Doing The Stuff

With scant regard for how much notice you’ve had - it’s the last episode of Doing the Stuff.Thank you for tuning in! We’ve hope you’ve been encouraged, had your thoughts provoked, and maybe-possibly been helped somewhere in there too, to do the stuff. Tune in to this final episode as Mark and Andy as they look back on the journey that’s been, and give some parting words for what’s ahead!

You know what a boat is, but can you sail? You might know about God, but do you know God? This week Mark and Andy talk about why Doing the Stuff is about ‘doing’, and not just knowing. We’re in a relationship with God, not just following a moral code. But how do we get away from the platitudes, and actually get to know our God? How do we experience him and do the day-to-day alongside him? Tune in for the penultimate (nothing to do with stationary) episode of Doing the Stuff, and get walking with God.

They’re back! Mark and Andy sit down at the microphone to begin Doing the Stuff for 2018. First topic off the ranks is soccer. Soccer clubs, that is. A general run down on communities as a whole, really. How do we do community well? It looks like there’s a lot to do with expectations: What am I wanting to get out of it? What am I going to invest into it? How far into this community am I willing to go? Along the way Mark and Andy talk the trinity - God being in community with himself. The early church and how it freaks Mark out a bit, and also how to say ‘no’.

Andy's coined a new word. Mark's dabbling in psychology. They're both talking about terraforming, but aren't 100% about what it really means. When you think about next year, do you feel in control? Is it going to happen to you, or are you going to make it happen?

It's a tough one, it's life-changing, but sometimes we need to quit. It could be a bad thing you're desperate to get out of, but it could also be a trade-off between two great things. Point is, knowing when to leave is hard. Thankfully, Mark and Andy are here to help us out. Well actually, God's showing us a path he's laid before us.

We're fast approaching the end of the year, and also the reflective season here at Doing the Stuff. This week Mark and Andy talk 'Kronos', 'Kairos' and other Greek words as they reflect on our decisions to change. Lets walk in the work God's prepared for us to do.  

What if I fail? What if I look like an idiot? What if it all goes wrong? Fear. The destroyer of dreams, the opposite of truth, the frightening combination of both snakes and clowns… Fear is inevitable, but how do we overcome it? Mark and Andy talk about the role of truth to defeat fear.

Here’s a familiar dilemma. We love the idea of work, but sometimes we just don’t want to do it, even if we like our jobs. And if we don’t like our jobs, well, that’s just The End! Mark and Andy unpack what work is good for, and what our best attitude towards it might be. Andy also unpacks his new lunchbox, but that’s another story. What significance is the relationship between faith and work? How can we invite God into the situations that frustrate us? Maybe the answer to our work-woes are found in trust and porpoises. Purpose, I mean. Tune in to this episode and find the redemptive edge to your work life, and even be a part of God’s bigger picture of reconciliation.

Imagination can feel a bit… childish, but you can’t build what you can’t see. This week Mark and Andy talk about the role of imagination in our Doing the Stuff lives. How do you foster creativity, what does vision look like, and why engage in dreaming? Changing the world, building a business, growing a church, creating anything(!) requires dozens of decisions every day. We thankfully have God to partner with on our imagineering process.  

We’re in a hurry. Everyone’s busy, and busy all the time. There are big decisions to be made, worries in the back of your head, and no end of the things to do. We’re stressed. When do we get off this horse? Stress is hurry sickness. Or at least, it might be a good way to think about, says Mark. Meanwhile, Andy dabbles in some beginner neuroscience, limbic systems and frontal cortex whatnot. So how do we rid ourselves of stress, and get some space? Naming what you’re feeling, speaking it, writing it down - praying, singing! Allows us to stop simply ‘reacting’ and actually make a good decision on how to deal with it. It might not be for the faint hearted! But it’s really, kinda necessary.

“We’re qualified, and believe it can be done.” This week Mark and Andy have another listen to the John Wimber sermon that started it all, back in episode one. What holds us back from doing the stuff? Andy compares us to the burning bush before Moses. Like the bush that is on fire but does not burn, God brings us life rather than consuming it.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Do I have what it takes?” We constantly face new challenges and situations, and inevitably we ask this question. Will I succeed or fail? Mark and Andy tackle this question, how it follows us around, and how it can paralyse us with fear. One answer, of course, is you don’t know until you try. But is that the only answer? Where does God fit in the picture, and does success even matter?

If there's not enough risk in our lives, every so often, we inject it ourselves! We get the feeling that things just aren't quite right, and then sabotage what we would otherwise think of the status quo. Mark and Andy talk about the ten year itch - how to identify it and what to do about it.  

In this episode, Mark and Andy ponder the intersection of thinking and doing and the driving force behind both. Our society values right thinking and right doing, but so much of our behaviour is automatic - good and bad. So, what’s going on under the hood of your car? What drives you?

Everyone has beliefs, and they’re changing and growing all the time. Some of them are big and important, shaping the direction of our entire lives. Some beliefs are less significant: whether pineapple belongs on pizza… But how do our beliefs change? And how does it impact our identity? Mark tells us about his ‘Beliefonomics’ concept, which map the belief journey from unbelief, through reconsidering, stress, hunting, truth and finally to belief.

Oh yeah, it’s the men’s retreat episode! What if you’re part of a community, and you’ve decided to do the stuff? A whole weekend bonding with the blokes, talking and investing in your spiritual life? Sounds a bit, um, confronting? Well, here’s what you need to know before you plunge into the big event: Mark and Andy’s (not very serious) tips for surviving the men’s retreat. It might be awkward or hard at times but despite this week’s tongue-in-cheek attitude, make no mistake, talking about life matters.

This week Mark and Andy get philosophical with the question: What are you looking forward to? Andy read an article that suggested that the key to happiness is having something to look forward to. But what if we’re looking forward to the wrong thing, and what happens when you arrive?

Mark ponders mystics. Andy sees a seed hopper. God can often use methods of communication that we’re not familiar with. And without the benefit of hindsight it can be easy to miss what he’s saying and how it fits into the bigger picture of your life. What is God saying to you on your journey? Based on God’s track record he might just interrupt and give directions. Are you praying for your metaphorical seed hopper?

Grief is confronting. Feelings of pain, loss and sadness - that you can’t just put a lid on. The experience is different for different people. The amount of time the journey takes, and the intensity too.  There’s an understanding that you need to ‘let it happen’. But how do you deal with it? What do you say? When will this relent? How does God fit in this picture? The questions are many, and the conversations often few. Andy and Mark wade through grief like treacle, as they talk about being real in the face of loss.

God shows up, whether we deserve it or not. This episode, Mark and Andy are talking about Jacob, and the relative comfort or comfortlessness of sleeping with a rock for a pillow. Jacob has hit rock bottom - rejected, homeless, hungry. And God visits him. Jacob's stone pillow becomes the pillar of the house of God. God is with us when we cry out, but also when we don't. Our moments of failing and stress become right in God's presence.