In this episode we talk with Corrie Fraser who works with her husband Paul in the Multiply Network. They talk about what it's like working together, how the interviews and stories have impacted them throughout the year and some prize give-aways happening this month!
In this episode we talk with Corrie Fraser who works with her husband Paul in the Multiply Network. They talk about what it's like working together, how the interviews and stories have impacted them throughout the year and some prize give-aways happening this month!
Transcript of Podcast by Multiply Network
Created to champion church multiplication, provide learning and inspire new disciple-
making communities across Canada
2019 – Corrie Fraser
Paul Fraser: Welcome to the Multiply Network podcast, a podcast created to champion church multiplication, provide and learning and inspire new disciple-making communities across Canada.
Happy Birthday! That’s right. The Multiply Network turns one this month. Wow. They grow up so fast!
Hi. My name is Paul Fraser, the host of the Multiply Network podcast. I want to take some time to thank all of our listeners who tune in each month. We understand that time is so important and we trust the interviews, the stories we share, will continue to encourage, inform and inspire you. Thanks so much for being a part of this podcast.
I’m so pumped to introduce our guest today. It’s my wife Corrie. She works with me in the Multiply Network. She does admin., communications, social media, basically keeps it all together. We talk about what it’s like working together. We talk about some of the guests that impacted us throughout the year. And we also talk about some prize giveaways. We’re going to have a contest on our social media at the end of this month. So it starts on the 15th and you’re going to hear about it in this interview right now.
I’m super-excited to have Corrie Fraser, my wife, but also the only other employee in the Multiply Network join the podcast. Thanks for being a part of this.
Corrie Fraser:
A. I’m excited to be here.
Q. That’s good because I know you had some resistance initially but you felt like you should do it because Paul is asking. I do appreciate it.
A. No problem.
Q. So ten months. How have we been doing working together?
Give me a rating out of ten.
A. A rating out of ten? I think we’re probably firmly in the 8 ½ range.
Q. That’s good.
A. Yes.
Q. Very good.
A. I’m pleasantly surprised.
Q. One of the things we talked about early on was could we work together like this. Like we work at home obviously together. We raise children together. But could we actually work together? When we were talking with other couples and listening to people talk about co-pastoring and co-leading and working together, we thought could that work for us. And this experiment has turned out to be an 8 ½!
A. Yes, and actually getting better. Maybe some days it is even 8.75! (Laughter)
Yes, I’m pleasantly surprised to be honest with you because I think we both had some reservations, like you said, having never worked in this service setting before. But I think we’ve worked out a lot of the kinks in how we work together because we’ve spent more than two decades trying to figure out what it’s like to relate to one another. So I think we have figured out a lot of those things. And to be honest, I think knowing those little things about you helps me support you better administratively.
Q. Yes. It has been super fun and we don’t call it a learning curve. We call it a right angle. There is no curve. It just feels like we’re learning all the time.
We’re both first born so we both have first born personalities.
A. Very strongly.
Q. We tell this story where we’re at a mall and we’re driving to Costco and we’re arguing about ---
A. Discussing!
Q. Arguing about ---
See. We’re even arguing about “discussing”.
We are arguing about what is the shortest way to get to Costco. So we were so committed to our idea that we had to drive it twice.
A. It’s true.
Q. Two different directions.
A. Each of us was convinced that we were right.
Q. Yes. So in the end we both were right because one was a shorter distance ---
A. And one was shorter time.
Q. And one was shorter time so we were both right.
A. It did take driving the route two different ways to figure that out.
Q. It’s kind of embarrassing but anyways. Maybe there are some other couples out there who are resonating with this going, yes, that’s how it is. But we work together and we love it. Maybe there’s three people out there that are wondering what is it like for Paul in particular, as an admin assistant?
A. Well, you’ve had a few admin assistants over the years with different jobs that you have had and I’ve always been good friends with them because we felt like we’re sort of a team trying to keep your life organized. I remembered somebody asking one of your admin assistants one time, what is it like working for Paul, or with Paul. She kind of rolled her eyes and said, “Well, let’s just say there are times that there is a task that requires a lot of concentration, a lot of focus and all of a sudden Paul will just walk into my office and say, ‘hey, want to see my new yo-yo trick!’”
Q. To be fair, that happened only once.
A. Well, I’m sure something similar happened more than once. If any of your previous co-workers are listening, they’ll know that you are always up to some kind of tricks. So fortunately for me, because I live with you, I knew what I was getting into. I knew what to expect. And also it brings a lot of balance to me because I’ve always sort of lived by the motto “who needs fun when you can have structure, order and routine”.
