by The Collaborative
Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative helping Christians to faithfully live out their faith in their work. We recognize most of life is not lived in black and white but rather lived in the gray, lived in the nuance. You can find more, including complementary spiritual exercises, at www.collaborativeorlando.com/nuance.
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
8/29/2022
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June 25, 2026
<p>You believe faith belongs in the public square, and you've tried to be a faithful presence, but you are simply tired. What happens when your neighbors aren't interested in connecting, or your workplace treats your convictions as a liability? </p><p>Facing a culture that is increasingly hostile to faith can be exhausting, tempting many to adopt a posture of grievance or to withdraw into their comfortable homes. </p><p>In this episode of Nuance, regular host Case Thorp takes the hot seat as guest host Katie Shook asks the hard questions about faith under pressure. Case gets honest about the real cost of showing up in the public square, sharing a personal story about a neighborhood dispute over backyard chickens that tested his commitment to loving his neighbors. They unpack the difference between engaging culture with grace versus angrily fighting back, the temptation to make faith overly palatable, and why creating new things is a better response than endless critique. </p><p>From finding hope in the longevity of institutions to learning how to focus on the micro when national issues feel overwhelming, Case and Katie provide a practical roadmap for staying grounded and kind in an angry world. </p><p>🔑 Key Topics Covered in This Episode:</p><p>🐔 The Cost of Presence: A firsthand look at what it costs to stay engaged, featuring a story about zoning laws, backyard chickens, and maintaining a Christian witness when neighbors push back. </p><p> 🎨 Creating vs. Critiquing: Why Christians should focus on creating art, beauty, and positive environments rather than just sitting back and complaining about cultural shifts. </p><p>🏛️ The Power of Institutions: Exploring why society has lost trust in organizations, and why investing in healthy, long-lasting institutions is still crucial for stability. </p><p>🔬 Focusing on the Micro: Practical encouragement to stop stressing over massive national headlines and start serving the people directly in front of you. </p><p>🚪 Knowing When to Step Back: How to exercise wisdom and discernment when someone isn't ready for a deeper conversation, and learning to trust God's timing. </p><p>For more resources, including ways to get involved with The Collaborative, visit wecolabor.com</p><p>Timestamps<br>0:00 Do You Know Your Neighbors?</p><p>0:21 Case Thorp Takes the Hot Seat </p><p>2:54 Exploring Faith In The Public Square </p><p>3:17 The Real Cost Of Faithful Presence </p><p>4:06 Navigating Zoning Laws and Backyard Chickens </p><p>9:09 Maintaining Righteousness During Conflict </p><p>10:21 When Christians Should Withdraw From Culture </p><p>11:58 Staying Kind In A Tacky Culture </p><p>14:09 Assessing Cultural Hostility Toward Faith </p><p>16:47 Avoiding a Posture of Grievance </p><p>18:13 The Danger of Making Faith Too Palatable </p><p>19:50 Creating New Culture Instead of Critiquing </p><p>21:47 Escaping The Comfort of Netflix Homes </p><p>25:10 Handling People Who Reject You </p><p>28:58 Why Society Needs Long Term Institutions </p><p>32:25 Knowing When To Shut Down Failing Institutions </p><p>35:54 Finding Real Rest When You Feel Burned Out </p><p>38:26 Solving Overwhelm By Focusing on the Micro </p><p>40:30 The Powerful Lessons of Staying in One Place </p><p>43:21 The Biggest Fear for the Modern Church </p><p>44:43 Final Thoughts</p>
June 18, 2026
<p>What happens when the foundational beliefs of your faith meet deep personal suffering? For many believers, major life wounds, like childhood church hurt or the loss of a close friend, make a good and powerful God feel distant. When the anchor meant to hold you steady seems to give way, the spiritual crisis makes all other suffering worse.</p><p>In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp welcomes back Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague, co-authors of Mid-Faith Crisis, to discuss the personal origin stories behind their book. Catherine shares the difficult experience of being shunned by her church family at twelve years old. Jason discusses the grief of his children's severe health diagnoses and the loss of a close friend, leaving him preaching sermons he was not sure he believed. Case also shares about trusting God's providence during his wife's battle with cancer and a recent stroke.</p><p>Catherine and Jason offer practical steps for surviving dark spiritual valleys, like practicing honest lament and using contemplative prayer to calm the nervous system. They explain how taking your anger directly to God and finding a safe community can lead to a mature faith.</p><p>🔑 <strong>Key Topics Covered in This Episode</strong>:</p><ul><li>🌪️ <strong>The Compounding Crisis</strong>: A faith crisis makes health or vocational struggles much harder. We discuss what it feels like when your spiritual anchor is lost.</li><li>💔 <strong>The Broken Contract</strong>: The unique struggle of believing in a good and powerful God when circumstances are painful.