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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) is Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He writes and researches in the areas of theology, ministry, culture, and younger generations and is the author of more than twenty-five books, including the six-volume Ministry in a Secular Age set. Root is also the coauthor (with Kenda Creasy Dean) of The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. He serves as staff theologian at Youthfront, is a frequent speaker, and cohosts the Ministry in a Secular Age podcast. Andy's Book: Baal and the Gods of More Andy's Recommendation: The Logic of the Spirit Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 connecting. ​​Jason VanRuler, MA, CSAT, is a psychotherapist, author, and nationally recognized speaker specializing in communication, attachment, and relationships. He’s the author of Discovering Your Communication Type and Get Past Your Past and founder of a thriving private practice. Known for blending insight, story, and strategy, Jason leads workshops, retreats, and intensives that explore the patterns shaping how we connect, lead, and thrive. His work creates space for clarity, growth, and lasting change. He lives with his wife and three children and enjoys travel, cycling, and fly fishing. Jason's Book: Discovering Your Communication Type Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 trauma, shame, enemy love, and what it looks like to practice forgiveness in our lives and communities without cheapening it. Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing is an international author, speaker and theologian who addresses the deep questions of our day with meaningful answers found in the Christian Faith. She is the author of multiple books including bestsellers ‘Where is God in All the Suffering?’, ‘Why Trust the Bible?’, ‘Mary’s Voice’, and her latest ‘Forgiveness Reclaiming its Power in a Culture of Outrage and Fear’ releases in 2026. Over the last twenty five years, Amy has spoken in more than 40 countries as a public advocate for the Christian faith including public lectures and open forums on university campuses, and addressing Politicians and Parliamentarians in the UK Parliament and staffers on Capitol Hill, the Senate and the West Wing of The White House. Amy speaks at conferences, businesses, banks, and churches about how theology connects with the deepest questions of life. In 2023, Amy was awarded the Alphege Medal for Evangelism and Witness by the Archbishop of Canterbury. She holds a D Dphil (doctorate) from the University of Oxford and is Honorary Lecturer at the School of Divinity, University of Aberdeen, Distinguished Scholar at Wheaton College Illinois and Founder of Advocate Collective. Amy is married to Frog and they have three wonderful sons. Amy's Book: Forgiveness Amy's Recommendations: The Mind of the Maker The Body Keeps the Score Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 heal what’s been broken. This conversation moves from Arthurian legend to theology, from poetry to modern life, and invites us to see the world again with clarity, depth, and hope. Malcolm Guite is a poet, scholar, and Life Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. He has published five collections of poetry and many other books including Mariner: A Voyage with Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Hodder, 2017). In 2023 he was awarded the Lanfranc Medal for Education and Scholarship by the Archbishop of Canterbury. He lives in Norfolk and travels extensively to give poetry readings and lectures and also has a popular YouTube channel he calls “A Spell in the Library.” Malcolm's Book: Galahad and the Grail Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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’s beneath them, and begin to move toward a more whole, integrated life. Jay Stringer is a licensed mental health counselor, researcher, and speaker who helps people uncover the unexpected meaning hidden in life’s hardest challenges. He is the award-winning author of Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing and lives in New York City with his wife, Heather, and their two children. Jay's Book: Desire Jay's Recommendations: Beowulf Crossing the Unknown Sea Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 broader culture, and we wrestle with how to live with both hope and despair at the same time. If we’re going to reflect Jesus in the world, this is work we can’t avoid. A thought-leading writer and recognized champion of the Multiethnic Church Movement, Mark planted the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas (mosaicchurch.net) in 2001 where he continues to serve as Directional Leader. In 2004, he co-founded the Mosaix Global Network (mosaix.info), with Dr. George Yancey, today serving as its president and convener of the triennial National Multi-ethnic Church Conference. In 2008, he launched Vine and Village (vineandvillage.org) and remains active on the board of this 501(c)(3) non-profit focused on the spiritual, social, and financial transformation of Little Rock's University District. Mark has written several books, The Coming Revolution in Church Economics (Baker Books, 2019); Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community (Thomas Nelson, 2017); and Multiethnic Conversations: an Eight Week Guide to Unity in Your Church (Wesleyan Publishing House, 2016), the first daily devotional, small group curriculum on the subject for people in the pews. His book, Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (Jossey-Bass, 2007), was a finalist for a Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (2008) and for a Resource of the Year Award (2008) sponsored by Outreach magazine. Other works include, re:MIX: Transitioning Your Church to Living Color (Abingdon, 2016); Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (formerly Ethnic Blends; Zondervan, 2010, 2013), and the e-Book, Should Pastors Accept or Reject the Homogeneous Unit Principle? (Mosaix Global Network, 2011). In addition to books, he is a contributing editor for Outreach magazine where his column, "Mosaic" appears in each issue.  He and his wife, Linda, have been married for thirty-two years and reside in Little Rock, AR. Linda is the author of the certified best-seller, Mommy, Please Don't Cry: There Are No Tears in Heaven (Multnomah, 1996), an anointed resource providing hope and comfort for those who grieve the loss of a child. Mark and Linda have four adult children and three grandchildren.  