Q. That’s actually true, folks.
A. Yes. If it was just me working and running the show there would be no fun at all.
Q. Yes.
A. If it was just you there might not be a lot accomplished.
Q. There’s a lot of fun wherever I go. There is no doubt about that.
A. Sometimes too much fun.
Q. Sometimes too much fun. I agree. I am highly social. I have a very high social quotient. I feel bad for Corrie because I have a home office and so there are times I just go out to interrupt her because I just need some social interaction. Maybe there are other people who can relate to that.
But Multiply Network. That’s what we’re here to talk about.
A. Yes, we’re back on track.
Q. We’re on track. This is important stuff. Multiply Network is one year old.
A. We’re excited about some stuff that we’re going to be doing to celebrate. We are going to chat about that.
Q. We’re going to chat about that near the end. But just as a year in review looking back, we really got our podcasts going so we’ve been able to see some good traction there. The website, microsite is at paoc.org/multiplynetwork. You are on social media.
A. Yes, I am. This is new for me. When you talk about learning curve, well, I have had my own experience with social media. This is taking it to a whole new level. I’m not tech-y at all, even though I’m the mom to teenagers and young adults. They, I am sure, will be happy to give me input. But yes, learning the social media and sort of keeping that running for Multiply Network has been a growth area for me but something I’m really enjoying as well.
Q. Why don’t you just give a few tips? What do you do to help? There might be other people out there wondering okay, social media, you’re not tech-y but you are still producing good content. What are you using? Two online platforms.
A. The biggest thing is there is an App for everything.
Q. That’s true.
A. So if you are seeing the Multiply Network social media and you are thinking that we’ve hired or are paying a lot of money for a professional marketing team, no, it is just me using good ‘ol Apps like Canva to help with the design side of things.
Q. Yes, Canva. Shout out to Canva.com.
A. Canva.com. And also Later, which helps with scheduling. So those are two big ones that I’m implementing on a weekly basis that are really helping with that side of things.
Q. Yes. So what social platforms is the Multiply Network on?
A. Right now we are on Twitter. Remember Twitter?
Q. Yes.
A. The good ‘ol days for people our age when social media was first popular and exciting. So we are on Twitter. We are on Facebook and we are on Instagram. And for all three of those platforms you can find us at paocmultiply.
Q. Yes, that is very good. And we also send out monthly updates to let everyone know that the site has been updated. There is new content. We get new stuff out every month. So we send out the Multiply Extra monthly.
A. Yes. Every month, as Paul said, we are updating the Multiply Network site. The kind of stuff we’re putting up there, I know, you will probably elaborate on it, but we’ve got new updated stuff, blogs, videos, articles every single month. But we also know that you are busy leaders and you might forget to check in periodically. So the 15th of every month we send out a mass email that we call the Multiply Extra. It is kind of our little newsletter and it’s got a little intro about what we’re sharing that month, our focus for that month and then quick links to articles we think you are going to be interested in.
Q. And we started doing quarterly Multiply Extras in French.
A. Yes. So we also have a French newsletter that goes out. It is called Le Reseau Multiplier and we put that together with some of the content that we’ve got on the website, have it translated, formatted and we are sending that out to a lot of our French-speaking churches.
Q. Yes. We also did this last year, I think it was back in December or early January, Iwanttoplantachurch.ca and so we did this ---
One of the things that we hear, at least I hear going across the country, I’m thinking about planting a church but I don’t know where to start. So Iwanttoplantachurch.ca is a great ramp. So we’ve had, I don’t know, maybe ten to twelve people kind of start to go through that process, kicking tires.
A. Yes. And I think what is important about that for people to know is it is a great start if you are not ready to make a commitment. You can just visit the site and see what your next steps could potentially be. This doesn’t mean you are ready to jump into church multiplication right now.
Q. Yes.
A. So it is really kind of a first step that helps you take the guess work out of how to begin that church multiplication journey, regardless of whether you are ready to jump in right away, is it something that you are interested in doing six months, a year, or five years down the road.
Q. Yes. So be sure to check that out if you are interested. Iwanttoplantachurch.ca.
A. Yes.
Q. We’re actually looking to translate that into French as well so that will be happening later this year.
One of the things I’ve been doing is travelling to Bible Colleges, which has been great. I have been to every District talking to leadership teams trying to figure out the landscape of church multiplication in Canada. So we feel like we’ve done a lot. It has been a good year. We’ve got lots to improve on. We would love people’s feedback and interaction. We want to – I hate this phrase but it does kind of fit – we want to scratch where the itch is. It’s not a great phrase but the idea is we want you to ---
A. We want to know if the work we’re doing and putting into it is actually meeting the need you are looking to meet.
Q. Yes.
A. So I think part of why the Multiply Network exists is because we want to share the stories of what is happening in church multiplication right now because we know that that inspires new church multiplication and you don’t have to look very far in Canada to realize that the world, Canada, needs more Jesus. Our big phrase, if you followed any of what we’ve been putting out for the last year, our big phrase is “Because Every Canadian Deserves an Access Point to the Gospel.” So we want to get those stories out.
