Music can do more than entertain! And concerts tend to be so packed with music that there's little time to explore the depth and breadth of the themes in Kyle's work. Consequently, Kyle has been in demand as a speaker throughout his 20-year career. Even in this role, however, his songwriting often plays an important part.

By combining his musical and storytelling gifts with his spoken-word presentations, he can transform otherwise dry lectures or sermons into something both educational and entertaining. This unique hybrid of teaching or preaching with musical illustrations has set him apart as an ideal conference leader, college chapel speaker, or retreat leader.

His approach has the added advantage of being logistically simple and cost-effective. Relying on the power of music and well-honed content, Kyle can lead an audience through a wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating, emotionally powerful experience, all with only a piano and a microphone (and maybe a little Power Point screen or dry erase board!).

Click on a topic to learn more about Kyle’s offerings as a speaker for Educational Settings, Churches/Christian Organizations, and Corporate Seminars.

EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

In purely educational settings, this is the chance to learn without realizing you're learning. As a recipient of Partners in the Arts, Lilly Foundation, and Staley Foundation grants, Kyle has taught creative writing and a wide range of music classes on college campuses, in public high schools, and at arts conferences. Fascinated by the way disciplines can be inter-related, Kyle is always looking for ways to teach lessons in other disciplines using music.

There are at least three educational seminars that showcase Kyle at his best:

1) The Interrelated Arts ~ Kyle was in graduate school studying with Prix d' Rome winner Richard Willis before the light came on. All the arts, all compositions, are comprised of elements that are themselves related to one another! Once he saw that, and learned some terminology for it, he had a foundation for better understanding all the arts, even art forms that had disinterested him before. In a lifetime of music lessons, theatrical productions, English classes, and art classes, he had never seen the connection before, and now it made all the difference. Let Kyle demonstrate this insight to your students, so that they don't have to be adults before the light comes on for them! {Appropriate for English classes, Music classes, and Art classes}

2) Songwriting 101 ~ Just glance over the list of awards and recognitions gleaned from Kyle's tenure in the highly competitive music industry and couple it with his sincere desire to see other people set free to express themselves artistically, and you'll understand what makes Kyle an ideal teacher of songwriting. A regular clinician for the Gospel Music Association, public schools and conferences, it's one of his favorite things to do and his enthusiasm is contagious. Not only will you learn about the craft of songwriting, where to find inspiration, and how to develop creative habits, you'll learn a lot about the commercial music industry, too. {Appropriate for Music classes, English classes}

3) Creative writing ~ As one of the most prolific songwriters in his industry, Kyle can teach your class the principles, habits, and insights that have helped him become a more effective and more productive writer. From the great composers and authors all the way down to the Music Row tunesmith and commercial ad copy writer, writers who rely on creativity for their survival have discovered principles that can get them out of virtually any corner and keep them productive even when the pressure is on and the passions start to wane. In short, genius may be a gift, but creativity, like craftsmanship, can be learned. {Appropriate for English classes}

A Great Experience

In 2004, a couple of creative music teachers in Powhatan, VA were looking for ways to bring new energy and educational opportunity to their under-funded music programs. The grant money required that their application be tied to the core curriculum (reading/writing, math and science) not the arts. Realizing that most 9th graders hated learning poetry in English classes, they had a bright idea: kids may hate poetry, but they love songs. Let's bring in a professional songwriter, they thought, who can show them how poetry can become lyric and how lyric becomes song.

They were awarded the grant! They sent Kyle four outstanding poems that had been secretly selected out of the 400+ poems written by the students and he set them to music. Then he got on a plane to Virginia and did an opening assembly showing how the songwriting process works. Utilizing the students' own material, he taught and entertained, answering questions and inspiring the students in new ways to be creative. He also attended English classes and music classes throughout the week, teaching and engaging the students. The grant-winning teachers were invited to regional and national conferences to make a presentation that would tell the story.

Similar stories have happened on college campuses where Kyle is a natural fit, and at conferences of all sorts. Kyle believes in education and is always looking for the next challenge.

CHURCHES/CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATIONS

The bulk of Kyle's creative output has been devoted to the on-going struggle for spiritual health, biblical education, and theological balance in the local church. To that end, he has invested his most substantive thought into musical sermons, Bible studies, and seminars designed to communicate the challenging message of the gospel in fresh and exciting ways, and for all ages.

