/21/22

Some great advice that I've been given is to remain in a constant state of positive expectancy. And I think that if we really, actually believe that God is in control, even the bad times, we should be happy because those bad times He's allowing us to go through are probably, most-likely leading to something greater if we will embrace the process.

Carl Bliss
Network Dir./Marketing
Northwestern Media 3/28/22

It's more important to study how to communicate, than how to produce in a specific medium.

Michelle Younkman
Executive Director
Christian Music Broadcasters 4/4/22

You have to invest in yourself before you can invest in others. So true, but easier said than done, I try to make self-care a priority each day.

Kim Fitz
Middays
WFSH (104.7 The Fish)/Atlanta 4/11/22

Advice wasn't always told but you can learn by watching. At my first full time radio job I remember watching the Owner set up and break down at a remote. That was great advice to have seen.

Becky Aligany
Middays
WGTS/Washington D.C. 4/18/22

Stay curious. Don't beat yourself about not knowing it all. Always be open to learning new things – especially from the people around you. Don't be embarrassed to ask questions and keep growing.

Scott Smith & Kelli Caldwell
Scott & Kelly Show
K-LOVE 4/25/22

SCOTT: People will always come up to you and tell you, "Oh! you don't look like what I thought you would!" I still don't know how to respond, LOL!

KELLI: That I would make deep, life-long friendships with listeners! We have connected so deeply with some of our listeners that we recognize their voices when they call and consider them "real" friends.

Bekah Eaker
Afternoons
WayFM 5/2/22

I've been working hard on flexing my empathy muscle. Even when someone cuts me off in traffic, I'm trying to be less frustrated in my initial reaction and instead make up a backstory of why they might have needed to do that. That practice helps me create more "camera angles" for content, and I believe it's making me a better storyteller.

Candace Gray
Middays
WCIE (The Joy FM)/Tampa-Orlando-Sarasota 5/9/22

If I was coaching a person just beginning in radio, I would tell them to make mistakes, push boundaries, and say the wrong thing as much as possible.

Erik Nieder
Artist
Hatch Music 5/16/22

The sovereignty of God is undefeated.

Channah Hanberg
Market Manager/GM
CRISTA Media/Seattle 5/23/22

What I had to figure out early on is that radio is not about achieving perfection 100% of the time! We are fluid, we move fast, and there will be imperfection.

Carlos & Morgan
Afternoons
KSBJ/Houston 5/31/22

CARLOS: I try new things constantly. This past year it was launching a TikTok page and getting that up and running with a YouTube page set to launch this fall. I've been learning a lot about video, editing and lighting which 20 years ago when I first started in radio, I never thought I'd ever need to learn.

MORGAN: It is SO important to be coachable. Even though I've been in radio for almost 25 years now, I still have so much to learn! There are good people all around us who we can glean from.

Beth Bacall
Afternoons
WFSH (104.7 The Fish)/Atlanta 6/6/22

I respect the person who shows up, we don't know everyone's story, but I know for some getting out of bed in the morning is the toughest thing for them to do whether it's a new mother working the morning show or someone struggling with depression. You can't make a difference if you don't show up.

Caryn & Jeremy Sweat
Mornings
KCBI/Dallas 6/13/22

CARYN: When Vance Dillard was my PD, he gave me a mandate to tell every story in 40 seconds OR LESS! I HATED it at first. I thought, 'what's the point of even being on-air?' But it was one of the best things anyone has ever done for me. It made me really work on honing my skills of telling a story concisely and getting rid of the details that don't matter.

JEREMY: Start with the listener and why they care.

Kelly Blackwell
MD & Middays
The Promise FM/Gaylord, MI 6/21/22

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. The mind can play some awful tricks on us and keep us from what God has planned if we allow it to. Discomfort is often what gets the job done.

Dustin Lolli
Sanctus Real
Framework Records 6/27/22

My favorite room at home is the kitchen because that's where the best conversations take place.