But we also want to know how we can partner with you, the listeners or the readers, everyday church leaders or people who are business people working in the marketplace, people who are looking to co-pastor or find a bi-vocational type of setting. So we need feedback to find out if we are giving you the information you are looking for. Are we properly sourcing the type of information that you need or the resources that you need? Yes, we’re just excited to partner with so many different expressions of what that could look like.
Q. We really do want to be a champion for church multiplication. So please let us know how we can help.
Just as you were talking about some of those stories, I think we have done forty-two different interviews in this past year.
So what have you noticed or what has been an impact for you Corrie as you have read those stories, you’ve edited them or watched the Take 5’s, listened to the podcasts, what has been the impact for you as you hear the stories from people in Canada doing pretty courageous things?
A. Yes. I think I have been impacted more than I expected. I thought that when I signed up for this that I was just going to be able to use my administrative gifts, which is really a comfort zone for me and strength for me and fulfilling me. A surprising outcome has actually been my perspective has changed, not that I was against church planting, obviously, not that I was against evangelism. But I have been so inspired by the risk takers whose stories we have heard.
Q. Yes.
A. And the nature of my personality is that – you may have figured this out already – I am relatively risk-averse by nature. So when I hear of people like Ben and Emma, who felt a call in their home of Australia and said, God, we are going to say yes to your call for us to church plant in Canada, and when I hear of stories from people like Wendy Payne who, with her husband, went out to an island in the middle of nowhere and she just said, God, you are calling us to plant a church here so I’m going to preach every Sunday, whether people come or not. She just had to get on her knees and ask God please, let somebody show up!
Q. Yes, yes.
A. These are just little snippets of stories of I think heroes who are taking risks because God is calling them and because they know why they need to do this.
Q. Yes.
A. They are so compelled with the why, which is Canada needing Jesus.
Q. For me it has been I guess the brilliance of the leaders. I know that we have great leaders. But when I’m sitting on the podcast and I’m hearing them just kind of share what is in their heart, share what they are learning, I’m like that’s a book.
A. Yes.
Q. Or that’s a talk or that’s a conference moment.
A. And they are talking about it like it’s just some everyday ---
I think that is important for people who are listening to this, reading the stories, to go this isn’t like some big magical experience for the people who are experiencing it. They are just stepping out in faith.
Q. Yes.
A. For me that inspires me to go okay, what is God calling me to? I don’t have to make it bigger than it is. I just have to take that first step, whatever that is, whether it is building better relationships with my neighbours or whatever it is. I just have to step out into what he is calling me to and let him really do the rest.
Q. Just getting back to the stories that we’ve heard, I’m an early adopter so I read that and I go, Oh, I want to plant a church right now.
A. Yes.
Q. But I forget how much work, how much effort and even though we’ve been a part of it, been a part of teams that have helped plant, we attend a church plant right now, for me what inspires me is the sacrifice and specifically those bi-vocational planters. I think of Stephanie Borsato with her husband Mario in the Maritimes. She’s working as a medical doctor. And then three days a week, I can’t remember, she’s planting this church! I just love stories like that. Like, I do this! This is my heart. Everything I do is ministry and I get so inspired by that. I get inspired by the sacrifice.
I hope the listeners, those of you who have been participating and listening, feel the same way when they are sharing their stories as this idea, wow, that is a tremendous amount of sacrifice.
A. I think it is important too for people to hear those stories. It would be easy to dismiss them and say I can’t do that, or it isn’t going to work in my context. But the reality is we can plan, we can strategize, we can dream, we can do all of these things, but it is the spirit that really needs to give us the burden for the lost and to move us forward strategically in all of that. So what I want people to be doing when they are hearing those stories is saying that is amazing, that is great, I am inspired. What can I do in my context? Can I be praying for these church planters? Can I be supporting them through giving? Can I be talking to my senior leadership at my church about how we can get involved, about how we can start raising up leaders? Can I just somehow send encouragement?
I know enough about church planting to know that it is really hard work and it can be really discouraging.
Q. And lonely.
A. And very lonely. Yes. So we want to help however we can build this network so that those church planters aren’t feeling like they are doing it alone, so they have other church planters to talk to and to journey together.
