Mid-faith Crisis

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!

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Oliver Burkeman, Four Thousand Weeks
• BBC: This is Going to Hurt
• Harry Enfield and Chums: Considerably Richer than You
• Another 'Considerably Richer than You' (low-res but a favourite)

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.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Inside Out
• Islands of Abandonment, Cal Flyn
• BBC: The Green Planet

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 a new low, and not just because Nick has the wrong glasses on.)

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• Nick's poem-ish thing
• Gerard Manley Hopkins, 'Pied Beauty'
• Kevin Branagh's Belfast
• Episode 148: The Messiah Purchase

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.

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• 'Hope Is Not a Bird, Emily, It's a Sewer Rat' by Caitlin Seida
• “The Golden Triangle” of Spiritual Transformation
• The Serenity prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr

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!

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• Cortex: Your Theme
• Theme System Journal
• Episode 142: Own Your Nickness
• Episode 98: Your new year's theme

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 swine. Like you do.

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• Don't Look Up
• Around the World in Eighty Days
• Things Fell Apart - Jon Ronson
• Jesus and the Pigs - from the Wrong Messiah
• Episode 142: Own Your Nickness
• Episode 98: Your new year's theme

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!

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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.

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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 with your parents.

• Becky Francis - Hope Counselling
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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.

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• The Mid-Faith Crisis week at Lee Abbey - Book Now!