My conversation with Reward Sibanda is a deep dive into the spiritual practice of fasting. Reward grew up immersed in fasting as a cultural and religious tradition in Zimbabwe. But it wasn't until later that he grasped the profound theological significance behind it. Fasting is about aligning our whole being - body, mind, and spirit - with the will and presence of God. It's not some outdated ritual, but a powerful spiritual discipline. When we fast, we quiet the noise of our physical appetites a...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 276
Today, we dive into the power of reckoning with our personal stories - the formative experiences and wounds from our past that shape who we are today, often in ways we don't fully understand. My guest, Adam Young, has spent years helping people make sense of their stories, to find freedom and wholeness. As Adam shares, the truth is, our past isn't just the past - it's deeply woven into our present. The feelings, fears, and patterns we carry from childhood can profoundly impact our relationships,...
Feb 25, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 275
When we think of the Apostle Paul, we often picture a stern, unyielding figure - the finger-wagging scold, laying down the law for the early Christian communities. But my guest today, Nijay Gupta, is here to shatter that perception and reveal the beating heart at the center of Paul's theology. In Nijay's new book, "The Affections of Christ Jesus," he makes a captivating case that what truly animates Paul's writings is an overwhelming, spilling-over affection - a profound, personal love that shou...
Feb 21, 2025•58 min•Season 1Ep. 274
There's a crisis of good news in our world today. The message of the gospel - the radical, transformative love of God poured out through Jesus Christ - has become muted, obscured by the noise of culture wars and the bitter taste of Christendom's failures. For many, the idea of "evangelism" conjures up images of slick preachers and aggressive door-to-door campaigns, leaving a sour note where there should be a jubilant melody. But my guest today, Derwin Gray, is on a mission to reclaim that melody...
Feb 18, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 273
What if the way we've been reading the Bible has been missing something essential? What if the Scriptures aren't just a collection of propositional truths, but a grand narrative - a story that Jesus Himself used to unveil the deepest realities of the Kingdom of God? That's the argument made by author and storyteller Daniel Schwabauer as we dive into the power of story in this conversation. Dan points us to a pivotal moment in the Gospels - when Jesus tells the parable of the sower in Mark 4. Her...
Feb 17, 2025•56 min•Season 1Ep. 272
I’m excited to have Skye Jethani back on the podcast. When we talk about justice, we often think in binary terms - judgment or mercy, punishment or forgiveness. But as Skye argues, the biblical vision of justice is far more nuanced and holistic. At its core, justice is about the proper ordering of relationships - between humanity and God, as well as between individuals and communities. It's not just about retribution, but about restoring the shalom, the wholeness and flourishing, that God intend...
Feb 14, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 271
Malcolm Foley has written a book that addresses some of the deepest and most intractable problems in American life - racism, violence, and greed. But his diagnosis is not what you might expect. Foley argues that the root of these evils is not just racial animus or a lust for power, but something far more fundamental - the worship of Mammon, the love of money and material wealth. In this conversation, Foley takes us on a sweeping journey, from the history of lynching in America to the cosmic batt...
Feb 11, 2025•49 min•Season 1Ep. 270
This is a conversation with Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost that gets to the heart of what the church is called to be - a community of adventure, risk, and mission. Alan and Mike have revised and re-released their book "The Faith of Leap" that challenges the church to shed its obsession with safety and security, and instead embrace the risky, liminal spaces where the kingdom of God breaks through. We'll explore how the church has become too inwardly focused, too preoccupied with maintaining its ow...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 269
Today, I am excited to welcome you to this conversation with Charlie Peacock. Charlie is a gifted musician, producer, and storyteller whose life and art intertwine in the most captivating way. In this episode, we're going to dive deep into the roots and rhythms that have shaped Charlie's remarkable journey. We'll uncover the hidden history of his family's racial identity, explore the formative experiences that forged his singular musical talent, and trace the sacred dance between his spiritualit...
Feb 04, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 268
What does it mean to be a family in the kingdom of God? Not the idealized, airbrushed version we so often see, but the messy, beautiful, ever-evolving reality of what it means to be bound together in love. Too often, we approach family life with a set of assumptions - a blueprint we've been handed, a script we feel we must follow. But what if the way of Jesus calls us to something deeper, something more improvisational? What if being a family in the kingdom means being apprenticed to love, learn...
