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With David Lochhead
421 Plays2 months ago
We can sometimes think that evangelism is all about getting someone through the front door of the church. But what about those who end up leaving out the back door? Through the busyness of life, personal disappointments, or the disruption of the pandemic, there are many people who need encouragement to re-engage with their faith. On the podcast today, we hear about using the power of video and stories to re-evangelise this group on social media.
Originally from Scotland, David Lochhead consulted for large blue chip companies such as Accenture, Barclays & Sky TV before setting up FINLAY eyewear in 2012. FINLAY has become a prominent independent eyewear brand, with two flagship stores in London and a roster of clients from Prince William to Rihanna. In 2022 David launched Streams Studio: a social media platform designed to encourage believers in their faith - on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook @streams.studio
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Transcript
Introduction to Pep Talk Podcast
00:00:10
Speaker
Well, hello and welcome to another edition of Pep Talk, the persuasive evangelism podcast. I'm Andy Bannister from Solace and I'm joined by my podcasting partner in crime, k Christy. Christy, how are you doing today? I'm doing really well. Thanks, Andy. It's great
UK Election Implications Discussion
00:00:26
Speaker
to be with you. how How's it going where you are?
00:00:28
Speaker
it's going out It's going great. As we're recording this, it's the day after the ah the the UK election, so it's just, um yes, um all change, isn't it? Interesting times. All change. But you're in London, of course. You don't have to be political. but and that's but so Because you're in London, and today we have another guest from the ah from the city that
Introducing David Lockhead from Streams Studio
00:00:48
Speaker
you call home. So we have ah David Lockhead, who though actually with a name like that and the accent you're about to hear, not a Londoner originally, are you, David?
00:00:57
Speaker
True story. No, I'm from up the road. I'm from Scotland, a town called Aberdeen. A town called Aberdeen. I know it well. Fantastic part of a Scotland. and so David,
Streams Studio's Mission and Approach
00:01:08
Speaker
you head up. ah You are the brains, the vision behind an organisation called Streams Studio, ah which we'll put a link to, by the way, in the show notes so people could go check out all of your stuff. In a nutshell, what is what is Streams all about? What is it that you ah you folks do? For sure. So streams exist to try and help close the back door of the church. The Lord broke my heart a number of years ago for a number of my friends who had known and walked closely with the Lord for many years and for numerous different reasons.
00:01:44
Speaker
now find themselves to be nowhere in their faith and I i saw this repeated both north of the border and and south of the border and um we're seeing it playing out across the church. that there are there's We all know the stats, we've all seen the the graphs that ah are downwards and and to the right And I've experienced in my own life um really good seasons and really hard seasons of faith. And um I felt like in the and the seasons where I was struggling, there weren't always the resources to draw on that would encourage me and reignite my heart. And so we wanted to create conversations
00:02:24
Speaker
that ultimately could be a shot in the arm for someone who knows the truth and doesn't necessarily need the ABC of the gospel ah from from the start but actually maybe needs a reminder because I'm sure you'll you'll have found in your own lives guys we're all leaky to to some degree and unless we're tracking closely with the Lord, then what we know as as truth and and our experience with with the Lord can ah become a memory. um and And so that's that's why we exist. That's why we set up streams to to try and be a help in those spaces.
00:02:58
Speaker
David, that sounds like a phenomenal project and what what a heart and vision that the the Lord has given you to be able to do this. And, you know, just hearing you say that just reminds me of all the times in the Old Testament where God's people are commanded, you know, do not forget and are commanded to remember the Lord your God and his mighty works and and deeds that he's performed for you.
00:03:22
Speaker
What kind of ways do you, through streams, remind ah us as leaky Christians of the
Storytelling on Social Media for Faith
00:03:29
Speaker
goodness of God? Are there particular questions or challenges that you you seek to address through social media platforms? Yeah, for sure. So one of the most um Striking ways is that we use story. And and if we look at the the model that Jesus used and the parables that he told, um story is the the medium of today, as well as the the currency of Jesus' time. and And so if we look at all the platforms that are screaming at us from Netflix to to YouTube to to social media, um everyone's creating, whether it's Hollywood or or whether it's even through music and through song, everyone's creating stories. And Jesus did it so powerfully um in stories that we still share and and tell today. And so we look to share people's testimonies as part of this. We we look for little ways that um God, maybe large ways or or smaller ways that God has moved and in people's lives.
00:04:31
Speaker
And we capture those in in short pieces that are really shareable on social media in a way that feels um like, oh, that could maybe happen in my life while the Lord is still active. And if that's happened in in someone else's world, then um what's happening in in my own? And so ah we really have tried to lean into the the power of storytelling.
