Shifting Culture

Many struggle with the Bible not because it’s irrelevant, but because we’ve never been given the full story. My guest today, Zach Windahl, went from confusion and disillusionment to falling in love with Scripture and now he’s helping others do the same. In this conversation, we trace Zach’s journey of rediscovery, unpack the sweeping narrative of the Bible, and explore how reclaiming the story of...

In this episode, I talk with Will Parker Anderson—writer, editor, and founder of The Writer’s Circle—about the tension we all feel between productivity and presence, business and ministry, hustle and holiness. Will brings clarity and honesty to the internal battle many creatives face: how do we create from a place of joy, not just ambition? How do we resist comparison, reclaim play, and keep our i...

In this episode, I'm joined by Heather Thompson Day, whose insights challenge our perceptions of success, passion, and the presence of God in our lives. Heather boldly explores the idea that our true story isn't found in the circumstances we face, but rather in how we respond to them. We dive into themes from her powerful book, What If I'm Wrong? , discussing how passion is not abou...

In this episode, historian Daniel Hummel joins me to discuss the fascinating rise and decline of dispensationalism, a theological movement deeply embedded in American evangelicalism. Daniel shares his personal journey growing up in a dispensationalist environment, exploring its roots with John Nelson Darby, its influence post-Civil War, and its widespread popularity through media like the Left Beh...

What happens when the gospel you were handed no longer makes sense of the pain, beauty, or complexity of the world you’re actually living in? In this conversation, I sit down with Nicholas McDonald, pastor and author of The Light in Our Eyes , to explore the tensions between disillusionment and hope, escape and embodiment, cynicism and renewal. Nicholas brings a pastor’s heart, a theologian’s dept...

What happens when the institutions we’ve trusted start to crumble and we realize they were never meant to carry the weight we gave them? Today, I’m joined by Angie Ward. She invites us into a deep reimagining of the Church, not just as a building or an organization, but as a Spirit-formed people living on mission together. Angie has spent decades in both church and parachurch worlds, and she bring...

Today, we have a powerful and deeply honest conversation with Naeem Fazal, author of "Tomorrow Needs You." Naeem grew up in Kuwait in a Pakistani Muslim family, survived the Gulf War, and eventually found himself in the U.S. grappling with questions of identity, fear, and faith. What followed was a series of raw, spiritual encounters that opened his heart to Jesus in ways he never expect...

What comes to mind when you hear “Holy Spirit”? For some of us, it’s confusion, baggage, or maybe just silence. We’ve either over-sensationalized it or under-taught it. But what if we’ve missed the depth and presence of the Spirit because we’ve skipped the beginning of the story? In this conversation, I talk with Margaret Feinberg about rediscovering the Holy Spirit - not just in Acts 2, but from...

Terry Crist returns to Shifting Culture to talk about the transformative power of rest, the necessity of Sabbath, and finding true refuge in God. Terry, an experienced pastor and insightful communicator, helps us rethink productivity, loneliness, bitterness, and forgiveness, inviting us into a deeper relationship with God's perfect love. In this episode, you'll discover how to shift your...

In this conversation with Emanuel Prinz, we dig into his latest research, exploring what actually catalyzes movements, the kinds of leaders and teams that sustain them, and what blocks them from taking root. We’ll talk about the personal and spiritual qualities of movement catalysts, why reproducibility matters more than charisma, and how partnering with God, rather than simply following a method—...

For a lot of people, Revelation is the Bible’s great mystery—full of wild images and swirling predictions, often left to collect dust or to stir up arguments about the end times. But beneath all the confusion, Revelation also speaks to something deeply human: our ache for intimacy, our struggle with loneliness, and our longing to know that God is closer than we think. Today I’m joined by Dr. Shane...

Charisma is a word we hear all the time, but what does it really mean? Why are some leaders able to draw people in, while others push us away? I’ve been fascinated by this for years, wondering why we’re drawn to certain people, what makes us follow, and how charisma shapes our lives in ways we don’t always notice. In a culture where stories and leaders are constantly competing for our attention, u...

