Created in the Image of God

Wade Fransson
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Religion
  • Updated Weekly

Tune in every Tuesday for an inspiring journey on Created in the Image of God: Building Vibrant Communities. Wade Fransson and his distinguished guests explore the essence of human nature and the transformative power of unity in diversity through live-streamed discussions rooted in the Independent Investigation of Reality. This series advocates for authentic connections among individuals to foster thriving, inclusive communities. Anchored in spiritual truths and a collective quest for understanding, these conversations inspire growth and progress toward a harmonious world. soopllc.substack.com wadefransson.substack.com

  1. 14h ago

    No More Perfect Marriages with Mark and Jill Savage | Created In The Image of God 281

    Mark and Jill Savage are authors, speakers, and marriage coaches who are passionate about helping couples and families find hope, healing, and practical encouragement. After decades in church ministry, parenting five children, and walking through a devastating marital crisis that nearly ended their relationship, they now share their story with remarkable honesty and grace to help others pursue restoration. Jill is the founder of Hearts at Home and the author of books including No More Perfect Moms and Empty Nest, Full Life, and together Mark and Jill co-authored No More Perfect Marriages.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Mark and Jill join Wade for a candid conversation about marriage, redemption, and the importance of getting help before it’s too late. They reflect on the pain of broken trust, the slow work of rebuilding, and the kind of hope that can carry couples through dark seasons. They also share practical insight on intimacy, communication, and why so many marriages stay stuck simply because people wait too long to act.This is a conversation for couples in crisis, couples in repair, and couples who simply want something deeper and healthier. With warmth, humility, and hard-won wisdom, Mark and Jill remind us that perfection was never the goal—healing, honesty, and redemption are. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  2. 4d ago

    God as Father, Mary as Mother with Amy Peeler | Created In The Image of God 280

    Amy Peeler is a New Testament scholar, pastor, and writer who has devoted her career to exploring Hebrews, gender, and the family of God. She serves as Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College and is the author of Women and the Gender of God, multiple works on Hebrews, and Ordinary Time: The Season of Growth. Trained at Princeton Theological Seminary and Oklahoma Baptist University, Amy brings together rigorous exegesis and theological reflection on how Scripture speaks about God as Father, Mary as mother of God, and men and women as God’s children.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Amy joins Wade for a rich conversation about gender, holiness, and belonging in the family of God. Drawing from Hebrews, the Gospels, and the wider biblical story, she reflects on why the language of God as Father has been both life-giving and difficult, and why its deepest meaning can only be understood through Jesus. The incarnation stands at the center: we know God as Father because the Son reveals Him, and the Son comes to us born of a woman.Together, they also explore Genesis, spiritual maturity, and the difference between grasping at knowledge apart from God and growing into wisdom with Him. For anyone seeking a more biblically rooted and theologically careful conversation about God, gender, and the church, this episode offers depth, grace, and real substance. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  3. 5d ago

    The Bible for Normal People with Jared Byas | Created In The Image of God 279

    Jared Byas is a writer, speaker, and co-founder of The Bible for Normal People, where he helps people ask better questions about faith, Scripture, and what it means to be Christian. A former pastor and professor of philosophy and biblical studies, Jared is known for making complex ideas accessible and creating space for honest conversations about doubt, belonging, and spiritual growth. He is the author of Love Matters More, Jonah for Normal People, and co-author of Genesis for Normal People.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Jared joins Wade for a rich conversation about how we read the Bible, why so many people inherit rigid systems instead of living questions, and what happens when scholarship is kept out of reach of ordinary believers. Drawing from his journey through charismatic, Baptist, Presbyterian, academic, and pastoral worlds, Jared reflects on the shift from defending faith as a system to encountering Scripture as something more mysterious, human, and transformative.Together, they explore interpretation, doubt, wisdom, community, and the danger of pretending we come to the Bible without lenses. This is a conversation for anyone who still cares deeply about Scripture but suspects there may be a more honest, spacious, and faithful way to engage it. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Sep 2

    Shame-Free Conversations with Kelly Edmiston | Created In The Image of God 278

    Kelly Edmiston is a pastor, teacher, author, and speaker who is passionate about helping people break free from shame and move toward deeper healing and flourishing. Raised in a church tradition where women weren’t expected to preach or lead, Kelly now lives boldly into that calling—creating honest, grace-filled conversations around faith, identity, and topics many churches avoid. She is the author of Shame-Free Sex Talks, a practical and hopeful resource for helping families talk about relationships, emotional health, and sexuality without fear or silence.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Kelly joins Wade for a thoughtful conversation about spiritual formation, the goodness of the body, and why so many Christians struggle to speak honestly about relationships and sexuality. She explains why everyone is being formed by something, why the church has often treated the body as a barrier instead of a gift, and why healthy conversations have to begin not with panic or moralism, but with a deeper theological vision of what it means to be human.Drawing from her research, interviews, and pastoral work, Kelly offers a more grounded and grace-filled approach to conversations many families desperately need but don’t know how to begin. For anyone longing for a more honest, healing, and faithful way forward, this episode offers clarity, courage, and hope. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Aug 31