00:04:56
Speaker
There's something interesting there too about about testimony, isn't there? Because i think I think whether it's trying to get the front door to the church more widely open, or whether I love that metaphor of you also trying to get the back door closed at the same time, um sort personal testimony of what God is doing in our lives is incredibly powerful and compelling, isn't it? So perhaps even before we talk about perhaps the some of the technological aspects, are the lessons that you folks have learned about how we can tell our stories better and you use that as part of that?
00:05:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. There's a quote I heard many years ago um that someone with an argument is never at the mercy of someone with an experience. And and so ah when we have experienced God personally ourselves, I think that sometimes can can trump facts and and figures. and And so Um, finding the the stories where people can be honest and say, okay, this is what's happening in my my life. It might all, it might not all look perfect. It might not be um straightforward. There might might well have been um hardship and and difficulty, but
00:06:02
Speaker
through that sort of relatability, almost the the vulnerability that some people share in their stories. That's where we've really found the the connection with storytelling. I think um we impress with our strengths, but we connect through our vulnerabilities. And so when we actually slow down enough to share what's really going on in our world and go, do you know what? Life might be difficult at times and yet the pursuit of God is still so worthwhile. I think that's when when the the stories really tend to resonate.
00:06:36
Speaker
And just thinking about that, ah the importance of vulnerability and how difficult I think it can be in churches, I mean, particularly in large churches where you very rarely sit next to the same person, you know, each week and forming relationships that are meaningful and consistent and can be really, really difficult. Are there things that that you've noticed that kind of explain why it is that vulnerability is one of the big things that is a hook, that is sticky for people as they as they watch these testimonies. like Why do you think we're lacking vulnerability? Yeah, that's a great question.
00:07:15
Speaker
I think it's rare and um ultimately what people are looking for when they're listening to to some form of of media clip is to see themselves in the story somehow. um And so when there's this level of honesty or vulnerability, I think we can relate. and rather than when something's sort of so so shiny and and so impressive. um and And it can be hard in in church on a Sunday when you've just met someone too to come in and say everything that's going on in in your life. And I think that's where sort of deeper community and and and regularity um has to has to come in and and and has to work.
00:07:56
Speaker
um And I think it's also really hard um for communicators, for for for pastors and senior pastors to always share vulnerably because they might feel like the congregation is is going to judge them for something that they've shared. And so it is a difficult thing and yet it's a really beautiful thing when it's when it's able to be done um carefully and and in a way that that folks can really see see their own journey in someone else's story.
00:08:25
Speaker
I think one of the other things that that so that fascinates me as well about what you're doing as a streaming studio is is also there's a degree to which you sort of combine two things that when you first hear about them, in some ways, some people might sort of think don't necessarily go together. it You've got social media, which has a reputation of being quite instant, you know short sound by ideas, um you know not always a lot of depth. Those are sometimes the perceptions, but then you're also sharing stories that are powerful, that are vulnerable, and those things. How do those two things go together? They're very old. which are stories, and they're very new, which is social media and technology, because you've you've brought those things together really really powerfully.
00:09:02
Speaker
That's true. I think social media is fascinating because um we can very quickly label it in society as being terrible. And there are all sorts of elements to it which we need to be cautious about. But so many of us still tend to use it loads. And so the question that we have and bring to is, can it be redemptive in some way?
00:09:25
Speaker
um if we become formed by what we listen to, by who we spend time with, by what we think about, then we need to be really careful about what we let into our minds. And if the vast majority is Amazon Prime or or Netflix or whatever we're scrolling through, and and let's say 98% of it is is not faith-based, then How will that sort of manifest in in our in our lives? How will that actually come to to to be and and rest within us? And so we'd love to think that there is high quality Christian content that we can put back into the spaces of distraction, back into the social media spaces that are so worthwhile that not only will someone
00:10:12
Speaker
ah decide to watch it rather than scroll off it. But actually whilst watching it made me think, oh, there's someone in my world that I was just having this conversation this very conversation about. I want to share it with them or another stage further. This is particularly powerful. It's something I want to share with all of my followers, all of my friends.
00:10:32
Speaker
And so we try and create material that that's short enough and and shareable enough um that it goes far and wide. We don't have any budget when it comes to social media. We we sort of feel that um it's quite rare that people want a religion advertised to them. And so we we try and create something that really resonates on a personal level and then we'll encourage folks to share it with their network.
00:11:00
Speaker
That sounds really, really good, David. Have you ever had any... I mean, maybe maybe it just doesn't work like this because of um the nature of what you're doing, but do people ever get in touch with you and say, thanks so much for this particular video or for this question that you were looking at. Have you had any stories like that?
