INTENT
By Balham Baptist Church
INTENTOct 20, 2022
42. Initially I Can Get Very Defensive
How easy do you find to listen to criticism from others? How quickly do you dole it out?
This week, Steve and Jim are exploring the way we process critical comments, how we handle them, and the impact they can have. Is there a way of engaging with them helpfully? Can they give us some insight about ourselves?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
41. I'm Wearing Different Clothes Now
How much thought do you put into what you wear in the morning? Does it matter?
Join Steve and Jim this week as they wrestle with fashion, what its place is, and whether it can give us an insight into the unseen self. Are our clothes a doorway to the soul, or just another mask?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
40. Now And Then You'll Have A Beautiful Moment
What’s your go-to conversation-starter? What supercharged questions do you try and dredge up for slow-going chats?
Join Jim and Steve in the thickets and thorns of everyday conversations this week as they wonder about how we talk to others – those we know well, and those we don’t. Could any of it affect how we speak to God?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
39. It Felt Like Something You Could Do
Well, there’s nothing like the moving of world events to highlight how podcast scheduling can make conversations irrelevant before they’ve even seen the light of day. Anyways, in the world we all inhabit following the Queen’s State Funeral, here are Jim and Steve talking about her passing from several days beforehand. How did her death impact you, or has it been hard to engage with?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
38. You Can Go, Run and Explore It
What’s the pathway of life look like from your point of view? A yellow brick road? A tangled thicket? A tightrope?
This week Steve and Jim get caught up wondering about choice, opportunity and exploring. Has God got a single path that we need to stick to, or is there more freedom to life than that? Which way do we go next?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
37. Sometimes Bricks Need Taking Out
What do you do when your beliefs jar with your experiences in life? Do you bin the lot? Or just take them apart in the hope that they’ll magically put themselves back together afterwards?
In this week’s chat Steve and Jim ponder how perspectives are shaped by those we journey alongside. Does it matter if we ignore to those we disagree with?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
36. It’s All Too Easy To Try and Deny It
How do the storms of life (or lack of them) shape the way we grow? Is it possible to have a continually brilliant existence, and would we want to? This week Jim and Steve plunder weather and garden metaphors for far too long, but who knows, perhaps there’s something to be found amidst the dusty grasslands?
As ever you can get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk, or just get in touch through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
35. If I Can Get To Be In The Ocean
Can you work AND be on holiday? If you could, that must surely open up a whole new world of wonderful experience, right? Steve and Jim this week wonder if it’s possible, as well as exploring how likely it is of actually being stuck in 1953…
Get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk
Or get in touch as ever through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
34. It’s Still You Who Holds It
What’s your take on justice? Is it just about punishment? Or would we rather a more restorative approach when we’re the offending party? Jim and Steve wonder about becoming local vigilantes this week – Balham may not thank them for it!
Get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk
Or get in touch as ever through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
33. Where Are There Cracks In The House?
In the hottest week of the year will Steve and Jim wilt in the heat? Will their plans for coolness succeed? Join the conversation this week – can we actually plan for life in the in-between times or will we be forever chained to responding to the urgent?
Get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk
Or get in touch as ever through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
32. Are You Ok For Money?
How do you organise your time during the week? With rigid routines and heavy planning or a free-spirited spontaneity? This week Jim and Steve are wondering about what they focus on, the things that distract, and quite how you’re supposed to care about others in a self-centering world. Does it matter if we start thinking about ourselves less?
Get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk
Or get in touch as ever through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
31. I've Never Understood That About Dentists
WELCOME TO SEASON 3!
As we head into the warmer months join Steve and Jim as they agin wrestle with real life (trying at times not to touch it). How do we deal with the difficulties we face? How do they shape us, and how do they make us aware of how others swim in similar waters?
Get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk
Or get in touch as ever through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
30. Was That Just For Then?
What’s been straining under the weight of current demands this week? Join Jim and Steve as their backs, devices and even beliefs are feeling the pinch. Can you question everything you hear? What if it’s God?
Get involved in the conversation on Twitter through @IntentTalk
Or get in touch as ever through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
29. Then I Started To Think
What were the jokes that got the biggest laughs in the playground growing up? Would you tell them now? This week Steve and Jim chat about differences – the ones we see, the ones we don’t, and the ones we’re completely ignorant of. As well as asking, “Should you ever ask someone how they are?”
And remember you can get in touch with us through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk - we’d love to hear from you!
28. Going Back To The Security Blanket
What brings you comfort in life? Are you still striving for the pre-Covid comfort you think you had? Join Jim and Steve as they wonder how the things they sought comfort in as children might shape how they seek comfort now in a chaotic world. Are they in any way helpful?
Don’t forget you can get in touch with us through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk - we’d love to hear from you!