Kyle understands that resources of many churches and ministries are limited and that the decision about bringing in guest artists and speakers is a significant one. He has been invited to many conferences where too many presenters were brought in at great expense to share pre-packaged material that had nothing to do with the theme, the occasion, or the message of the other presenters. For that reason, he has equipped himself to be self-contained, to provide congregational singing, solo performances, sermonic content, and break-out sessions that are tightly related to the theme and purpose of your event. Kyle believes in the stewardship of not only time and money, but of each opportunity to make a coherent presentation of the gospel.

If you want to commission Kyle to create something new, you'll find him always up for a challenge. But first, take a look at a few of the road-tested programs Kyle has already developed:

"Flying Lessons" ~ There are stages of spiritual maturity, just as there are steps to learning to fly, but unlike modern aviation, those stages cannot be conveyed in mere technical language. Kyle has isolated seven lessons, each illustrated musically, that are profound biblical insights on our spiritual development and terrific tools for examining those perspectives that hold us down and those that set us free. Needless to say, FAA flight certification is not included, but break-out sessions are. This series can be broken into four large group sessions with music and congregational singing. The thematic imagery lends itself to wonderful lessons for a parallel curriculum for children as well.

"The Family Retreat" ~ As everything in our culture seeks to divide us into some marketing demographic and over-schedule our lives, families are crying out for time together. They are also crying out for a context in which to talk about spiritual values together. Kyle has done more family retreats than any other kind. As a father and husband, he knows all too well the real-world obstacles for Christian families and longs to see more churches embrace one of their most valuable commodities: the inter-generational experience. Nothing does more to build church fellowship than spending time playing and worshiping together. And the presence of kids gives Kyle a welcome chance to get really, really silly.

"Soul Music" ~ There's a reason that all the arts are composed of many of the same fundamental elements: melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, dynamic, and style. These are also the components of a balanced life, and they each tie us to a biblical principle of authentic spirituality. For music lovers who are looking for a deeper understanding of discipleship and spiritual health, or for anyone wanting to explore their often-neglected interior lives, this presentation provides an unforgettable tool. (Can be configured as one presentation, or up to six sessions.)

"Ending the Worship Wars" ~ No internal struggle has done more to divide and damage local churches in recent years than the debate over style preferences in worship. While it is a tragedy that Christians would let something as ephemeral as style have that much power, it's not enough to simply condemn the problem. The fellowship of the body-- to say nothing of ministerial careers—is often at stake. After years of study and consulting with local churches, Kyle has developed a process that can lead churches toward healing by gently raising the level of discourse from that of mere style preference to the level of those biblical concepts that matter to us all the most. This seminar comes complete with methods for worship planning that will ensure that the style-level debate doesn't come back to haunt the church after the seminar is over. (Most effective in two sessions.)

"Telling Our Stories" ~ Kyle is not aware of any church anywhere that will not say that people are important. Yet, sadly, most churches he visits make no opportunity for people to tell their stories. How can we say that people are important, he asks, if we don't think their stories are important? And what could be more important than helping Christians see that their own stories are spiritual narratives in which God is present and active and deeply concerned? What better way is there for church members to learn to love and appreciate one another than to learn about the struggles and joys that have shaped them?

Songwriting is storytelling. That's why many churches have found Kyle to be an ideal person to facilitate the discussion and inspire church folks to see the immeasurable value of their own stories. (This program can be done in one session or several, and can be combined with "Soul Music.")

"Power Versus Authority" ~ Is there any human relationship that cannot be at some point reduced to a battle for control? Parent/child, family, friendship, dating and marriage relationships in all their many forms can sometimes be reduced to a tug of war over "who holds the power?" The battles may take on every possible form, from quiet manipulation to outright violence, and they can find their way into every area of life, from the global ("who will rule the world?") to the mundane ("who will decide where we eat lunch?") Our response to them, however, may determine whether the child rebels, the marriage fails, the company performs, or the wrong leader leads us into the wrong war.

Questions of love and power stand at the heart of the gospel and are central to Jesus' life and teaching. How can we reconcile the "power that so easily corrupts" with the "authority that saves," and the "will that controls" with the "love that sacrifices"? In many years teaching this session, framed by the song "Power," Kyle has seen more relationships helped by this topic than any other. (One to three sessions.)

