Lots of stuff in this week’s episode, but it seemed to me to have a common theme of depth.
We talk about reading the Bible not more widely, but more deeply – learning a passage, or simply taking one verse and dwelling on it for a long time.
And following on from last week’s recap on the idea of stages of faith, we discuss how the Mid-faith Crisis could simply be motivated by a desire to go deeper, to find out more, to go beyond the superficial.
In this week’s episode, we revisit the idea of stages of faith – which is really what this podcast is all about. The idea of Mid-faith Crisis was also behind my book The Dark Night of the Shed. During the podcast, however, we also touch on how this isn’t just a spiritual journey: you can see the stages reflected in stories, worked out in relationships and patterned in life itself.
In our latest episode, Joe and I discuss our themes for the New Year.1 (Our New Year begins on March 25 as was the custom up until the late eighteenth century.)
My theme for this year is focus. I’ve been struggling against the endless waves of distraction for a long time now, and I need to do something to arrest the slide. Moving to micro.blog was one way to avoid distractions of social media whilst still having an online presence.
In this episode we reflect on what the Easter story means for us this year. I’ve been particularly thinking about how the shape of the week – from triumph and joy, through perplexity and darkness, to new life and resurrection – is one of the basic human stories and also the shape of so many of our faith journeys.
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In our latest episode, Joe and I discuss the nature of praise. As the song goes, ‘Praise him on the trumpet, the psaltery and harp!’ But it never really explains why. Doesn’t the obligation to praise God make him seem, well, a bit needy? And what the heck is a psaltery anyway? We talk about praise as a response, as a practice of gratitude and appreciation, how it needs to be based on intellectual content, and why attempts to do mood-altering worship never really work.
You never know what you’re going to get with our feedback! But one of the things I loved in this week’s episode was discovering that the green crockery so beloved of churches and church halls everywhere is called Beryl. It somehow fits. The rest of the feedback leads into discussions about whether our desire to achieve things is personality driven, and the proper role of regret in our lives. Although I think I will have more to say about that.
In this episode Joe talks to Jo about the menopause. And perimenopause. And post-menopause. What is it and why does it matter? And why don't we talk about it more? You will learn a lot. Jo is a very old friend of mine, who can be found at Courage Coaching.
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In the latest episode, Joe is having an existential crisis and, worryingly, is asking for my help. So we discuss meaning and purpose. What are we here for? What is our calling? Is there a purpose to our lives or are we just fooling ourselves? Is it true that everyone on earth is a pun? Does Joe’s purpose involve cheese?
In the episode I quoted Jung
The afternoon of life is just as full of meaning as the morning; only, its meaning and purpose are different…
In this episode Joe and I discuss Lent, Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. We reflect on the purpose of fasting, the way that Lent creates contours in the year, and the cheery fact that we are all going to die. From dust we are made and to dust we shall return. But what kind of dust? That’s the question.
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Last week we talked about lots of different kinds of church. This week we’re thinking about the purpose. What, actually, is the point of church? What are we supposed to do? And has this whole thing just been market research so that Joe can start a cult? Also, there’s a lot of food in this episode, none of it healthy.
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