Feb 03, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 267
Erin Hicks Moon is here with us today, and I'm thrilled to have her. Erin has a new book coming out called "I've Got Questions: The Spiritual Practice of Having It Out with God," and it delves right into the tension at the core of so many of our spiritual lives - the push and pull between our faith and our doubts, our certainty and our questions. You know, we often treat faith as this neat, tidy package. We're supposed to have it all figured out, no loose ends, no messy questions. But Erin makes...
Jan 31, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 266
What if the very institutions meant to uplift us are the ones holding us back? That's the question at the heart of my conversation today with therapist and author Andrew Bauman. Through years of research and interviews, Andrew has uncovered a troubling reality within the church, one where women often feel marginalized, silenced and forced to make themselves smaller just to keep the peace, one where sexism, abuse and misogyny are happening. This stands in stark contrast to the vision of the Churc...
Jan 30, 2025•54 min•Season 1Ep. 265
This is a fantastic conversation with Ian Morgan Cron about his new book "The Fix" and the transformative power of the 12 steps. Ian makes the case that the 12 steps offer a path of healing and recovery not just for addicts, but for anyone struggling with that universal human condition of feeling "not at home" in this world. The key, as Ian explains it, is starting with that crucial admission of powerlessness - that we can't fix ourselves through willpower alone. And that opens the door to surre...
Jan 28, 2025•58 min•Season 1Ep. 264
Tori Hope Petersen has a story to tell - one that gets to the heart of how we find our way through trauma and self-doubt to a place of self-acceptance and purpose. As someone who grew up in the foster care system, emancipating at 18 without a forever family, Tori had to navigate a lot of uncertainty and pain. But through that journey, she's learned invaluable lessons about the power of community, the necessity of vulnerability, and the freedom that comes from embracing your own worth. In our con...
Jan 24, 2025•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 263
You know, there's this thing that happens - we get so caught up in the doing, the productivity, the hustle. We define ourselves by what we accomplish, by the checkboxes we can tick off. But what if there's another way? What if we're not just cogs in a machine, but creative beings made in the image of a creative God? In this episode, we dive into that question with author Maria Bowler. She shares how becoming a new mom during the pandemic forced her to confront this head-on - when the doing was s...
Jan 21, 2025•50 min•Season 1Ep. 262
What does it look like to engage culture as a Christian in today's world? Is it a battle to be won, a system to be escaped, or something else entirely? In this thought-provoking discussion, Keith Simon lays out a vision for what he calls "joyful outsiders" - Christians who embrace their identity as outsiders, but who engage the culture in diverse and creative ways. Keith draws from Scripture to show how the Bible presents a range of approaches - from the "advisor" who works from within, to the "...
Jan 17, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 261
This is a conversation about how to faithfully engage culture as a Christian in a disorienting time. Our guest is Patrick Miller. He is a Pastor, Podcast host, and co-author of the book "Joyful Outsiders." In this conversation, Patrick shares how he was drawn to a church that was actively engaged in the community - supporting nonprofits, influencing local businesses, and making a real impact. As he's grown in his faith, he's had to wrestle with the tension of resisting the culture around us, whi...
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 260
This is a conversation about discernment - about how we listen for and respond to the quiet, persistent voice of God in our lives. Our guest today is Trevor Hudson, a pastor and spiritual director who has spent decades wrestling with this question. As Trevor puts it, when we open our lives to Christ, he brings his whole family with him. Our faith is never just a private, individual thing - it's deeply communal. But at the same time, God has a unique calling for each of our lives. The challenge i...
Jan 10, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 259
This is a conversation about certainty, mystery, and the divine. Our guest today is Liz Charlotte Grant, author of the book "Knock at the Sky." Liz takes us on a journey through her own life, from growing up in the certainty of white American evangelicalism, to encountering the mystery and presence of God in powerful experiences. As Liz dives into the book of Genesis, she shows us how reading the scriptures through a literary lens can breathe new life into these ancient stories. We explore the i...
Jan 07, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 258
Today, I'm excited to bring you a conversation that gets to the core of what it means to be human - to grapple with pain, trauma, and the longing to be truly seen and loved. My guest is Michael John Cusick, author of the new book "Sacred Attachment," and he's here to share his deeply personal journey of moving from a place of fear and shame into an embodied experience of God's love and security. Michael reframes the concept of sin, not as moral failure, but as the mishandling of our pain. This s...