"Spiritual Gifts" ~ Identifying and exploring spiritual gifts is a life-long task which can shape some of life's biggest decisions: What career is right for me? What kind of relationships bring completion and balance into my life? How can I learn to better support my friends, spouse, and children? What roles should I take in my church and community? How can I fulfill my potential? Any discussion of gifts, spiritual insights and life experiences is a good fit for a songwriter, and Kyle Matthews has led college students and church members through a spiritual gift assessment weekend many times. It never fails to send some folks in a different direction than the one they came from. (Three to four sessions.)

"Imago Dei" ~ What does God look like? This childlike question resonates profundity. But even on the most sophisticated adult's level, it is a critical question for people of faith. Human history testifies that we become like whatever god we serve and the adequacy or inadequacy of the thing we worship is inevitably revealed in our lives. Taking this to heart, Kyle uses music to illustrate some of our common images of God and holds them up to the light of scripture to see how adequate we can expect them to be. Clearly, it is in our nature to try to make God over in our image, but how can we allow ourselves to be made into His? (Three sessions)

"If You Want to Lead Me to Jesus - Rethinking Evangelism" ~ George Barna, the leading statistician for analyzing religious life in America, says that despite the trillions of dollars spent on evangelism in the last generation, there has been zero growth in the group called "Christian." This and other indicators tell us that something is wrong with our paradigms for reaching people with the message of Christ. After becoming Christians, 90% of us have severed all ties with non-Christians, making us insensitive to their needs and cut-off from their lives. Our evangelical campaigns--whether across the campus, across the street, or across the world – often have very little to do with the kind of ministry Jesus modeled for us. The seminar begins with the Dove award nominated hit "If You Want to Lead Me to Jesus," takes a quick detour through Mayberry, de-programs some of our failed evangelical paradigms, and a ends in a musical rediscovery of Jesus' way of making disciples.

"Discerning the Will of God" ~ One of the most common concerns for Christians is discerning the will of God. Even among marginal believers there is often professed a desire to do the will of God; if only we knew what it was! At times we may even resent God, blaming our failure to do God's will on God himself, secretly believing He has failed to reveal his will to us for our lives. Is God's will, in fact, a mystery? Or do we need to adjust our expectations of how God's will is revealed, understood, and followed?

For people at crossroads, dealing with unwanted change or major decisions, this presentation is good news. God is not our adversary with regard to our future. He is not hiding the cards we need and stringing us along. We can know and do God's will, but we have to be prepared for a new perspective of life as a process, Christ as the goal, and walking by faith as the means to that significant, purposeful end.

CORPORATE SEMINARS

We've all been there. The corporate "meeting" that turned out to be a long, dry, one-sided speech by someone who seemed to be talking just to fill the time. And when it was over, we struggled to remember anything we'd heard, much less know how to apply it.

Kyle Matthews understands that it takes more than bullet points to make an effective, memorable presentation. As a performer, he knows that entertainment can be a useful tool in demonstrating the principles of both personal creativity and public relations. As a small business owner (See for Yourself Music) who has worked for large corporations (BMG, Universal) and as an alumnus of Leadership Music (Class of 2004), he knows something about business, too. Depending on the needs you perceive in your business, there are at least two ways Kyle might be an effective seminar leader for your company.

"Teaching Creativity" ~ As one of the most prolific writers in his industry, Kyle has learned a thing or two about productivity and networking. He can teach your staff the principles he has learned to help them be more creative and productive within the limitations of their respective roles. From the great composers all the way down to the Music Row tunesmith, artists who rely on creativity for their survival have discovered principles that can get them out of virtually any corner and keep them productive even when the pressure is on and the passions start to wane. In short, creativity can be learned. Those habits and perspectives can be taught, and few of us who work in a competitive environment can afford not to know them.

"Power vs. Authority" ~ Your co-workers and subordinates may be proficient where technology is concerned, but that doesn't mean they possess the interpersonal skills to be successful. In any position, from CEO to mailroom staff, we all possess some degree of power over our "turf," and we tend to exercise whatever power we have, in order to feel that we have some control over our lives. But power wielded without wisdom can be irreparably destructive. Once a network of relationships is poisoned by power struggles, there's little likelihood that productive teamwork will result.

Drawing from the deep well of sociology and using popular music as examples, Kyle can demonstrate the difference between power and authority in funny, moving and enlightening ways. He can then give you and your company a new common language for identifying dangerous power games and help you build a circle of trust based upon a new understanding of authority and interdependence.

Contact us about setting up a phone meeting with Kyle so that you can discuss your situation in person. He'll enjoy the opportunity to talk with you about how best to provide your corporation with the insight and encouragement it needs to be more effective and more productive.