In this special episode, featuring the occasional serious answer and several shameless plugs, the Living Out team reflect on 2025 and look ahead to 2026. We hope you enjoy seeing in the new year with us!

The questions 

• What’s one moment in 2025 that you’re grateful for?
• What habit or practice have you found helpful in the last year?
• Who has inspired you this year?
• What book, film, or song has shaped your thinking?
• What’s one challenge that you overcame this year, or something brave that you did?
• Describe your faith journey in 2025 in one word.
• What has surprised you about yourself this year?
• What’s one hope or goal you have for 2026?

Resources mentioned and related 

• Kaleidoscope 
• The Intimacy Deficit by Ed Shaw 
• Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper 
• The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling 
• John Piper’s series on Hebrews 
• John Piper’s series on Romans 
• The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary by Christopher Ash 
• The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis 
• The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis 
• Pray Without Ceasing by Wendell Berry (found in Fidelity: Five Stories) 
• The ‘film with some kind of musical theme’ that Andy considers himself brave for enduring

Does the Bible actually prohibit same-sex sexual relationships? And if it does, are those prohibitions binding on us today? 

Ashleigh, Andy and Andrew talk through some of the arguments here, the things we can agree or empathise with in those arguments, and why ultimately we believe in the historic Christian sexual ethic.

Resources mentioned and related

• Did Jesus Affirm Same-Sex Sexual Relationships?, Andrew Bunt 
• People to be Loved: Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue by Preston Sprinkle 
• Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?: 21 Conversations From a Historically Christian View by Preston Sprinkle 
• Why Do Christians Trust the Bible?, Andrew Bunt 
• Can Christians Trust What the Bible Says on the Topic of Sex?, Andrew Bunt  
• Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships?: Examining 10 Claims about Scripture and Sexuality by Rebecca McLaughlin 
• What Does Sexuality Have to Do With the Gospel?, Ashleigh Hull
• And if this series is raising more questions than it answers, ask us those questions here!

Why is it important to engage with objections and disagreement? Can we actually do that while still loving people? Andrew is joined by Preston Sprinkle (Centre for Faith, Sexuality and Gender) and Katherine Brown (Evangelical Alliance) to chat about these questions.

In the second half of the episode, they talk through some principles for having fruitful conversations from Preston’s book Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage? 

Resources mentioned and related

• Preston’s podcast, Theology in the Raw 
• Andrew's conversation with Charlie Bell on Premier Unbelievable? 
• Katherine’s story 
• Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage? by Preston Sprinkle (in particular see Ch1, ‘Foundation 1: How to Have a Fruitful Conversation’) 
• Engaging With LGBT Mental Health, Andrew Bunt 
• The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. And some things on our website engaging with Haidt's work: 
  • How We Determine What is Good (and How That Helps Us Communicate Better), Ed Shaw 
  • Understanding Youth Culture feat. Mike Snowdon (Youth Leaders' Crash Course #1) 
• Think Again by Adam Grant 
• The Art of Disagreeing by Gavin Ortlund  
• And if this series is raising more questions than it answers, ask us those questions here!

When people hear that Living Out - a group of same-sex attracted Christians - believe that sex is reserved for the marriage of a man and a woman, they tend to have questions...

How does our intimacy (or lack of intimacy) with creation impact our intimacy with God, ourselves and others? Will the sea be warmer in the new creation? And when's the Intimacy Deficit merch dropping? Ed and Andy are joined by Anne to answer all the important questions.

Resources mentioned and related 

• The Intimacy Deficit by Ed Shaw
• God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World by Andrew Wilson
• Brick
• Habitica
• iNaturalist  
• Merlin
• Keswick Convention talks on the intimacy deficit

Ed and Jo are joined by Jez Field to talk about intimacy with others. What are the catalysts for this kind of intimacy? What are some of the barriers to it? And do women need intimate friendships more than men do? 

Resources mentioned and related 

• The Intimacy Deficit by Ed Shaw
• Jez’s review of The Intimacy Deficit 
• Billy No-Mates: How I Realised Men Have a Friendship Problem by Max Dickins
• More from Jez on the Living Out website
• Keswick Convention talks on the intimacy deficit
• Living Out podcast series - Friendship

Intimacy with yourself – feeling comfortable in your own skin – being able to be honest with yourself about yourself. How do we grow in this? Isn’t it all a bit narcissistic and unChristian? How does it connect to intimacy with God and with others? Ed, Andrew and Jeanette talk it through. 

Resources mentioned and related 

• The Intimacy Deficit by Ed Shaw
• Keswick Convention talks on the intimacy deficit 
• Hear Jeanette’s story, in 5 minutes or in 30 minutes
• Jeanette’s latest book, ‘Betrothed: wooed by a greater love’ 

Ed and Adam chat with our guest Andrew Nicholls. What do we mean when we talk about intimacy with God? How do we experience it? And what gets in the way? 

Resources mentioned and related 

• The Intimacy Deficit Ed Shaw
• Keswick Convention talks on the intimacy deficit 
• Delight Podcast Episode 2: Meditation – dwelling on God’s truth 

In the first episode of our new series, Jo and Ashleigh quiz Ed on what the intimacy deficit is, why he’s written a book about it, where he struggles with intimacy himself – and, of course, whether he should get a dog. 

Resources mentioned and related 

• The Intimacy Deficit Ed Shaw
• Have You Been Intimate with Anyone Recently? Andrew Bunt 
• Keswick Convention talks on the intimacy deficit 
• Kaleidoscope

Ed's recent book, The Intimacy Deficit, helps us to think about our connection with God, ourselves, others, and creation. In this series we want to expand on the ideas in Ed’s book, involving more voices in the conversation, and hopefully helping all of us to deepen our experiences of intimacy.