OCF Crosspoint Podcast

Episode Summary Every generation complains about the one coming behind it, and for today's military leaders, much of that frustration lands on Gen Z. My guest this episode, Sarah Carter, is a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate and former Navy P-3 and P-8 pilot who finished her service as executive officer of the President's Emergency Operations Center in the White House Military Office. She now...

Highlights Summary If work-life balance is a bad word, then what should we call it instead? And what happens when you get the decision wrong? Those two questions surfaced in a short interview debrief with Lt Col Jeff Miller, USAF (Ret.), after the formal conversation had wrapped up but before we stopped recording. When pressed on what should replace the word balance—since even "integration" still...

OCF Crosspoint Show Notes with Lt Col Jeff Miller, USAF (Ret.) Opening Summary "How does a Christian in the military achieve balance between work and family?" A cadet asked Lt Col Jeff Miller, USAF (Ret.), that question during a panel event for ROTC, and after 34 years in the Air Force, 34 years of marriage, and four children, Jeff realized he didn't have a good answer. Neither did the seasoned of...

Opening Summary COL Chels Chae, USA (Ret.), served nearly 30 years in the Army, from West Point graduate, infantry officer and 75th Ranger Regiment veteran to commander of the Wolfhound Battalion at Schofield Barracks. He finished his career as Chief of Staff for Joint Task Force Homeland Defense and Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Army Pacific. For 13 of those years, he and his wife, Christine, wa...

Summary Can real discipleship survive in a world of influencers, algorithms, and unlimited Christian content—especially inside a transient military life? In this episode of OCF Crosspoint, we continue the conversation on influencer culture with Lt Gen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.), and CH(COL) Light Shin, USA. Together they draw a sharp line between being inspired, informed, and truly discipled, and e...

Summary Lt Gen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.), and CH(COL) Light Shin, USA, join host Josh Jackson to examine influencer culture through a biblical lens. Hinote brings decades of military leadership experience and is now building a speaking ministry focused on integrating Christian faith and leadership into a single, unified message. Shin serves as an active-duty Army chaplain and father of three daugh...

Matters of Conscience, Part 2: In Part 2 of this two-part series, CH(CPT) Chris Erickson and West Point professor LTC Lee Robinson join host Josh Jackson to continue their candid conversation on matters of conscience for Christian military leaders.  Building on the flight line moment that closed part one (where Robinson made a split-second decision to pray after losing two soldiers) this episode g...

Matters of conscience, Part 1: What does it look like for a Christian military officer to navigate the space between what's legally permissible and what's wise?  In Part 1 of this two-part series, CH(CPT) Chris Erickson, USA, an active-duty Army chaplain serving with 1-41 Infantry Battalion at Fort Carson, Colo., and LTC Lee Robinson, USA, an Army aviator and West Point professor who directs the A...

Guest Spotlight: Approximately 60% of active-duty officers commission through ROTC programs at more than 1,500 colleges and universities—making campus ministry to cadets and midshipmen a strategic mission field. In this episode of the OCF Crosspoint podcast, we hear from John Hoyman, OCF's Director of ROTC Ministry and a 30-year Army veteran (Active Duty, National Guard, and Army Reserve), about t...

Guest Spotlight  What does it look like to lead with foresight in an uncertain world, and what does Scripture say about it? Lt Gen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.), who served as the Air Force's futurist, joins host Josh Jackson to explore future-minded leadership from both a military and biblical perspective. Drawing on his experience leading organizational change during the rise of China as a military...

Guest Spotlight  Today's episode features a conversation between Crosspoint host Josh Jackson and LTC Brittany Simmons, USA (Ret.). Brittany served 20 years in the Army Military Police Corps, including deployment to Iraq as a platoon leader from 2004-2005.  In this episode, Brittany challenges the common individualistic reading of the Armor of God passage in Ephesians 6. Drawing from her combat ex...

Today's episode features Col Scott Fisher, USAF (Ret.), who serves as OCF's CEO and executive director. Throughout his 27 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Scott and his wife Christie were involved in OCF ministry as Local Leaders across the globe, on OCF Council, and to our chaplains.  Scott joins Crosspoint host Josh Jackson to share about the meaning of the Christmas story, to address tho...

