Mid-faith Crisis

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.

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• 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?

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• Staying Defiantly: What does it look like for church leaders to stay when the church leaves you frustrated.

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.

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• Staying Defiantly

Mentioned in this episode:

• Hamza Yassin & Jowita Przystał Salsa
• Episode 51: The Mystery of the Cross
• Episode 50: The Scandal of The Cross

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?

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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.

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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.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• James Bryan Smith, The Good And Beautiful You
• Stuart Murray Williams

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?

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Paul Field, God of the Moon and Stars
• Glory be to God for dogs…
• Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks

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.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Fisherman's Friends: One and All
• Brian McLaren: Do I Stay Christian?

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.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Trickster: The Many Lives of Carlos Castaneda
• Bullet Train
• Alan Moore: Storytelling

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!

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