Shifting Culture

Glen Henry, the creator of Beleaf in Fatherhood, shares his story of how resistance turned into calling - how learning to father himself helped him become the father his children needed. We talk about the inherited baggage we carry, the control we try to hold, and the grace that grows when we choose presence over perfection. Glen opens up about fatherhood as a form of cultural resistance, the power of family to heal generational wounds, and the daily work of creating a home rooted in love and faith. It’s a conversation about wholeness, Black fatherhood, and the beauty of learning to be fathered by God while raising children in a complicated world.Glen Henry is the creative force behind the beloved YouTube channel Beleaf in Fatherhood, where he blends humor, honesty, and heart to uplift and inspire families around the world. A devoted father and visionary storyteller, Glen uses his platform to champion positive parenting and redefine what modern fatherhood looks like. BeyondYouTube, he connects with audiences through social media, workshops, and speaking engagements — encouraging dads to show up with love, purpose, and presence. With his relatable voice and unwavering passion, Glen has become a leading advocate for strong families and meaningful father-child relationships.Glen's Book:Father Yourself FirstGlen's Recommendation:Successful FailureConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick Support the show

Kat Armas joins Shifting Culture to talk about her new book, Liturgies for Resisting Empire, a powerful exploration of how empire shapes the way we think about God, community, time, and ourselves. She names the ways control, hierarchy, and productivity have distorted our faith and imaginations, and invites us into practices of resistance rooted in love, rest, and belonging. Kat offers a vision of wholeness that embraces paradox over dualism, kinship over domination, and peace over violence. This conversation points us toward a more human way of living. One where we belong without conditions and find God in the places empire forgets.Kat Armas is a Cuban American writer, speaker, and theologian from Miami, FL. She holds a ThM from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and a dual MDiv and MAT from Fuller Theological Seminary where she was awarded the Frederick Buechner Award for Excellence in Writing.Her first book, Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength, sits at the intersection of women, decolonialism, the Bible, and Cuban identity. Her second book, Sacred Belonging: A 40-day Devotional on the Liberating Heart of Scripture invites readers to encounter the Bible through a decolonized lens, lifting up themes of creation, wisdom, spirit, the body, and the feminine.Kat has spoken at seminaries, universities, and conferences nationwide and her work has appeared in the National Catholic Reporter—where one of her essays was shared by the pope!, Plough Magazine, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Sojornours Magazine, and more.Kat currently lives on a small farm in middle Tennessee with her family—which includes her spouse, young children, chickens, goats, pigs, dogs, and cats. Her forthcoming third book Liturgies for Resisting Empire: Seeking Community, Belonging, and Peace in a Dehumanizing World examines the ideologies of empire that infiltrate daily life and offers a pathway toward liberation. It releases November 4th.Kat's Book:Liturgies for Resisting EmpireKat's Recommendations:The CorrespondentTell Me EverythingResident AlienConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick The Curious Case of Being HumanThe Curious Case of Being Humanwith Matt Cooper and Isabelle...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show

Pastor and author Mark Batterson joins me to talk about his new book Gradually, Then Suddenly, a powerful invitation to dream God-sized dreams, start small, and stay faithful long enough to see legacy take root. We explore what it means to move from imagination to action, how to live with long vision and long obedience, and why true success often looks like quiet persistence over time. Mark shares stories of transformation from Washington, D.C., turning a crack house into a coffeehouse, a dream into a citywide ministry, and faith into a generational story. This conversation reminds us that what looks like slow progress may actually be sacred preparation. Join us for an inspiring look at how to live, lead, and love with purpose over the long haul.Mark Batterson is the New York Times bestselling author of two dozen adult and children’s books including Win the Day, Chase the Lion and A Million Little Miracles. His newest book is Gradually Then Suddenly, How to Dream Bigger, Decide Better, and Leave a Lasting Legacy (Multnomah; on sale 11/4/25).  He’s also the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. One church with multiple campuses, NCC owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse, the DC Dream Center and the Capital Turnaround—a 100,000-square-foot city block that includes an event venue and child development center. Mark holds a doctor of ministry degree from Regent University. He and his wife, Lora, reside on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit markbatterson.com and https://twitter.com/markbatterson & Instagram.com/markbatterson Mark's Book:Gradually, Then SuddenlyMark's Recommendation:The River of DoubtConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick Support the show

Sara Billups, a Seattle-based writer and cultural commentator, discusses her book, Nervous Systems, exploring the pervasive anxiety in our lives, churches, and society. She delves into Ignatian spirituality and 'holy indifference' as tools to find peace and presence. Sara highlights the difference between fear and anxiety, how to support mental health in families, and the importance of community care. She encourages a non-anxious posture in society, blending joy with suffering, and offers practical tools for managing worry.