00:11:20
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's ah a great question, Christy. It's really remarkable. So there's two ways that we tend to see it. um The comments on the social media platform. So we have three main platforms. We're on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
00:11:35
Speaker
Instagram and TikTok typically need to have ah your own account to view them, whereas YouTube you can just search it and and access it without being logged in. And i I'm always stunned on TikTok particularly by the honesty in the comments.
00:11:51
Speaker
Now, that might be that it's more of ah a younger audience and Gen Z are a little bit typically more candid in their social media activities. um But we we see, honestly, um it it stuns us, the the level of of sharing that goes on of where people are at in their lives. So that's the first element. And the second one is that we'll often receive direct messages where someone just says, hey, thank you for this, it impacted me and in this way or that way.
00:12:20
Speaker
um And one of the most thrilling ones for me was we heard a story of um a video had been watched at 3am when someone couldn't sleep and was just, what's what's the first thing we do these days when when we wake up in the middle of the night? I wish it was that we read books but often it's that we grab our phones and and scroll and this particular gentleman was was waiting on some medical results and and was particularly anxious about the outcome. and The video that flashed up was um of a gentleman who climbed a mountain whilst serving in the army and this person watching had ah been in in a career in uniform themselves and so they immediately had a a bond of trust with the the person speaking.
00:13:05
Speaker
and After watching the video, they felt compelled to keep watching it. and It kick-started a four-day window where by the end, after 25 years of not being around church, he was back in church and made a profession of faith. and and We've seen his his faith go from strength to strength. so We see these stunning stories um But most of it, truthfully, we'll never hear, we'll never see, because ah yeah it's incredible. that The views that um we see on on individual videos, it runs often and into hundreds of thousands. And we just, we won't receive the the feedback from most folks. So the the ones that we do receive are particularly special.
00:13:47
Speaker
I mean, just um you know returning to that that that theme of the the the kind of backdoor to the church you've described there, David, as you've been doing this now for ah for a while, are there some sort of sort of themes that you sit you've've you've seen? Like you you talk about that gentleman who'd been away for 25 years and so on. And I think it's so crucial because we thought we often think about, and we do this a lot on pep talk, right? We think about how we invite friends and how we engage with them, but we don't always keep that eye on the backdoor.
00:14:14
Speaker
There's some lessons that you've learned over your time with streams about things that churches should be thinking about ah to reduce the chance. I mean, obviously it's all down to the spirit of God at work in someone's life, right? But you've still got some things, some trends, some issues. What are things we need to be aware of as we're thinking about ways where people sometimes fall through the cracks?
Challenges in Maintaining Faith
00:14:31
Speaker
For sure. Well, there's there's quite a few, Andy, and and I genuinely think if you spoke to 50 people who are sort of towards the back door of church or who have left, you might get 20 or 30 different answers. But some of the I'll draw on two of the the most recurring themes that that we see. um The first one is particularly frustrating. It's around busyness and post-pandemic and new habits being formed and life being so full, whether that's with career or family or social life, that um that habits around small group attendance or church community just seem to drop away. And um I think we sometimes assume that everyone who leaves is really angry. And actually, often it's just that folks are really busy and the priorities have slipped.
00:15:27
Speaker
And then the second one, and I think this is something that we can serve much more with the type of conversation that we're having at Streams, is around disappointment. and In our worlds, perhaps in our 30s or 40s, the career maybe didn't quite work out. The the marriage maybe didn't work out. The the family plan didn't work out.
00:15:53
Speaker
the The health of our families, maybe our our parents' health or maybe our own health didn't work out. That's certainly my story. um Five years ago at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic hit, I was diagnosed with cancer completely out of the blue and I didn't so i didn't see it coming and I um I didn't necessarily have a framework for in my early thirties dealing with a life threatening illness. And I think for many folks, um we've got to ask the question, are we ready for the disappointment that will inevitably happen? And do we have a theology and a framework in place to handle when life doesn't go to plan? Or do we throw our faith out the window at that moment and go, well, God wasn't here. God didn't protect me. God hasn't answered my prayers and therefore I'm not interested.
00:16:44
Speaker
So I think disappointment is probably the the primary one that we look to answer and and and serve the audience with some conversations around that. ah David, thanks so much for for sharing that with us. i I can't even begin to imagine what that must have felt like to go through that. um and Just thinking about the topic of just disappointment and if you feel it's appropriate or if you know others maybe who have gone through similar things, what what kept you going? like How did you address the disappointment of of that diagnosis? It's a really good question.
