INTENT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!

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…

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

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!

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…

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…

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.

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.

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?

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

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...

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

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?

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?

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/

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?

Steve and Jim reflect on the journey so far, thinking about relationships and friendships, how they develop, and how we might try and culture them.

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: https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Name-Hope-depression-melancholy-ebook/dp/B0073M85XW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Jim and Steve get lost in a world of decisions and choices. How exactly are you supposed to find a way through the maze and confusions of life and not lose yourself in the middle of it?

Jim asks Steve how he could learn to have better conversations with other people. What advice does he get, and could you apply it to anyone you might end up talking to?

Steve and Jim think about their ever-shorter attention spans and weigh up their relationships with social media. Where can we find life amidst infinite scrolling?

Jim and Steve wonder about where they find themselves in lockdown, and what the pathway on from here might look like. Is there anything to be gained from the here and now, or is all about the future?

Jim deals with a slippery customer in the kitchen, and Steve is yet another victim of painful gentrification. What do we do with the wounds we pick up along the way, and how are we mindful of the impa

Steve shares his experiences of being beaten at video games while Jim tries repeatedly to learn his lesson. What views do we have of ourselves, and are we willing to change our minds?

Jim and Steve talk about the ebb and flow of life and its impact on mental wellbeing, reflecting on the blues and trying to develop ways of discussing and working on our mental health.

Steve ponders fashion and wish lists while Jim pings around on a spectrum between depression and melancholy. Could there be freedom within and beyond the cycles of behaviour we find ourselves in?

Steve and Jim talk technology, weather patterns, and wonder about the next 500 years as they continue their conversations on real life.

Jim and Steve kick off a series of conversations on real life, thinking about the weight of perceived expectations of others, motivations, and vulnerability.