Jan 03, 2025•59 min•Season 1Ep. 257
In this episode, we are counting down our ten most listened to episodes of the year. You will hear clips from: 10. Ep. 160 Emily P. Freeman - Discerning When to Stay and When to Go 9. Ep. 187 Elizabeth Oldfield - Becoming More Fully Alive 8. Ep. 212 Brady Boyd - Pursuing Unity in a Divided World 7. Ep. 243 Mike Cosper - The Church in Dark Times: Resisting the Lure of Ideology 6. Ep. 218 Natalie Runion - Reconstruction After Deconstruction: Going Back to the Original Blueprint 5. Ep. 148 Meghan L...
Dec 31, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 256
In this episode we are counting down our ten favorite movies of 2024 with guests Elijah Davidson and Craig Detweiler. Elijah's List: 10. The Piano Lesson 9. Between the Temples 8. Conclave 7. Dune: Part Two 6. Fly 5. Megalopolis 4. Me 3. Anora 2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 1. Challengers Craig's List: 10. Rebel Ridge 9. A Real Pain 8. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 7. Conclave 6. I Saw the TV Glow 5. Daughters 4. Dune: Part Two 3. Sing Sing 2. La Chimera 1. Anora Joshua's List: 10. Small Things Like These...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 39 min•Season 1Ep. 255
We are counting down our ten favorite books of 2024. Joshua, Lore, and Liam will each share their list of ten. To see my full list go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com Lore’s List: 10. The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl 9. How to Walk Into a Room by Emily P. Freeman 8. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 7. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn 6. The Book of Belonging by Mariko Clark 5. The Quickening by Elizabeth Rush 4. Field Notes for the Wilderness by Sarah Bessey 3. The Covenant of Water by Abra...
Dec 23, 2024•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 254
Today, our guest is Munther Isaac, Academic Dean of Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. Munther’s family have been shepherds in the same hills as the shepherds who heard from the angel of God that first Christmas. And although the world is fighting to dehumanize the Palestinian people and the people in Gaza, the words of the angel are still true. Jesus is good news for all people. Every human is made in the image of God and is worthy of l...
Dec 20, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 253
My guest today is Phil Moore, author of the book "The Forgotten Manifesto of Jesus." Phil is a former megachurch pastor in London who went through a major shift during the pandemic. See, Phil was leading this thriving church, doing all the things we're told to do to grow a big, successful congregation. But then COVID hit, and everything changed. Why? Because Phil started asking some hard questions - is what we're doing really working? Is this the way Jesus wants us to make disciples? What Phil d...
Dec 17, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 252
Today, I’m excited to welcome Anna Morgan to the show to talk about growing women in ministry. Anna is a pastor, academic, and author who has done incredible research on the unique challenges and opportunities that women face in leadership roles within the church. Anna has an amazing personal story that really sets the stage for this discussion. She experienced tremendous tragedy early in her marriage when her first husband was killed in a car accident. But through that, God opened up this unexp...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 251
Patriarchy is a power that steals, kills, and destroys. But in the darkness, the Spirit of God hovers, waiting to give birth to new life. Danielle Strickland joins us today to shed light on this critical issue facing the church. Danielle unpacks how patriarchy has deeply distorted our view of God, the scriptures, and the flourishing of men and women together. She shares how this male-centered ordering of the world has undermined women's confidence and value, and how it stands in stark contrast t...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 250
Today we have a conversation with Pete Portal, author of the book "How to Be (Un)successful" (or "Stop Trying to Be Successful" for our American listeners). Pete has spent the last 15 years living and working in the township of Mannenberg, South Africa, a community plagued by gang violence, drug addiction, and systemic injustice. What Pete has learned through this experience flies in the face of much of our conventional thinking about success, achievement, and the role of the church. He argues t...
Dec 06, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 249
Today we have a conversation about rediscovering the true meaning of Christmas. Our guest is AJ Sherrill, author of the book "Rediscovering Christmas." AJ takes us back 2,000 years to unpack the rich cultural context and deeper significance behind the Christmas story that we often miss in our modern celebrations. AJ explains how the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - the "house of bread" - where he was laid in a feeding trough, is a profound symbol of him being the "bread of life" come to nourish our...
Dec 03, 2024•56 min•Season 1Ep. 248
You know, when you think about the Christmas story - the birth of Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, the wise men - it's easy to get caught up in the sentimentality of it all. The cozy nativity scene, the baby in the manger, the promise of peace on earth. But what if I told you that the real story of Jesus's birth is much grittier, much more rooted in the harsh realities of human suffering and oppression? That's the perspective Kelley Nikondeha brings to the table. Kelley is the author of a book ...
Dec 01, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 247