27. Obsessive Is Too Strong A Word
Have you had a run-in with an animal? How did it affect you? Did you shake it off quickly? This week Steve and Jim explore the small yet powerful impacts that can shape the way that we live life. Plus Steve give s little too much information about his current pastimes…
26. Grit In Their Discipleship
How connected do we feel to the world beyond our borders? Does it affect us? Do some parts of it affect us more than others? This week Jim and Steve wrestle with the situation in Ukraine, getting tangled up in their own selfishness and self-centredness. Where do we go from here?
If you want to find the Rebuilders podcast on Ukraine that is mentioned, you can listen to it here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rebuilders/id1462274371?i=1000552655658
25. This Might End One Day
Are you dust? Are we all dust? It doesn’t exactly sound like the best premise for a positive perspective. Join Steve as he tries to embrace his dust-ness (whatever that means), and Jim gets a bit distracted by cake and the slow (but increasingly speedy) marching of the years.
Don’t forget you can get in touch with us through jim@balhambaptist.co.uk - we’d love to hear from you!
24. It Feels The Same As When I Was Seven
When was the last time you mucked up? How did it feel? What stories did you start telling yourself? Did you try again? Jim’s wondering about his diary mishaps and fairground games while Steve asks the big questions of life…
23. My Energy Comes From Being With People
How much do you seek out other people? What’s included in the American Declaration of Independence? How do we go about bringing life to the world around us when we don’t feel like it? Join Jim and Steve this week if you’re happy for these questions to be overlooked almost entirely…
22. A Transcendental Experience
WELCOME TO SEASON 2!
Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? How do you want to live life in 2022? What things do you find in everyday life that are thoroughly mundane? Jim and Steve ponder with all this and more as season 2 of INTENT kicks off for another series of conversations.
21. You Could Click Your Heels
Are there any words you find hard to spell? Or any you don’t understand? Jim and Steve try to get to grips with a few this week, and wonder about their life choices, as well as comparing the encouragements they offer others on the roadways around South London.
20. One Of Those Days?
What’s going on this week? Why’s everyone so flat? Is there something in the air? Or in the water? Is there anything we can do about it?
19. Invisible To Others
Steve’s been in the wars, and Jim is almost sympathetic, before talking all things health - what is seen and what is hidden (maybe for good reason) - plus there’s the odd dive down unhelpful rabbit holes.
And if you’re interested in Michael Holding’s book “Why We Kneel How We Rise”, you can find it here:
https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Michael-Holding/Why-We-Kneel-How-We-Rise/25440108
18. The Sheer Outpouring of Joy
Well it’s been quite a week - Jim and Steve wrestle with global and local stresses, strains and questions about the future and spiritual exploration. As well as just a tiny bit reflecting on 22 men chasing a ball around a field...
17. Have I Ever Been On A Steam Train?
What does pressure mean for you? Jim and Steve discuss their own journeys with pressure and nerves, as well as the potential for healing through those around us. What kind of energy do we bring to others and how does it affect them?
Steve mentions Phyllis Tickle’s book “The Divine Hours” which you can find here: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Phyllis-Tickle/The-Divine-HoursTM-Pocket-Edition/11411564
16. There, There, Don’t Worry
Steve and Jim wonder about resilience and about the different tones of voice we respond to. Could there be times when we need strong, straight talking friends, or do we just want others to mop our brow?
15. You Can't Do Both
Steve’s hacked his way through technical issues to join us, and Jim is his usual sympathetic self. And just how much does sleep affect us and the world around us?
14. Look At The Future
Both Jim and Steve are wondering how you find grounding points in a busy and chaotic world. Is it as simple as noticing what’s going on around us?
To connect with us get in touch with any comments, thoughts and questions to jim@balhambaptist.co.uk
And to find out more about Balham Baptist Church, find us on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/BalhamBaptistChurch/
Or on Instagram @BalhamBaptist
https://www.instagram.com/balhambaptist/
13. On The Pavement Outside
Jim’s moved house and is struggling to get his head around it, and Steve ponders the connection past places, experiences and relationships have on us as we bumble along through life. What does the world ahead and behind you look like?
12. Are You Doing Anything Different?
11. Is This Alright?
Steve’s fresh from going beyond London for the first time in a while, and Jim’s had a haircut - but how did it all feel? How do you go through a doorway when you can’t see what’s beyond it?
Steve mentions John Mark Comer’s book “My Name Is Hope”, which you can find here:
10. A Deliberate Choice
9. The Inner Workings
8. Doing All The Stuff
7. Everything's In Perfect Balance
6. You Kind Of Absorb It
5. Everybody Thinks They're Right
4. I'm Just Tired
3. Not A Bad Thing
2. Snow Out The Window
Steve and Jim talk technology, weather patterns, and wonder about the next 500 years as they continue their conversations on real life.
1. Why Don't I...?
Jim and Steve kick off a series of conversations on real life, thinking about the weight of perceived expectations of others, motivations, and vulnerability.