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PODCAST

Shifting Culture

On Shifting Culture we have conversations at the intersection of faith, culture, justice, and the way of Jesus. Hosted by Joshua Johnson, this podcast features long-form conversations with authors, theologians, artists, and cultural thinkers to trace how embodied love, courage, and creative faithfulness offer a culture of real healing and hope.

religion & spirituality christianity

All Episodes

58:32

Ep. 416 Andrew Root - Rescuing Church Growth from...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/21

I sit down with Andrew Root to talk about his new book Baal and the Gods of More and the ways fertility idols still shape how we think about growth in the church. We explore how the drive for more - more people, more influence, more momentum - can pull us away from the way of Jesus, even when we think we’re being faithful. This conversation moves from Elijah to Mary and reframes growth as being formed into Christ, not building something bigger. Andrew Root (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary...

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52:39

Ep. 415 Jason VanRuler Returns - Discovering Your...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/20

In this episode, I talk with Jason VanRuler about why we keep missing each other in conversation and what’s actually going on beneath the surface. We explore the five communication types - peacemaker, advocate, thinker, harbor, and spark - and how our upbringing, attachment styles, and even shame shape the way we speak and listen. Jason offers a practical way forward: growing in self-awareness, understanding the person in front of you, and shifting from trying to win or convince to actually c...

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56:02

Ep. 414 Amy Orr-Ewing Returns - Reclaiming the Power...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/17

Forgiveness is one of the hardest, but most crucial parts of the Christian life. In this episode with Amy Orr-Ewing, we talk about why forgiveness matters right now, especially in a culture shaped by outrage, cancellation, and competing visions of justice. Amy helps clarify the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, why real forgiveness doesn’t minimize harm or remove consequences, and how the cross makes a way to take evil seriously while still offering grace. We also get into tr...

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57:23

Ep. 413 Malcolm Guite - Lifting the Veil: Beauty,...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/14

Malcolm Guite joins me to talk about his new epic poem Galahad and the Grail and why these ancient stories still matter. We explore how myth and poetry can help us see what’s real, how we’ve lost a sense of wonder in a mechanized and disenchanted world, and why imagination is essential for meaning. Malcolm shares how the story of the wasteland speaks to our cultural moment - from ecological crisis to the rise of technology - and how beauty, story, and the recovery of the sacred can begin to h...

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62:13

Ep. 412 Jay Stringer - What Your Desires Are Trying...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/10

Desire is shaping your life more than you think. In this conversation, I talk with Jay Stringer about why desire often feels like a civil war within us and how our longings are deeply connected to our story - our wounds, our past, and the formation we’ve received. We explore five core desires that lead to human flourishing, how shame keeps us stuck, and why paying attention to what you want can become a roadmap to healing. This conversation will help you understand your desires, uncover what’...

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58:39

Ep. 411 Mark DeYmaz Returns - Make Me an Instrument...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/07

Mark DeYmaz - pastor, author, and longtime leader in building multi-ethnic, economically diverse churches returns to talk about what it actually means to be a peacemaker in a divided world. We center the conversation on the Prayer of St. Francis and explore the difference between claiming the name of Christ and embodying his way, why nuance and listening matter, and how to hold tension without trying to escape it. Mark shares practical ways to pursue peace in everyday relationships and in the...

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52:42

Ep. 410 Al Gordon - Igniting Your God-Given Creativity

Shifting Culture ·

2026/04/03

Creativity isn’t optional in this moment, it’s essential to what it means to be human and to follow Jesus in a rapidly changing world. In this conversation, I talk with Al Gordon about why imagination is under threat, how AI is reshaping our creative lives, and why the church is called to recover its role as a place that ignites creativity rather than suppresses it. We explore how the Holy Spirit fuels imagination, why wonder has faded in our culture, and what it looks like to move from inspi...

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54:41

Ep. 409 Marty Solomon - The Gospel of Being Human

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/31

Marty Solomon joins me to talk about what it actually means to be human and why starting with belovedness changes everything. We explore how the stories we believe shape our view of God, ourselves, and others, why certainty can get in the way of real faith, and how to hold both our brokenness and our belovedness at the same time. This conversation moves from theology into practice - how we listen to the Spirit, see our enemies as human again, and participate in the shalom God is already bring...

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48:10

Ep. 408 Kevin Burrell - Consider the Birds: Joy,...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/27

Kevin Burrell joins me to talk about what it means to pay attention again - to consider the birds, as Jesus says, and to see how creation can lead us deeper into the life of God. We walk through Philippians, a letter written from prison yet full of joy, and explore how joy and suffering can coexist, how anxiety is reshaped by trust, and how rootedness, unity, and discernment are formed in us over time. Kevin shares how birdwatching became more than a hobby, opening up a way of seeing that rev...

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56:18

Ep. 407 James K.A. Smith - Make Your Home in This...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/24

In a world of misinformation and uncertainty, we’re often tempted to think our way out of our problems. But what if more knowledge isn’t the answer? In this episode, I talk with philosopher and author James K.A. Smith about his book Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark and why the pursuit of certainty can easily become an idol. We discuss his personal journey discovering the wisdom of silence, solitude, and surrender after a season of depression forced him to confront problems thinking alone ...