Doug Griffin
Afternoons
WFFH (94 FM the Fish)/Nashville 7/5/22

I'll never forget when David Pierce first came to K-LOVE and I worked with him on The Morning Show, he counseled me to always pour into myself, especially spiritually so that I would always have something to give the listeners, as well as my family

Jordan St. Cyr
Artist
BEC RECORDINGS 7/11/22

My wife and I will sit, talk, and have coffee. It's simple but one of our favorite things we do to start and and sometimes end our days. I also love getting lost in a good movie or show. Helps turn my brain off. Haha.

Jenny Bender
Middays
WAFJ/Augusta, GA 7/18/22

My hero & mentor, Chuck Nance (co-host of the Charlie & Debbie Show on 103.7 WSOC in Charlotte) always says, "Today's enemies are tomorrow's bosses & coworkers, so work harder than anyone, be kind to everyone and be careful which bridges you burn."

Hannah Pfau
Mornings
WCVO (104.9 the River)/Columbus, OH 7/25/22

A good run is a done run. My Dad says this all this time and I love it. We have always been a family of runners but funny enough, we are very slow. Like any slower we'd be going backwards, slow. But I've found that so often in life this advice works. Do you quit just because you weren't the fastest, the first, the greatest or the best? NO. You keep going because you love to run. Or you love to do x, y, or z. God doesn't say we need to run this race of life perfectly, just keep running towards Him. You'll be pleasantly surprised at just how good it is along the way.

Chris Cleveland
Stars Go Dim
Curb Word Entertainment 8/1/22

Try to imagine what it's like to experience yourself as someone else interacting with you… are you kind, gentle, loving? Do you have self-control, empathy, compassion?  A practice of introspection and self-awareness. Without self-awareness, it's difficult to be aware of others and of where God is moving. 

Kevin & Amy
Mornings
The House FM/Oklahoma City 8/8/22

KEVIN: Put in the work, but then get out of the radio station and live your life. It's hard to tell interesting stories if you never do anything interesting.

AMY: "Don't get an inflated since of self-worth. You're just the ass He rode in here on." Alan Graham, Community First Village/Austin, TX

Michael Cochren
Cochren & Co.
Gotee Records 8/15/22

Talk slower, haha. I know that sounds funny but every time I'm on stage I feel this pressure to hurry up and say what I need to say because people may not want to listen very long, or it might not be worth saying or whatever…. but my wife has been encouraging me lately that if it's something I believe in, say it slowly and let people really hear it and take it in.

Randy Fox
PD
KSBJ/Houston 8/22/22

My dad's work ethic was amazing, and he never thought about defeat; it was only keep going no matter what... failure was only when you give up.

Lindsey Capperrune
Mornings
WCIC/Peoria, IL 8/29/22

"BE YOURSELF!" This advice came from Weez Stockton. She told me this when I was first starting in radio. It's tempting for all of us to try to be like someone else, but there's literally only one you. Celebrating your uniqueness and living it out is where the magic happens.

Jason Gray
Artist
Centricity Music 9/6/22

Follow my curiosity, trusting that it's the mechanism God put inside of me to lead me to Him. At the same time, cultivating a deep mistrust of my own assumptions, recognizing that I'm prone to self-righteousness and confirmation bias. Doing both things help clear the way for authentic encounters with Jesus (as opposed to some god I've created in my own image).

Tim "Doc" Maranville
Dir./Prog & Content
The Light FM/Charlotte, NC 9/12/22

Figure out how and WHY things work… and …. Don't take yourself so seriously… and … the best advice ever… you should check into Jesus.

Hope Darst
Artist
Fair Trade Services 9/19/22

Just keep saying yes to Jesus. It will always lead you to the exact place you need to be. Also, keep extra deodorant in your car and get counseling. Both have been life saving for me, haha!

