Mid-faith Crisis

In this second part we talk about dealing with conflict. How do you deal with conflict with staff members, other churches, and, most importantly, within your own congregation? We discuss what unity really looks like, how disagreeing well is a prophetic act and the importance of having an imaginary riot shield. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this epi...

In the first of a two-part special, we interview Dave Steell, pastor of One Church Brighton on the challenges of leading a church through changing culture and theology. How far can you share the journey you are undertaking? What do you do if your spirituality is at odds with that of your church? And is it possible for leaders live out a life of authenticity and integrity without losing your job? S...

It's a tale of two Andrews this week, as we are mildly– and not so mildly – rebuked for previous episodes. We talk about John the Baptist, revival, the importance of the gospels and whether God's presence is just, well, imaginary. Also, is the tricycle of faith less stable than the bicycle of belief? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine Mentioned in this episode: Oliv...

It's the 200th episode! So we spend some time looking back at the origins of the podcast, share some of the things we've learned and think about what has changed since October 2016. Oh, and we also decided to re-listen to the very first episode, which was apparently recorded in a toilet. All this and the return of a much-loved correspondent. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your ema...

Don your lycra, sew on your sequins and and prepare to give nil points to the podcast, because we have an interview with journalist Lisa-Jayne Lewis who talks about community, diversity and what the church can learn from the Eurovision Song Contest. It's boom-bang-a-bang-tastic. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Me...

We explore the role of imagination in prayer, and how that can help us with a real relationship with God. Also why disputes might help us, whether worship song writers should go to sea, and whether there is such a thing as 'the great commission'. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Mentioned in this episode: Doctor S...

We think about why, throughout history, people have moved massive boulders in the name of religion. What boulders of doctrine or belief are we pushing uphill? And what are we building with them? Also Nick is conflicted about social media and we think about the possibility of multiple choice worship song lyrics. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis...

Lots of questions this week. Why do we sing things we don't agree with? Have we misunderstood the writings of Paul? How do we know that God is love? What behaviour have we a right to expect from leaders? And will Nick ever remember the second point he was going to make? Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Mentioned i...

A bit of a catch-up. Joe is back from holiday and Nick's been preaching over Easter. We chat about looking for the living among the dead, the discipline of hope and whether having one foot in the grave means that you're getting in or climbing out. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Mentioned in this episode: Enneagr...

Joe is on holiday, recording (a) via some flaky internet and (b) on the world’s worst mic, so apologies for that. But consider this is a little bonus episode. We have a chat about how we feel about Easter this year and how our celebrations of Christian festivals always reflect our emotional state. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee A...

This week a really crucial question: what does God actually do? If he's just love, what good is that? We talk about finding joy and power through our relationship with God. We talk about how metaphors create reality and, especially, how the metaphor of the church as Christ's body might be a bit more than metaphorical. It's been a sad week, so there are tears. But there are also elephants. So that'...

We explore the idea of taking responsibility for God's believability. If God is not going to intervene in a miraculous way, is it up to us? Also, we discuss the importance of enjoying joy whenever and wherever you find it. Not to mention the annoying nature of nostalgia (and, indeed, the annoying nature of Nick) and whether Vanilla Ice was a minor prophet. Support the podcast Contact the podcast t...

More follow up this week on how to respond to peoples' prayer requests. How are we supposed to discuss our spiritual journey without feeling superior? Do we need 'get out' phrases to avoid controversy? And is it OK to feel like we need a break when the world is on fire? Also Joe has had a computer related trauma and Nick has a cake-related ethical question about fasting. Turns out that life is com...

It's been a worrying week. How do we respond to big events? Can we get the balance right between ignorant bliss and doomscrolling despair? Also, we have great emails about the sovereignty of God and whether it's OK to ask people to pray in ways we wouldn’t. And, most importantly, we discuss why we really need new wristbands. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mi...

After a deluge of theological cocktail suggestions - and some new TV shows as well - we turn our attention to outrage. Every day we are invited to get outraged about something - but is that healthy? Can outrage be a positive force? Also we talk more about attention, collaborating with God, 360 degree feedback for discipleship, and Death in the Nile by Kevin Branagh. Support the podcast Contact the...

When we do something good is that just God pulling the strings? We explore our own kingdoms, the role of wisdom and suffering the continuing effects of 'Long Calvin'. Also Joe has an idea for a TV show and Nick wants to rebrand theological ideas as cocktails. Send us your recipes! Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now!...

We carry on exploring yet more fallout from 'the now famous epiphany'. Joe changes his theme, Nick has learnt the benefit of staying put, and we explore whether 'acceptance' is too close to fatalism, and the importance of finding the right things to pray for. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Mentioned in this epis...

Last week Joe had an epiphany. This week Nick's written a 'poem-ish thing'. We talk more about the need for acceptance and how we so often fail to recognise the wonder of 'ordinary time'. Also we discuss resisting the urge to solve things, the need to spend time in neutral, the latest film from Kevin Branagh and Nick's latest 'messiah purchase'. (Astute listeners will notice that the intro reaches...

Joe has had an epiphany. Nick has been to a baptism. We talk about the need for radical acceptance in life, about the difference between themes and goals and how we need to remind ourselves why we went to church in the first place. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Links to stuff mentioned in the show 'Hope Is Not...

It's our 2022 themes episode. We reflect on how our themes worked out last year, and look ahead to what we're going to be concentrating on in ZOZZ. (Or 2022 as some call it.) But we start something very serious: our very first Mid-faith Crisis Ministerial Scandal. Resign! Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now! Cortex: Y...

Nick has some thoughts on the cricket and whether we can draw any spiritual lessons from sport. Can we plan for spiritual success? What would that even look like? How does our view of God affect our confidence in the spiritual life? Can we learn to play - or even pray - without fear? Also we are confronted with an ornithological-based heresy and we talk about the military symbolism of the Gadarene...

It's a Christmas Day episode. Nick has discovered cocktails, Joe has mastered snowballs. We discuss our suddenly altered Christmas plans, talk about what it means to bring good news to all people at Christmas, and we end with a quote from Gandalf. Or not. See you in Zozz! Support the podcast Contact the podcast through your email machine The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now!

We talk about Christmas and mid-faith. How do we approach the nativity stories? Are they historic accounts or symbolic tales? What is striking us about advent this year? Also, we talk theological tenancy agreements, the Devil's vegetable and whether some people will have a restricted view of the second coming. Oh, and Nick has an award. Of sorts. Support the podcast Contact the podcast through you...

Yes, it's here. We have an interview with Becky Francis, a sex therapist and relationships counsellor. What is the relationship between sex and mid-faith crisis? How can counselling help? And why is it that something which God created is only really talked about by Christians in 'shameful' ways? It goes without saying that this episode contains some sexual content, so best not to listen to this wi...

There seem to be a lot of trigger words in this week's podcast, some quite surprising. Mainly we talk about discipleship and whether trying to be like Christ is really setting the bar too high. As well as discussing what has helped us move towards Christlikeness, we also talk about special cuddles, a trial separation from church and Nick gets very angry about sabbaticals. Support the podcast Conta...