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49:13

Ep. 406 Bethaney Wilkinson - A More Beautiful Way to...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/23

In this episode, I sit down with Bethaney Wilkinson to talk about the pressure so many of us feel to move faster, do more, and carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Bethaney shares her own story of burnout and how that crisis forced her to rethink the pace of her life, the way she pursued justice, and what it means to live faithfully in a chaotic world. We explore why constantly staring at the problems of the world can slowly deform our souls, how beauty and attention can help reori...

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56:52

Ep. 405 Josh Nadeau - Heaven Meets Earth: Beauty,...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/20

Josh Nadeau, author of Heaven Meets Earth, joins me to explore what it looks like to move beyond intellectual faith into something embodied and transformative. Drawing on the Nicene Creed as a 40-day guide, Josh makes the case that goodness, truth, and beauty are the doorways into a faith that actually forms us - shaping our loves, our attention, and how we see the world around us. We talk about why the Western Church has largely lost its sense of wonder, what the ancient spiritual practices ...

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57:20

Ep. 404 Jared Stacy - Reality in Ruins: Conspiracy,...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/17

In this episode, I talk with theologian Jared Stacy about why conspiracy theories have taken such deep root in our cultural moment and why they often find unique traction within American Christianity. We explore how an overload of information, fear, and ideological certainty can distort the stories we tell about the world and about God. Jared reflects on the Columbine martyrdom myth, the difference between ideology and the living story of Christ, and why presence, community, and faithful stor...

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59:43

Ep. 403 Shannan Martin - Counterweights: Holding Hope...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/13

In this episode, I’m joined by Shannon Martin to talk about her new book Counterweights and how we keep moving forward when life feels overwhelmingly heavy. We explore grief, collective trauma, and why quick fixes and toxic positivity fall short, alongside the small, ordinary practices that help us stay grounded and human. This conversation moves through faith, paradox, community, and the kingdom of God, not as something we wait for, but something we practice together here and now. If you’re ...

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56:25

Ep. 402 Justin Ariel Bailey Returns - Discipling the...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/10

Justin Ariel Bailey joins me to talk about his book Discipling the Diseased Imagination and why imagination plays a crucial role in spiritual formation. We explore how the stories, habits, and media that capture our attention quietly shape our discipleship, and why following Jesus requires learning to behold what is good, beautiful, and true. We also discuss hope, idolatry, attachment, and how the imagination can be healed as we live more deeply in the story of God. Justin Ariel Bailey ...

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58:17

Ep. 401 Kendall Mariah - The Anchoring Tether in the...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/09

What do you do when your faith no longer fits the formulas you were given? In this episode, I sit down with Kendall to talk about what she calls “soul friction” — the holy discomfort that surfaces through disillusionment, infertility, adoption, racial awakening, purity culture, and watching the church miss the way of Jesus. We explore anger, courage, embodiment, and what it really means to pray “on earth as it is in heaven.” This is a conversation about tending the fire instead of letting it ...

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54:34

Ep. 400 Sarah Bessey Returns - Braving the Truth with...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/06

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Bessey to talk about editing Braving the Truth, a curated collection of blog posts and essays from Rachel Held Evans that feel as timely now as when they were first written. We explore Rachel’s legacy, her refusal to give in to dualistic thinking, and her commitment to telling the truth without surrendering love. This conversation is about long-term faithfulness in a time of backlash, how to plant hope in our own patch of earth, and what it looks like fo...

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59:09

Ep. 399 Preston Sprinkle Returns - What Does the...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/03/03

In this episode, I sit down with Preston Sprinkle to walk through one of the most debated questions in the church: women in leadership. We trace the story from Genesis to the prophets, through the ministry of Jesus, into Romans 16, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Timothy 2, asking what the whole sweep of Scripture actually says about authority, teaching, and the nature of leadership in the kingdom of God. Preston shares his multi-year journey of wrestling with the text, where he lands, and why he believ...

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53:51

Ep. 398 Miroslav Volf & Christian Wiman - Wrestling...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/02/27

What happens when a poet and a theologian decide to write letters to each other about faith? In this episode, I sit down with Christian Wiman and Miroslav Volf to discuss their book Glimmerings and talk about the language we use for God and why it so often falls short, the tension between God's presence and absence, what the Book of Job has to say about suffering, and whether faith can survive, even deepen, without easy answers. It's a conversation about holding paradox, paying attention, and...

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55:59

Ep. 397 Kristen LaValley - Finding Wholeness and Love...

Shifting Culture ·

2026/02/24

In this conversation, I sit down with Kristen LaValley to talk about the complexity of growing up in the church and what happens when faith both forms us and harms us. We talk about spiritual trauma, shame, neurodivergence, fear-based theology, and the moment when the frameworks we were given stop holding. Kristen shares her story of growing up in ministry, leaving church leadership, and slowly rebuilding a faith centered not on performance or fear, but on the love of God. This episode is abo...

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420 results

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