    Planet Narnia with Michael Ward | Created In The Image of God 277

    Michael Ward is a theologian, literary scholar, and leading voice in C.S. Lewis studies, serving as an Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. He is best known as the award-winning author of Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis, bringing together deep theological insight with a rich appreciation for imagination, literature, and faith. He has also held chaplaincy and research roles at Oxford and Cambridge, and helped lead major public tributes to Lewis, including the memorial in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Michael joins Wade for a rich conversation about Lewis’s theological imagination, the symbolic world behind Narnia, and why Lewis’s work still matters so powerfully today. Drawing especially on Planet Narnia, Michael explores the medieval vision of the seven heavens and how Lewis wove those cosmic meanings into the Chronicles in ways most readers never notice—but deeply feel.Together, they also touch on That Hideous Strength, The Abolition of Man, the Tower of Babel tradition, and the enduring power of stories to reveal truth. For anyone drawn to Lewis, Tolkien, imagination, or the meeting place of theology and literature, this episode offers both delight and depth. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Aug 26

    Patience, Public Faith & Modern Theology with Paul Dafydd Jones | Created In The Image of God 276

    Paul Dafydd Jones is a theologian and Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia whose work explores Christian thought, public life, and the enduring questions of theology in the modern world. Educated at Oxford, Harvard Divinity School, Heidelberg, and Harvard University, he has written widely on Protestant theology, Christology, political theology, and the theology of patience. He is the author of The Humanity of Christ and Patience: A Theological Exploration, and co-editor of major volumes including the Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth and Karl Barth and Liberation Theology.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Paul joins Wade for a thoughtful conversation about theology’s public relevance in a fragmented age. Drawing on his teaching at a major public university, he reflects on why faith must be able to give an account of itself in the modern world—and why the best theology is never cut off from real questions of justice, freedom, discrimination, and ecological responsibility.Together, they explore Calvin, Karl Barth, Schleiermacher, liberation theology, and the challenge of integrating deep Christian tradition with contemporary moral and political concerns. For anyone wrestling with how serious theology can remain both intellectually honest and publicly engaged, this episode offers depth, nuance, and real substance. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  7. Aug 24

    He Is With Me Through the Night with Sarah E. Frazer | Created In The Image of God 275

    Sarah E. Frazer is an author, Bible teacher, and encouraging voice for women walking through weariness, disappointment, and unexpected turns in life. Through her writing, courses, and Bible studies, she helps readers face fear, stress, and uncertainty with God’s peace and a deeper understanding of Scripture. She is the author of I Didn’t Sign Up for This: How to Rest in God’s Goodness When Your Story Shifts and has been featured by outlets such as Christian Today, First5, and Crosswalk.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Sarah joins Wade for a tender conversation about anxiety, sleeplessness, and the healing power of God’s Word—especially in the dark hours when fear feels loudest. She shares how a season of depression and spiritual struggle during pregnancy led her to the Psalms, and how hearing Psalm 27 read aloud in the middle of the night became a turning point in her experience of God’s peace.That journey eventually gave rise to her Psalms to Help You Sleep podcast and her upcoming book, He Is With Me Through the Night. Together, they explore why the Psalms speak so powerfully to fear, grief, and uncertainty, and how Scripture can become a place of rest when life does not go as planned. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  8. Aug 19

    The Dark Odor of Death with Dan Allender | Created In The Image of God 274

    Dan Allender, PhD, is a pioneering therapist, professor of counseling psychology, and co-founder of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, known for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of trauma, abuse, and the Christian story. For more than 40 years, the Allender Theory has helped hundreds of thousands engage their stories of harm in light of the gospel, reshaping how pastors, counselors, and ordinary people think about abuse, sexuality, marriage, grief, and healing. He is the author of influential books such as The Wounded Heart, The Healing Path, To Be Told, Redeeming Heartache, and—with Tremper Longman—The Cry of the Soul and Bold Love.In this deeply unusual episode of Created In The Image of God, the conversation becomes something more than an interview. As Wade describes the recent deaths of two sisters and his father, along with the family conflict and legal burdens that have followed, Dan responds not as a distant expert but as a wise guide into the disorienting terrain of grief, trauma, death, and meaning. Together, they explore what it means to read one’s own life honestly, to face the darkness without comparison or escape, and to ask whether even the most painful parts of our story might still be revelatory.This is a raw, searching conversation about death, family, authorship, suffering, and the possibility that even in the most disruptive chapters of life, something true and beautiful is still being revealed. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

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About

Tune in every Tuesday for an inspiring journey on Created in the Image of God: Building Vibrant Communities. Wade Fransson and his distinguished guests explore the essence of human nature and the transformative power of unity in diversity through live-streamed discussions rooted in the Independent Investigation of Reality. This series advocates for authentic connections among individuals to foster thriving, inclusive communities. Anchored in spiritual truths and a collective quest for understanding, these conversations inspire growth and progress toward a harmonious world. soopllc.substack.com wadefransson.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Wade Fransson
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    280
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Wade Fransson
  • Show Website
    Created in the Image of God

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