Bill Montgomery
President/CEO
WCVO (104.9 the River)/Columbus, OH 9/26/22

I LOVE this quote from Zig Ziglar, probably the greatest speaker I've ever seen. "You can have everything in life that you want if you just help enough other people get what they want."

Ted Gocke
PD/Mornings
WBDX-WJLJ (J103)/Chattanooga, TN 10/3/22

I actually don't mind getting up at 3am, I have energizer bunny energy from the moment my feet hit the floor and it's not fueled by coffee. Life Goal: to be a Game Show Host (but I'm afraid that ship may have already set sail a long time ago).

Joe Polek
Middays/Market Manager
HIS Radio/NC-SC-GA 10/10/22

I guess I used to have "a DJ voice". When I turned the mic on, my voice would change, and not necessarily for the better. My old co-worker and former boss, Tim Collins, would catch me talking on the phone in my office and come running in and would say "Joe! That guy right there! Be that guy!" He would say the "normal voice" Joe who is talking to his friend, or his wife is the Joe that I needed to be on the air every day.

CeCe Winans
Artist
Fair Trade Services 10/17/22

I'm a home body and could easily live my life completely off the stage.

Mary O'Brien
Nights
AIR1 10/24/22

I listen to the smart people who know what they're doing.  And I think counseling is a very important part of the growth journey professionally & personally. 

Justin Paul & Kim Underwood
Afternoons with Justin & Kim
KLJY (99.1 JOY FM)/St. Louis 10/31/22

JUSTIN: "Just talk to me." - Tommy Kramer. That tip changed the approach to my on-air delivery and really helped me relax. I was so focused on "performing" on-air that I sounded like I was on Broadway in many ways. While there will always be an element of show or performance in what we do, up to that point, I had failed to learn the importance of companionship.

KYM: When I was going through cancer, my Pastor and friend Kevin, pulled me aside after church and said, "Kim, I know this will be hard to do, but you will need to learn to suffer the kindness of others." OUCH! Profound and a bit painful. He was right, I was in a place where I could not do very much for myself as I was going through treatment. It got easier the more I allowed people in, and it brought me a lot of joy knowing that I wasn't denying my friends and family the opportunity to serve and use their gifts. It was life changing.

Joy Summers
Afternoons
WayFM 11/7/22

People do not care about what you have to say until they see themselves in your story.

Jerry Grimes
VP Creative Services
Positive Alternative Radio 11/14/22

"Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you," Matthew 6:33. My pastor taught me that verse when I was 11 and was about to be baptized. I have never forgot it and through the years have learned that putting the Gospel first in every situation, decision and in the use of your time, talent and treasure leads to God's abundant blessing.

Brian McIntyre & Stephanie Reynolds
Afternoons
SHINE.FM/IL-IN-MI 11/21/22

BRIAN: At the end of your life you will NEVER say, "I wished I had worked longer hours and given more time to my career over my family."

STEPH: From my dear friend and pastor's wife, "In the tough moments of life is when you cling to God the tightest, so soak in the tight grip of His hand & Presence"

Jack & Molly
Afternoons
WRBS (95.1 BRIGHT-FM)/Baltimore, MD 11/28/2022

JACK: I think of two great pieces of advice: I told consultant Chuck Finney once that I need a lot of material because I have 18 breaks in a show to fill. He told me, "Jack, what if you do your very best thing in 18 different ways?" The other was from Mike McVay who told me, "When your butt hits the chair, you better be prepared, no winging it. Know how you want to end the break but look for the first exit that might be better than what you had originally planned."

MOLLY: The best thing you can share is the Word of God. It never fails!

Donna Cruz
'Keep the Faith' Co-Host/On-air
Word FM, His Radio, KCBI, The Family Radio Network 12/5/2022

Some great advice you recently received was…about a really personal issue. To not allow what others do, say, think, or feel to infiltrate my demeanor. This is different from empathy in the way of letting my mood and temperament to be determined by others' actions. Simply allowing my joy to be overridden. That's right up there with hope! We need to feel both every day.