00:17:24
Speaker
being honest, I'd had a good year. I'd had a good few months in in my walk with God. And I don't think I made an active choice of am I going to run towards him or am I going to throw it all away? um It felt natural to lean in. And and so that's that's an annoying answer, I realize, but I think um ah there there's some elements within that. of are we Are we prepared? Do we have um proximity and and sort of that that ongoing relationship with God that um when everything goes wrong, we're actually, um there's already a ah live relationship. But I think the piece that that really sparked my faith during that time was, um it was the hardest season of my life without a doubt. And yet there were these
00:18:16
Speaker
kind of crazy, glorious moments where I just felt like God really loved me. And that sounds mad. You're sort of like, ah, you're so unwell. like You're genuinely at risk of not making it. And and so how can these um how can these these moments or pieces be so faith building? And yet there's a little of verse in the Psalms that says the Lord is close to the
David's Personal Journey with Cancer
00:18:40
Speaker
brokenhearted. and And I found that to be hugely true. um It was fascinating how from the same verse would often come. and And when folks are ill, we'll often send nice verses, right? But it was crazy how the same verse came eight or 10 times from from different folks and how when I'd open my Bible, he would just speak through a particular verse or or passage that seemed so spot on. And other little moments and acts of kindness, there was a moment in um
00:19:13
Speaker
in intensive care where I was particularly struggling and I was calling out for the nurse who couldn't come and see me because she was seeing the other patient and from nowhere a nurse from a different ward came in and sat with me and as we were chatting it emerged that she was a Christian and she'd prayed the week before that she'd be able to use her faith more at work and I'd been in the midst of the darkest um sort of nightmares from all the painkillers that I was having and and to be able to sit and chat with someone and and share our faith and and love for Jesus in that darkest moment. She just walked in right at at that perfect moment. So there were a few things that happened like that where I just felt, wow, the existence of God is undeniable and his heart and his love for me even in in the darkest moments is undeniable.
00:20:01
Speaker
Thank you so much, David, for sharing i kind of so honestly there. I think this was something isn't there going on that I've seen um in folks, both I think inside the church kind of rediscovering their faith. I mean, you I know you weren't and rediscovering it, but it was you know quite a significant season for you. But then for for people exploring faith for so for for the first time, there is sort of this trend, isn't there, when when life deals you that really crap set of cards. um That does seem to start questions.
00:20:29
Speaker
For people, I know, um you know, Christy, I know, like like me, you do a lot of stuff on university campuses and so on. I mean, the things like the suffering question and and those kind of things, there's been a lot more of that going on in culture right now. So on the one hand, the disappointment stuff brings challenges, right. But I think the opportunity to isn't there to to to to lean in with people and say, you know, when life deals you those, you know, that hand of cards, you can either just throw it up and go, it's all point, meaning this is fair and it's all pointless. Or you can use it as an opportunity to lean into something bigger.
00:21:00
Speaker
I think so. I think we're seeing it on on our university campuses and the I think and the the generation who are emerging from university today have gone through Covid. um They have and maybe had an kind of economic situation that's particularly difficult and so buying a house or or getting the job and career that they wanted is is much harder and I think there's a spiritual openness from this group that's exacerbated by the challenging situations that they face in their life. And so I think there's really something to be said for that. Jesus said, it's not the healthy that need a doctor, it's the sick. And I think when when something, and when we're up against it, when we're struggling, it's at those times that that we slow down enough to ask the big questions. and And that just really brings huge opportunity to have those conversations.
00:21:54
Speaker
what What a great place to um kind of bring things into land, like when we slow down enough, then we have the opportunity to ask these big questions. For those who are asking these big questions, where can they go, David? What are some of the resources that you've produced that um that those who are listening in can access?
00:22:12
Speaker
For sure. So our platform is going to handle this at Streams dot.studio. um Wherever you're most comfortable, whether it's Instagram or TikTok or YouTube, there's even a Facebook page somewhere in there that can be discovered.
00:22:28
Speaker
um And we've done 185 videos and they all have different titles and and subject matters and so you can scroll through until something peaks your interest. The other way of doing it is looking at the number of views and seeing which ones are the most popular and and diving in that way. And hopefully there's this's something of value that that can both benefit you and maybe also be shared with a friend.
00:22:53
Speaker
Well, thank you so much for that, ah David, and for and but and for taking the time. And really do encourage people to check out Stream Studio. You heard it from there from David. We'll go we'll put a link to it's into the into the show notes, but you could easily find it online, too. And I love where the way you described it there, actually. When I and i was sort of ah looking there the other day, because you'd emailed me, I spent a really interesting half an hour just opening it up and then sort of sorting it by by by views. And just really interesting, isn't it, to see the the questions that people are asking. Totally. Totally. That's it.
00:23:24
Speaker
Well, David Watson, again, thanks for for joining us and to all of you listening to PepTalk, whether you're in the car, on ah on a walk, on a run, down the gym, wherever you are. I hope you've enjoyed this episode. So do check out Streams Studio and do join Christy and I ah in two weeks time for another episode and another guest. Thanks for listening and bye for now.