We have conversations about the culture we create and the impact we can make. With different guests each podcast episode, we have in-depth interviews into what it looks like to live in the Kingdom of God and embody Jesus in the world. We long for a more compassionate and love-oriented world to live in. Support the show

Today, I’m joined by Cara Meredith, author of the new book Church Camp . We’re digging into the ways camp shapes our faith, our friendships, and our sense of who belongs. We get real about the fun memories, but also the uncomfortable parts—who was included, who was left out, and what messages we picked up along the way. Cara and I talk about how camp can turn faith into a checklist—who’s in, who’s...

In today's episode, we're exploring intimacy - a concept that's far more complex than most of us realize. My guest, Erin Moniz, has been studying how we connect, disconnect, and misunderstand relationships in our current cultural moment. We'll dig into some critical questions: What does intimacy actually mean beyond romantic relationships? How have cultural messages - both insi...

If you're like me, you probably know what it feels like to chase after a never-ending to-do list, trying to squeeze every bit of productivity out of your days, only to end up exhausted and wondering if you're missing something vital. Today's conversation might be exactly what you need. My guest is theologian and author Kelly Kapic. Kelly is a professor at Covenant College and the au...

Today we're talking about something that impacts all of us - our calling and how we can pursue meaningful work without burning out. I'm sitting down with Arianna Molloy, author of "Healthy Calling," to unpack what it really means to live out our purpose without getting crushed by pressure and expectations. We'll explore some critical questions: What does calling really loo...

We are living in a world that seems to be unraveling at the seams - where chaos, polarization, and anxiety have become our default settings - we need a different way of being. Today, I'm sitting down with Eric Clayton, who's been wrestling with the question: What if peace isn't just the absence of conflict, but a transformative way of living? Eric's new book, "Finding Peac...

Chaos isn't just a word, it's the underlying current of our human experience. Today, we're diving deep with Manny Arango into the biblical roots of disorder, exploring how chaos existed before sin and how God's design always intended for humans to bring order to the wild. We'll unpack the six-step cycle of chaos in scripture, examine why peace isn't something we pray...

What if discipleship isn’t something we outsource, but something we embody, right where we are? In this episode, I sit down with David Sunde for a grounded and hopeful conversation about raising homegrown disciples. We talk about parenting, presence, and the slow, incarnational work of forming our families in the way of Jesus. David invites us to move beyond programs and into apprenticeship, learn...

Andrew Arndt is back on the podcast today. He’s a pastor and author who's challenging how we typically understand the gospel. His new book, "A Strange and Gracious Light," explores what it means to see Jesus as a living presence that intersects with our real, complicated lives. We'll discuss how the gospel isn't just about personal salvation or afterlife insurance, but a t...

A.J. Swoboda is back on the podcast for the third time. This time we are sitting down to talk about A Teachable Spirit . He hit on something that I think is sorely missing in this world today: being teachable. In a world often drawn sharply into polarized camps, where dialogue seems overshadowed by ideological extremes, cultivating a teachable spirit becomes more than a virtue, it becomes an act o...

There's a geography of limitation that exists not on any map, but in the quiet territories of our own making. Stories that whisper: this is as far as you'll go. Today, we are talking with Mary Marantz - a woman who understands that our beginnings are not our boundaries. Growing up in a single-wide trailer on the tippy top of Fenwick Mountain, she learned something profound: that grace is...

Today, we’re getting into the raw, unvarnished terrain of human longing - that aching space where despair meets unexpected grace. I’m excited to welcome back David Zahl on the podcast. He isn't here to offer another self-help platitude, but to explore something far more profound: how we find relief in a world that constantly demands more, faster, better. Imagine grace not as a churchy concept...

Today, we're having a conversation that will challenge what you think you know about the devil, evil, temptation, and spiritual warfare. Jared Brock is back with us - if you remember our last incredible conversation about Jesus, where we unpacked the human life of Christ and the political imagination of his time, you know Jared brings profound theological insights that challenge our perceptio...