Q. That’s the beauty of the Multiply Network; connection. I think you just explained it so well. If we can connect a listener, connect a planter to another planter, a listener to a planter, a pastor to a planter, some way make a connection that we’re all in this together with a word of encouragement, I think you absolutely nailed it. That’s a big part I think of why we exist is to make Canada smaller. It’s huge. I fly across it lots. It’s huge. Anything we can do to make Canada smaller is amazing.
Thanks for being with us for this year so far. But I want to tell you we’re not done. We’re not winding down. We’re winding up. I think we’ve still got lots of things ahead for the rest of this year in 2019 and on into 2020.
Some of the cool things though as we celebrate this one-year birthday, is we’ve got some contests coming up. Corrie, would you like to explain what those contests are?
A. Yes. Well, who doesn’t love birthday presents? So we thought since Multiply Network is turning one, instead of us receiving birthday gifts we would like to give some gifts.
Q. That’s right.
A. So we’ve got a couple of contests going on our social media pages. I’m not going to give you the details because you need to go find out the details on social media yourself. Check us out on Facebook and Instagram. You don’t want to just wait on that because the contest ends May 31st, so you need to make sure that you enter and see if you can win some prizes.
Q. We’re going to give away some gift cards. We’re excited to do that. So pay attention to that.
Corrie, how can they connect with us if they want to reach out to the Multiply Network or any of us here?
A. As we just finished saying, connection is a big piece of all of this. We want you to connect with us in any way you would like to. As I have already mentioned, social media is a great way to reach us. You can check us out and connect with us through our website which is paoc.org/multiply network. You can also email multiplynetwork@paoc.org and is there anything I’m missing Paul?
Q. PAOC Multiply is our social media ---
A. Yes. All of our social media, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, our handle is @paocmultiply.
Q. Yes. So we would love to hear from you. We would love to connect with you and be a part of your journey.
A. Is there anything else we need to add? I know we’ve got lots of ---
I’m looking at the list right now of May, June, July, August ---
A. So many great things coming up.
Q. Themes, interviews, content we’ll be creating. We are excited to have you along for the journey so stick with us. We would love to keep providing you with some great content, inspiring stories. We want to champion church multiplication and we want you to be a part of it.
A. Yes.
Q. So I think that’s it for now. Corrie, thanks for being a part of this.
A. It is my pleasure.
Q. You are my favourite podcast listener and I know that there are some really good friends that I have interviewed that ---
A. Yes? Mike Miller has the most listens but I’m still your favourite?
Q. You are still my favourite.
A. Thank you.
Q. Before we go though, I just about forgot. We’ve got to do rapid fire questions.
A. Oh, okay.
Q. With every guest we have we do rapid fire questions.
Okay. First question. Favourite leisure activity?
A. Well, I’m not great at leisure. I’m trying to learn. But I do enjoy swimming and crocheting. I know. I sound like a ninety year old lady.
Q. You do. If you had a favourite rodent, what favourite rodent would it be?
A. That’s a terrible question. Are rabbits rodents? They are kinda cute and I used to have rabbits growing up.
Q. Okay. If you could name a rabbit, what would you name it?
A. Probably Fluffy or Hoppy.
Q. Or Huffy?
A. Hoppy!
Q. Oh, Hoppy. Fluffy and Hoppy.
What most annoys you about me?
A. Oh, that you have too much fun sometimes and you don’t take things seriously and you are a real bug. Is that just one thing?
Q. No, there were several things.
A. Laughter.
Q. I think at times I do have the spiritual gift of irritation.
A. Absolutely. You are the most anointed in that gift of anybody I know.
Q. I am anointed in annoying-ness. Okay.
Fiction author. Do you have a fiction author?
A. I haven’t had a lot of time to read lately but can I take a pass?
Q. Okay. You don’t have a fiction author? Aren’t you into John Grisham?
A. That is one of the authors that I definitely enjoy.
Q. Okay. How about authors from the Bible? Where are you reading in the Bible right now?
A. Where I am reading right now is actually Paul’s letters. There is so much good stuff there that applies to what we are trying to do in Canada in our society. Just really good reminders.
Q. Yes. Who is your favourite kid?
A. Well, that’s a good one. You know I can’t answer that on the recording unless I just say Piper, who is our dog. Yes.
Q. Yes. And last question. If someone was to buy you a coffee at Tim Horton’s, Second Cup or Starbucks, what would you get?
A. Well, I’m easy. Anywhere I would say yes and I will take a dark roast black every single time.
Q. Dark roast black. Got it.
Thanks Corrie for jumping on today. I really appreciate it.
--- End of Recording.