Mark's Book: Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 inspiration to actually creating something that matters.  Al Gordon leads SAINT, a thriving church on a mission to bring hope to the people of East London. He’s the founder of RENAISSANCE, a global movement helping people encounter their Creator, be equipped as creatives, and empowering churches to become cathedrals of creativity. He is a trustee of Alpha International and is married to Olivia, an architect. Al is the author of SPARK: Ignite Your God-Given Creativity. Al's Book: Spark Al's Recommendation: Hamnet Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 bringing in the world. Marty Solomon is a theologian, the president and director of discipleship for Impact Campus Ministries, and the creator and executive producer of The BEMA Podcast. He and his wife, Rebekah, live in Cincinnati with their two children. Marty’s previous book is titled Asking Better Questions of the Bible: A Guide for the Wounded, Wary, and Longing for More. Marty's Book: The Gospel of Being Human Marty's Recommendation: N.T. Wright Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 reveals God’s presence in the ordinary and invites us to slow down, notice, and live with greater awareness of what God is doing all around us. Kevin Burrell is the co-lead Pastor of StoneBridge Church Community in Charlotte, North Carolina. An avid birder, Kevin’s pastoral heart and avian interests united with the formation of his blog, Ornitheology, where he utilizes birds as illustrations of the Christian life. He lives in Charlotte with his wife Beverly, three children, and five birdfeeders. Kevin's Book: Considering Sparrows Kevin's Recommendation: East of Eden Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 couldn’t solve. We explore the insights of the medieval mystics, what it means to let go of the need to win arguments, why our bodies matter in spiritual practice, and how discovering our belovedness reshapes the way we live and engage the world. James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and author of Make Your Home in this Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Gift of Unknowing (Yale, March 2026). His popular writing has appeared in magazines such as Christianity Today, Christian Century, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, as well as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. He lives in Grand Rapids, MI. James' Book: Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark James' Recommendation: Mussolini Son of the Century Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 reorient us toward love, and why slowing down and tending to our inner lives might actually be one of the most important ways we can become a healing presence in the world. Bethaney B. Wilkinson (MA, Fuller Theological Seminary) is a writer, spiritual director, podcaster, and facilitator who is passionate about slow, sustainable, and soul-nourishing living. She has led conversations on spirituality, race, and social change at Google and the Chick-fil-A Foundation, and her work has been featured on Getaway House, The Plywood podcast, and Pantsuit Politics. Bethaney is the author of The Diversity Gap and lives in rural Georgia. Bethaney's Book: A More Beautiful Way to Live Bethaney's Recommendations: Against the Machine Pride and Prejudice Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 do that head knowledge alone never can, and how the ordinary moments of everyday life are already full of divine invitation - if we have eyes to see them. Josh Nadeau is a writer and illustrator from Canada's West Coast, working to recover ancient ways of seeing God's Reality in a disenchanted age. He believes Beauty is an apologetic; a call to rediscover the holy ordinary of everyday life by participating in God's transcendent work. He is husband to Aislinn and father to Ransom and Cassian. He holds an undergraduate degree in physics, a master's in theological studies, and a doctorate from the school of hard knocks. Josh is the founder of Sword and Pencil and Every Day Saints. Josh's Book:  Heaven Meets Earth Josh's Recommendations: For the Life of the World Slaughterhouse-Five Mother Night Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 storytelling may be the church’s most important response in an age where reality itself often feels contested. Jared Stacy is a theologian and ethicist and former pastor to evangelical churches in New Orleans and the Washington, DC, metro area. He received a PhD in moral & practical theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. His research focuses on the intersection of theology and politics. Specifically on ethics, extremism/conspiracy theory and US evangelicalism. Jared’s work and his story have been featured on platforms like Time, NPR, NBC News, the BBC, and Christianity Today. Jared's Book: Reality in Ruins Jared's Recommendation: Joining Creation's Praise Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 carrying more than you know what to do with and looking for a way to remain present, honest, and hopeful, this conversation is for you. Shannan Martin is the bestselling author of several books, including Start with Hello, The Ministry of Ordinary Places, and the popular Substack The Soup. Shannan is a wannabe gardener, a news geek, a fighter for justice, and a thrift store stalker. She and her family live as grateful neighbors in Goshen, Indiana, where Shannan is on staff at the local community kitchen. Find her on Instagram @shannanwrites. Shannan's Book: Counterweights Shannan's Recommendations: Shrinking Where Do We Go From Here Cherished Belonging Love Walked In All About Love Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show

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 (PhD, Fuller Seminary) is dean of chapel and professor of theology at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa. He is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and has served as a pastor in diverse settings. Bailey is the author of Reimagining Apologetics and Interpreting Your World, and he is a sought-after speaker. His new book is Discipling the Diseased Imagination. Justin's Book: Discipling the Diseased Imagination Justin's Recommendations: Piranesi That Hideous Strength Broken Bonds Everything is Never Enough The Theological Imagination Connect with Joshua: [email protected] Go to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy. Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTube Consider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Go to mennomedia.org to order the Anabaptist Community Bible. Use code SHIFTING for 20% off. Support the show