Fr. Ronald Rolheiser joins me to talk about his new book Insane for the Light, the final part of his spiritual trilogy that began with The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire. Together, we explore what it means to live faithfully through every stage of life from getting our lives together, to giving them away, to finally giving our deaths away. Fr. Rolheiser shares profound insights on the difference between resignation and surrender, how helplessness can become holiness, and why love is sustained not by emotion but by fidelity and presence. We talk about aging as a spiritual practice, the call to move from bitterness to gratitude, and the deep grace found in letting go. This is a conversation about surrendering in love, learning to live with open hands, and allowing the light of God to shine through us, even as everything else fades.Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I., is President-Emeritus of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio Texas, where he remains a full-time faculty member and Professor of Spirituality. In 1982, he began writing a column “In Exile” which is carried in Catholic newspapers worldwide. He is the author of many award-winning books including The Holy Longing and Sacred Fire, and his newest book Insane for the Light releases in 2025.Ron's Books:Insane for the LightSacred FireThe Holy LongingRon's Recommendations:All the Way to HeavenRachel Held EvansRichard RohrConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick The Curious Case of Being HumanThe Curious Case of Being Humanwith Matt Cooper and Isabelle...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show

In this episode, Carmen Imes joins me to explore her new book Becoming God’s Family: Why Church Still Matters. We look at why the church, despite its failures, divisions, and imperfections, remains central to the way of Jesus. Carmen traces the story of God’s people from Abraham and Sinai to the early church, revealing how God has always chosen to work through community. She offers a compelling vision of what it means to belong to one another, to wait together on God, and to become a family formed by grace. This conversation is a reminder that church isn’t a perfect institution, it’s a gathering of people who need God and one another. In a world of disconnection and individualism, this is an invitation to rediscover the beauty of life together.Dr. Carmen Joy Imes is associate professor of Old Testament at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in Southern California. She is the author of Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, Being God’s Image: Why Creation Still Matters, and Becoming God’s Family: Why the Church Still Matters. Her primary areas of expertise are Exodus and the Psalms. Carmen has a YouTube channel where she releases weekly Torah Tuesday videos and you can find her writing on various websites, including Christianity Today, Substack, The Well, and The Politics of Scripture blog. Carmen has appeared on over 150 podcasts and radio outlets. She enjoys traveling to speak at churches, schools, conferences, and retreats. Carmen is passionate about equipping the church to engage the Old Testament well and to see its relevance for the Christian life.Carmen's Book:Becoming God's FamilyCarmen's Recommendations:All Creatures Great and SmallSingle Ever AfterConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick The Curious Case of Being HumanThe Curious Case of Being Humanwith Matt Cooper and Isabelle...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show

Andrew DeCort joins me to explore what it means to love our neighbor — not as a vague ideal, but as a radical way of living that can heal our divisions and reshape our world. Drawing from his own story in Ethiopia and his new book Reviving the Golden Rule, Andrew shares how the practice of neighbor love dismantles fear, ends cycles of othering, and calls us into a deeper belonging rooted in the very heart of God. We talk about how love becomes courage in the face of violence, how Jesus’ teaching to love even our enemies abolishes exclusion, and how the Neighbor-Love Movement is helping people embody this ancient command in practical, everyday ways. This is a powerful conversation about faith, reconciliation, and what it means to live as people who see every human being as a reflection of God’s image.Andrew DeCort founded the Institute for Faith and Flourishing and cofounded the Neighbor-Love Movement in Ethiopia, which have reached over twenty million people with the invitation to nonviolent spirituality. He holds a PhD in religious ethics from the University of Chicago and has taught ethics, public theology, peace and conflict studies, and Ethiopian studies at Wheaton College, the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology, and the University of Bonn. He is the author of Reviving the Golden Rule, Blessed Are the Others, Flourishing on the Edge of Faith, and Bonhoeffer’s New Beginning. His words have appeared in Foreign Policy, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Economist, Christianity Today, and numerous other platforms.Andrew's Book:Reviving the Golden RuleAndrew's Recommendation:Grief is LoveConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick The Curious Case of Being HumanThe Curious Case of Being Humanwith Matt Cooper and Isabelle...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show