OCF MINISTRY NEWS  Support widows and widowers across OCF this GivingTuesday: Your gift—large or small—directly provides opportunities for widowed members of the OCF family to find comfort, community, and Christ-centered encouragement at our Conference Centers. Visit ocfusa.org/givingtuesday to learn more and donate now. https://www.ocfusa.org/givingtuesday/     Read the latest Annual Impact Repor...

OCF MINISTRY NEWS  Apply for the youth program manager position: If you are interested in this opportunity at White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.), contact WSS Center Director Paul Robyn (wssdirector@ocfusa.org) or WSS Director of Hospitality Susanne Pappal (wssoffice@ocfusa.org) or call (814) 623-5583 for further information and an application.  Support widows and widowers across OCF this Gi...

In the final episode of this Crosspoint Highlights micro-series on leadership, Col Jassen Bluto, USAF (Ret.), shares his third core principle—caring—and what it truly means to care for the people you lead. Far from being sentimental, Bluto explains that genuine care is a leader's responsibility to meet both the physical and emotional needs of those under their command. Drawing from his military ex...

In part two of this Crosspoint Highlights micro-series on leadership, Col Jassen Bluto, USAF (Ret.), explores the second core principle—respect—and breaks it down into four key expressions: respect for your unit, for each other, for yourself, and for the authority entrusted to you. He explains that genuine respect begins with love for the people you serve alongside and extends to humility in how y...

In this first part of the Crosspoint Highlights micro-series on leadership, Col Jassen Bluto, USAF (Ret.), unpacks the foundational principle of trust. He explains that true leadership requires both character and competence: the moral integrity that inspires confidence and the professional skill that earns respect. Drawing from personal experience as a squadron commander, Bluto discusses how accou...

  OCF MINISTRY NEWS   Keep an eye out for this fall's Connected print newsletter: A digital copy of the newsletter is also available online at ocfusa.org/connected  https://www.ocfusa.org/connected/     Serve as the ministry support volunteer position : Check out the full volunteer listing for details and the application. https://www.ocfusa.org/volunteer/ministry-support-volunteer/   Calling all f...

UPDATED: January 2026   New podcast (subscribe on your favorite podcast app): Anchored & Armed , honest conversations with women navigating faith and military life—whether you're a woman in uniform or love someone who is. OCF Sisterhood page: Program information, 3 ways to get involved, upcoming events & resources, OCF Sisterhood team. OCF MINISTRY NEWS   Check out and attend any of these local ev...

Show Notes In this second part of "Military Brats React," h ost Courtney Burdick continues the roundtable conversation with 2LT Dani Volle, USA, ENS Mary Ann Leonard, USN, and Matt Taylor as they reflect on their experiences growing up in military families. Listen to Part 1 here. While the first part of the discussion centered on the challenges and mental health struggles faced by military kids, t...

In a recent Crosspoint episode, Josh Jackson and Claire Anderson discussed the "hidden epidemic" of mental health challenges among military kids. In this follow-up conversation, Courtney Burdick hosts three fellow military kids—2LT Dani Volle, USA, ENS Mary Ann Leonard, USN, and Matt Taylor—for a roundtable-style reaction episode.  Having met at White Sulphur Springs, OCF's eastern camp and confer...

The July episode of Crosspoint served as Part 1 of a conversation with LTC Lee Robinson, USA, director of the U.S. Military Academy's American Politics Program and an academy professor in the Department of Social Sciences. We began answering this overarching question—"W hat does it look like to follow Christ in uniform, when your faith is personal, your authority is public, and the Constitution se...

OCF MINISTRY NEWS  Become findable on the OCF Directory: Visit ocfusa.org/list-me to add or update your group's information on our online directory of Bible studies.  Apply for Spring Canyon's Deputy Center Director opening: Check out the job description and apply NLT 15 August.   Check out our new Widowed Ministry webpage: Visit ocfusa.org/widowed-ministry/ to access helpful resources, invitation...

Guest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson explores the delicate balance military leaders must strike between free exercise of religion and non-establishment under the First Amendment. He emphasizes that the amendment's brevity—and its ambiguity—stem from the compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists at the time of America's founding. Lee...

Guest:  LTC Lee Robinson, USA In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson tackles the complex question: Was America founded as a Christian nation? Lee draws a distinction between the first founding (e.g., Puritan colonies with explicitly religious laws) and the constitutional founding rooted in liberty and freedom of conscience. He explains that while America's early cultural fab...