</li><li>🐑<strong> The Seeking Shepherd</strong>: Catherine's experience of trusting God's slow providence and moving from decades of darkness into new spiritual life.</li><li>🗣️ <strong>The Power of Lament</strong>: Hiding our anger creates distance from God. We look at why bringing your frustration to the Lord is a biblical practice.</li><li>🧘 <strong>Contemplative Healing</strong>: Using the Prayer of Examen and breath prayers to soothe spiritual trauma and remember what we already believe.</li></ul><p><strong>📚 Episode Resources:</strong></p><ul><li>Mid-Faith Crisis: Finding a Path Through Doubt, Disillusionment, and Dead Ends by Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague: https://www.ivpress.com/mid-faith-crisis</li><li>Catherine McNiel's website: https://catherinemcniel.com/</li><li>Jason Hague's website: https://jasonhague.com</li><li>InterVarsity Press: https://www.ivpress.com/</li></ul><p>Timestamps:<br>0:00 The Challenge of a Good God <br>0:35 The Backstory of "Mid-Faith Crisis" </p><p>2:00 Catherine's Story: Enduring Church Hurt at Age 12 </p><p>5:28 Jason's Story: Adulthood, Grief, and Unanswered Prayers </p><p>7:44 Why Faith Crises Compound All Other Suffering </p><p>12:00 Finding God as the Seeking Shepherd </p><p>14:48 Trusting God's Providence Through Severe Health Trials </p><p>17:09 Advice for Those Currently in a Faith Crisis </p><p>18:59 The Power of Honest Lament </p><p>23:05 Contemplative Practices and the Prayer of Examen </p><p>27:11 Advice for the Next Generation: Don't Walk Alone </p><p>28:54 Concluding Thoughts</p>
June 11, 2026
<p>What happens when the confident, inherited faith you've relied on suddenly fractures? Many believers eventually hit a wall where doubt, suffering, or church hurt make everything they thought they knew feel like it's dissolving. </p><p>Navigating this disillusionment isn't a sign of failure. It is often a deeply normal, expected part of the spiritual lifecycle that is rarely talked about openly. </p><p>In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp sits down with Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague, co-authors of the book Mid-Faith Crisis. Catherine and Jason unpack the difference between toxic spiritual environments and normal human failing, the danger of bringing consumer-culture expectations into our theology, and how to survive the inevitable valleys of faith. Drawing on their pastoral and personal experiences, they provide a roadmap for believers who feel stuck, showing that the path to true spiritual maturity often requires moving past easy answers and learning to sit in the sanctuary of God's presence. </p><p>From releasing unrealistic expectations to understanding the spiritual rhythms of consolation and desolation, Catherine and Jason help modern believers see how pressing through the darkness eventually leads to a more resilient, flourishing faith. </p><p><strong>🔑 Key Topics Covered in This Episode:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>📉 The Mid-Faith Crisis:</strong> Defining what it means to hit a spiritual dead end after years of commitment, and why it so closely parallels a mid-life crisis. </li><li><strong>⛰️ Valleys vs. Mountaintops:</strong> Why the expectation of a constantly flourishing faith is unbiblical, and how to embrace the natural spiritual seasons of consolation and desolation. </li><li><strong>⛪ Navigating Church Hurt:</strong> Discerning the crucial difference between toxic, abusive institutions that lack accountability and normal, flawed human communities. </li><li><strong>🛒 Consumer-Culture Christianity:</strong> How "magic bullet" theology and false expectations set us up for profound disappointment when real-world suffering strikes. </li><li><strong>📖 Psalm 73 and Sanctuary:</strong> Finding hope and reorientation not by demanding immediate answers, but by remaining present in the sanctuary of God. </li></ul><p><strong>📚 Episode Resources:</strong></p><ul><li>Mid-Faith Crisis: Finding a Path Through Doubt, Disillusionment, and Dead Ends by Catherine McNiel and Jason Hague: https://www.ivpress.com/mid-faith-crisis</li><li>Catherine McNiel's website: https://catherinemcniel.com/</li><li>Jason Hague's website: https://jasonhague.com</li><li>InterVarsity Press: https://www.ivpress.com/</li></ul><p>Timestamps:<br>0:00 Introducing Catherine McNeil and Jason Hague </p><p>3:18 The Reality of Mid-Faith Crisis</p><p>5:09 Case's Story of Church Brokenness </p><p>6:08 Defining a "Mid-Faith Crisis" </p><p>8:08 Unmet Expectations and Disappointment </p><p>9:42 Normalizing the Valley: Moving Off the Mountaintop </p><p>12:09 Understanding Consolation and Desolation </p><p>14:41 How Consumer Culture Warps Faith Expectations </p><p>16:20 The Impact of Suffering and Disillusionment </p><p>17:56 Navigating Toxic Institutions and Church Scandal </p><p>25:17 When God Doesn't Meet Our Expectations </p><p>29:48 Finding Hope in Psalm 73 </p><p>31:50 Releasing Expectations and Embracing Curiosity </p><p>34:00 The Fear of Losing Jesus </p><p>35:56 Practical Steps for Spiritual Renewal </p><p>38:35 Concluding Thoughts</p>
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Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative helping Christians to faithfully live out their faith in their work. We recognize most of life is not lived in black and white but rather lived in the gray, lived in the nuance.
You can find more, including complementary spiritual exercises, at www.collaborativeorlando.com/nuance.
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