What happens when “biblical parenting” becomes more about control than compassion? In this episode, I talk with Kelsey McGinnis and Marissa Burt, authors of The Myth of Good Christian Parenting, about the rise of evangelical parenting culture, from James Dobson and Bill Gothard to today’s influencer economy, and how these ideas have shaped generations of families. Together, we explore how fear and hierarchy took root in the church’s imagination, why so many parents feel trapped by formulas and shame, and what it might look like to recover freedom, grace, and mutuality in our homes. This is a conversation about rethinking authority, rediscovering gentleness, and learning to see our children as people to love, not projects to manage.Marissa Franks Burt (MTh, Columbia International University) is a novelist, editor, teacher, and cohost of the At Home with the Lectionary podcast. She lives in a small town in Washington’s Snoqualmie Valley with her husband, six children, and heaps of books.Kelsey Kramer McGinnis (PhD, University of Iowa) is a musicologist, educator, and correspondent for Christianity Today, writing on worship practices and Christian subculture. She is an adjunct professor at Grand View University in Des Moines and previously worked at the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights.Marissa & Kelsey's Book:The Myth of Good Christian ParentingKelsey's Recommendations:Celebrities for JesusMonstersMarissa's Recommendations:The Justice of JesusThe Thursday Murder ClubSubscribe to Our Substack: Shifting CultureConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick The Curious Case of Being HumanThe Curious Case of Being Humanwith Matt Cooper and Isabelle...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show

Greg Boyd, founder of Woodland Hills Church and author, explores the revolutionary idea that God looks like Jesus, fully revealed in the crucified Christ. He challenges conventional views on God's nature, emphasizing unconditional love and nonviolence. Boyd discusses how the cross should shape our reading of Scripture, reframe interpretations of Old Testament violence, and inspire love for enemies. He also reflects on living as a distinct kingdom people, resisting enmeshment with political powers while advocating for sacrificial service and care for the marginalized.

Phil Sokell-Miles has spent nearly two decades helping students encounter God in the most ordinary of places - schools. As part of the 24-7 Prayer movement, he helped pioneer Prayer Spaces in Schools, a global initiative inviting children and young people of all faiths and none to explore prayer, reflection, and life’s big questions in safe and creative ways. In this episode, we talk about how the movement began, why creativity can open us to the Spirit in ways words sometimes can’t, and what it means to serve schools as places of blessing rather than mission projects. We explore how prayer becomes a way of belonging, how the Holy Spirit meets us in quiet spaces, and how creating room for presence can transform lives. A conversation about childlike faith, holy imagination, and the God who meets us right where we are.Phil Sokell-Miles (formerly Togwell) lives in the North of England with his family (wife, daughters, foster-mums/babies, lodgers and dogs). Phil trained and worked in all sorts of Youth & Community settings before joined the 24-7 Prayer movement as it’s first UK National Director. He now leads 24-7’s Prayer Spaces in Schools initiative, and he recently published 'Sticky Note Prayers', which tells the story of Prayer Spaces in Schools. Phil runs (a lot), and he still plays Pokemon Go.Phil's Book:Sticky Note PrayersPhil's Recommendations:Praying Like Monks, Living Like FoolsAbout the Voice of GodSubscribe to Our Substack: Shifting CultureConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo 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 YouTubeConsider 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 belowFind the Presence Over Power collection at www.shiftingculturepodcast.com/store Get Your Sidekick The Curious Case of Being HumanThe Curious Case of Being Humanwith Matt Cooper and Isabelle...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   SpotifySupport the show