Mid-faith Crisis

Nick is depressed by a worship song, Joe is frustrated by the church and the feedback sends us off in all directions. Enjoy - because, let’s face it, we’re all just waves tossed in the ocean and vapours in the wind. Or something. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Bank of Dave Burns supper Haggis

At the third - or possibly fourth - attempt, Nick and Joe return. In an episode which has been dogged by disease, broadband failure, diary clashes and equipment meltdown, we eventually talk about our yearly themes. May the bongo-playing angel guard our steps. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Invitation to Solitude and Silence - Ruth Hale...

What gifts did 2022 bring us? And what were the hardships? We share our experiences this year and reflect on how our themes worked out. We touch on whether accepting mystery means not asking the difficult questions and how language about incarnation is as limiting as the event itself. Also, Joe has had a bad experience at the panto and Nick is annoyed about maths. Support the podcast Contact the p...

It's a final, bonus episode for the year. And one recorded in a storm of technical challenges (sorry about that). Do we need to find a special purpose in life, or should we just embrace being a disciple? Did Jesus endure the incarnation, or did he enjoy it? And were the ancient Jews really that interested in pomegranates? Thanks for all your support this year. Happy Christmas everyone! Support the...

We return to the topic of paying attention and Joe's latest pier-based epiphanies. We chat about how attention can be a kind of prayer and how we can cope with the distracting and even sinful thoughts which stop us paying attention to God. And a moderately enthusiastic Christmas to one and all. No Lessons and Carols: the Mid-Faith Crisis Christmas Service 2022 Sign up today! Support the podcast Co...

Yes, it's our now annual disagreement about the birth narratives in the gospels. Along the way we discuss the problems of inculturation, why hospitality, celebration and fun might be the real meaning of Christmas, and the difference between netball and basketball. And we introduce the helpful concept of back-tithing. No Lessons and Carols: the Mid-Faith Crisis Christmas Service 2022 Sign up today!...

Nick has been thinking about spirituality and sport. Joe has had a transcendent moment on the pier. We ramble on about advent as a time of preparation, the difficulty of staying in the moment, the idea of God being on our side, and the spiritual practice of just turning up. No Lessons and Carols: the Mid-Faith Crisis Christmas Service 2022 Sign up today! Support the podcast Contact the podcast thr...

As we head into Advent, we have an interview with Brian Draper. Brian talks about wonder, hope, leaning into the darkness, sharing the inherited riches of our faith, and how 'not knowing is the most intimate'. Meanwhile, Nick has been all arty and Joe has been fighting technical issues. And losing. Heavily. No Lessons and Carols: the Mid-Faith Crisis Christmas Service 2022 Sign up today! Support t...

We talk about the complexities of being Christlike, the joy of temperance and the idea of a self-limiting God. Also, Joe wants to be both Matthew and Luke, and let's all do the Hinkumbooby. Coming Soon - No Lessons and Carols, the Mid-faith Crisis Christmas Service . 20 December 2022. 8 pm GMT. Stay tuned for more details. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentione...

We talk about how we can use outrage to avoid dealing with our own pain, finding peace in the difficult times, not giving up on love, beauty and creativity, and how systematic theology always fails when it’s punched in the face. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Revolver Special Editions Hokey Pokey

We discuss some big issues this week: anger, empathy, hope, the prophetic act of listening, the difficulty of making life choices and, most importantly, whether the hokey-cokey should be the official MFC worship song. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Staying Defiantly: What does it look like for church leaders to stay when the church leaves you frustrated.

This week we talk about the need for lament, how Jesus spoke about fear more than anything else, and what we can learn from our old ways of doing things. Also, does being Christlike mean casting out demons and raising the dead? And if we wore a Mid-faith Crisis wristband, what would it say? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Staying Defiantly: What does it look like...

In this episode we talk about hope. In the midst of the chaos and anxiety surrounding us, how do we have hope? What does it mean to fix our mind on higher things? Is it just about going to heaven or can it involve cheese? Also, Nick 'discusses' some worship song lyrics. And Joe has technical issues. Many, many technical issues. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Sta...

We talk a lot about rules and doctrine this episode. What's the balance between belief and behaviour? Should the church be an exclusive club? And just how much doctrine does anyone actually need? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine

We're back! Nick's been in the West Country pondering the state of his aura. Joe's been speaking at a conference and has caught the plague. We talk about the Queen's funeral, magical apothecaries and how there is a lot more spirituality about than people realise. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine

In a temporally confused episode, we have an interview with Stuart Murray Williams. We talk about the idea of Christendom, and, more to the point, what's going to happen after it's gone away. Also Nick may or may not be on holiday and Joe may or may not be in the USA. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: James Bryan Smith, The Good And Beaut...

We talk to Oliver Burkeman, author of the brilliant Four Thousand Weeks – Time Management for Mortals . We talk about mortality and finitude, the joy of missing out and viewing your time management with grace. And never mind mortals, what about time management for immortals? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Paul Field, God of the Moon an...

A globetrotting episode, with correspondence from around the world. We discuss the complicated relationship between those who attend church and those in authority, the need for a different set of guides and how you can return to old practices with a new attitude. Also more on Christmas in midsummer, a deeply moving poem and a surprising email for Nick. Support the podcast Contact the podcast throu...

Back together again, we reflect on the relationship between authenticity and vulnerability. We also talk about the need for patience, honesty and empathy when we are caught up in controversies and disagreements. And in the end we decide to follow Jesus. Warning: ends with a chorus. Sung badly. Over zoom. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode:...

With one of the team taking a well-earned break we thought we'd repeat an episode from the mists of time. Or July 2019 to be more precise, when, for reasons that have never been entirely convincing, Joe decided that he really wanted to talk about Christmas. The incarnation is for life, not just for Christmas! Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine

Joe is struggling to concentrate. Nick is inadvisedly drinking limoncello. We talk about the confidence to be quiet, the origins of liturgy and how communities can bring comfort in tough times. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Where the Crawdads Sing

We talk to Brian MacLaren about his new book – Do I Stay Christian? A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned . The book explores the reasons for leaving and reasons for staying, and the real question that affects us all, whether we stay or leave: 'what kind of person do I want to be?' Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this epis...

A bit of a short episode today, for personal reasons which we talk about in the podcast. Thanks for all your support, as always. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine

In a week where suddenly a lot of people are concerned about their integrity, we look at thankfulness in prayer, how silence is quite risky and whether anyone should be a hermit. Also, a much needed reminder that, whatever the news, there really is a lot of love in the world. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: 'Organising the natural goodn...

Nick is tired, Joe is hangry, so in a slightly shorter than normal episode, we reflect on the recent interview with dave steell about leadership. We talk about the problems of over spiritualising what happens in church, confusing unity with uniformity and whether the most important tool is empathy. Also, an unusual fact about orchids and Nick receives an alarming email from his co-host. Support th...