JC Lounge The JC4Me Collective

This month, the guys were excited to welcome Taya back to the Lounge after her time away with RSC! After an April full of personal celebrations, the guys got together to discuss a few happenings in society.

A lesser known story from the last month is that of Wynn Alan Bruce; an activist who self immolated to bring awareness to the dire state of the climate. The guys discussed what causes they think are actually worth dying for (05:02) and how far is too far to go when protesting. Nathan asked questioned how you actually balance the caring for the world while understanding that the world will die, and ultimately how strongly should you hold these beliefs (10:33). Because of the nature of self immolation, as well as Wynn Alan Bruce's affiliation with Buddhism, the guys began to look at whether this is actual suicide and the glorification of suicide in particular teachings (19:12).

Taya straight back to hot takes by questioning the origins of modesty and whether or not it exists just because of men's lust (22:11). The guys discussed the different ways women are impacted by Christian views on modesty and if it actually deals with the issue. Tee shared his thoughts on community responsibility and the balance between intent and action (28:43). 

For topic sock, the panel had a conversation around how your home life and your parents shape your faith journey (38:50). They discussed their experiences of their parents faith growing up, and the impact that that has had on their own tendencies. They also discussed how when you don't have a solid faith base at home, the importance of finding mentors and people to look up to (48:49).

We're hoping to get the video back soon, but in the meantime let us know your thoughts on these topics!

We're back for another pod for March! Firstly, big apologies for the lack of video this month; unfortunately we had some of our equipment stolen. We tried to make up for that by having friend of the Collective Anike join us this month, as well as JC singer Rebekah Young & photographer Anna Howell chipping in.

There's obviously been a lot of talk this past month about physical violence with the Russia-Ukraine war and the Oscars slap, but something that hasn't had a lot of coverage is Wales passing a law that makes any type of smacking illegal. The guys opened discussing their views on physical discipline at home (05:01), which led to a conversation about the different experiences of discipline they each grew up with. Tee highlighted the racial undertones in this law (08:09) and the differences in how different cultures do discipline. Ellen asked the question of what physical discipline actually teaches you (13:07), which led to a conversation around the importance of communication of right and wrong to go along with discipline. 

We had our first guest hot take, in which Anike went straight against the idea of blocking people (27:27), claiming that the popular term "protect your peace" easily leads to a lack of accountability. The guys discussed the concept of burning bridges and how social media has impacted an individuals' responsibility in a relationship (32:35).

The guys then discussed when questioning God becomes a problem (38:05) and the difference between questioning life and questioning the character of God. Nathan mentioned how he feels all the answers he needs are in the Bible (40:05) and the importance of knowing how to read the Bible. This brought Tee to give a breakdown of the book of Job, a prime example of questioning life and God's role in it, and what we can learn from God's response (45:43).

We're really thankful for each and everyone of you guys for rocking with us every month. We want to know your thoughts! Leave a comment and message us with your views and opinions on the topics. See you in April.

We're back in the Lounge for February's pod! This month we were fortunate enough to be joined by graphic designer and friend of the Collective Aron Thavanesan while Taya is away performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Speaking of royals, the guys kicked off the show discussing a few significant happenings in the royal family over the last month. They discussed how their opinions on the Queen (03:14), the Prince Andrew scandal (06:27) and how effective the monarchy actually is. Nathan asked what England would look like without the monarchy (09:38), which opened up a conversation around whether there's more good than bad with the monarchy (12:35).
Nathan gave another thought provoking hot take (20:00) around the value of life and where morality comes from (24:10).
We also discussed the big topic of whether God tells you to break up with someone or not (28:13). This was a sprawling conversation, with the guys also discussing whether God uses all bad things for good (32:35) and whether God has multiple plans for your life (37:35), all to try and figure out how God works in our relationships.
If you enjoyed the pod, make sure to leave a rating and a comment, as well as sharing, subscribing and all that good stuff. See you next month!

Welcome back to the Lounge! The guys kicked things off discussion the recent news of the parties the UK government were having over the 2020 lockdown (04:07), if we can actually respect our leaders when they behave in such a way and if it's fair to hold our leaders to a higher standard (10:40). While discussing leadership, the recent Mike Todd incident came to mind (16:02), leading the panel to discuss the importance of following God over your leaders.

Tee turned everyone off with his hot take, putting forward the idea that Christians shouldn't wear braces (22:07). This immediately lead to a conversation about whether or not Christians should get cosmetic surgery and what the line when it comes to cosmetic surgery (26:08). 

This months topic sock brought out a range of different views as the guys discussed whether or not Christians should smoke weed (37:47). A conversation came up about the conflict of using weed to calm you down (41:53), addiction (42:50) the importance of airing on the side of caution when it comes to spiritual grey areas (45:40).

If you guys enjoyed this episode please make sure to leave a rating and a comment, as well as as sharing, subscribing and all that good stuff. See you next month!

Happy new year! As most of us do, the guys spent the last few days of 2021 reflecting on the year and looking forward to the next. They discussed their resolutions and hopes for 2022 (04:00), which led to a conversation about how resolutions, goal-setting and hopes can be a tricky thing to navigate as artists (08:51). Taya and Tee also discussed some of the struggles of balancing artistry and faith (14:43). Nathan came with a bunch of research for his hot take about the feminine nature of the Holy Spirit (23:00), which got the entire panel thinking about the full nature of God in terms of masculinity and femininity. The guys also discussed the relationship between therapy and faith (32:09) and the balance between going to therapy and going to God to help with problems in the Church. They also spoke about what it's like for Christians to be depressed and looked at Elijah's life to see what the Bible has to say about therapy (39:37).

Our word for the month (and the new year) is: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5-6

And we’re back! This month the panel was joined by JC Sound rapper MC ELZ (Giles) as they discussed a couple of big topics. First up Taya brought the spice with her hot take (04:39), which sparked a conversation about the relationship between missionary work and colonialism, the perception as Christianity as a white persons religion and how people manipulate the Bible (12:40). Next, the panel discussed whether or not we should use peoples chosen pronouns (19:05) and how do we balance respecting people and not compromising our beliefs, both at work and personally (37:20). Word of the Month: Mark 5:36 "Don't be afraid, just believe"