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. 6h ago

    In Memory of John Esposito with Wade Fransson | Created In The Image of God 270

    This special episode of Created In The Image of God is dedicated to the memory of Professor John L. Esposito, the pioneering Georgetown scholar whose work helped generations of students, readers, and leaders think more clearly about Islam, pluralism, public life, and Muslim–Christian understanding. Scheduled to appear on the show, Esposito passed away on July 15, 2026, in Philadelphia as a result of complications from heart surgery. His absence is deeply felt, but so is the enduring influence of his life’s work.Wade Fransson takes this moment to reflect on life, death, and the strange weight of loss when it becomes deeply personal. Having lost two sisters and his father in the last two years, Wade shares thoughts shaped not just by ideas, but by grief, memory, and the reality of saying goodbye.This is a tribute, a meditation, and a personal reflection on what remains after a life ends: the questions, the love, the sorrow, and the legacy. In honoring John Esposito, the episode also opens space for a larger conversation about mortality, remembrance, and how we carry the lives of others forward."In this episode of Created In The Image of God, he reflects on the rise of authoritarianism, the globalization of Islamophobia, and the ways anti-Muslim racism distorts not only religion, but politics, diplomacy, and public life. He shares how Georgetown’s Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding was born out of a concern that Islam would be cast as the next global threat—and why that concern has only become more relevant.Together, we explore Muslim–Christian relations, the fractured legacy of the children of Abraham, and the challenge of building genuine understanding in a world still shaped by fear, rivalry, and inherited mistrust. For anyone looking for a wiser, more historically grounded way to think about Islam, pluralism, and our shared future, this conversation offers clarity, depth, and humanity. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  2. 1d ago

    The Vulnerable Pastor with Mandy Smith | Created In The Image of God 269

    Mandy Smith is a pastor, author, and one of the clearest voices speaking into the need for sustainable, human‑scaled ministry. Best known for The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry, she has spent years exploring what it means to take Jesus seriously in a world that prizes power, polish, and control. Her writing asks a simple but disruptive question: if God really shows His strength in our weakness, what would it look like to live and lead as though that were true?In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Mandy reflects on the deep thread running through all her work—from weakness and dependence, to hospitality, emotional honesty, collaboration, and the hidden life of the kingdom. She shares how God has taught her to stop apologizing for being human, and how some of the very qualities often dismissed as “soft” or secondary can become channels of renewal in leadership, church life, and community.This conversation is for pastors, leaders, and anyone exhausted by performance-driven faith. Mandy offers a hopeful reminder that God’s kingdom often grows like yeast in dough—quietly, slowly, and in places the world has learned to overlook. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  3. 6d ago

    Conscience, Evangelicalism & Home with Mark Galli | Created In The Image of God 268

    Mark Galli is an American Catholic writer, editor, and former Protestant pastor best known for his leadership at Christianity Today, where he served in various roles—culminating in seven years as editor in chief. A California native who moved from Presbyterian ministry into evangelical Anglicanism before returning to the Catholic Church in 2020, he has written widely on evangelicalism, theology, and spiritual life in books like Jesus Mean and Wild, Beyond Smells and Bells, God Wins, Chaos and Grace, Karl Barth: An Introductory Biography for Evangelicals, and With All the Saints: My Journey to the Roman Catholic Church.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Mark joins Wade for a thoughtful conversation about faith, conscience, and the long spiritual journey through—and beyond—American evangelicalism. Raised Catholic, shaped by evangelical conversion, formed through pastoral ministry and decades of religious journalism, and later received back into the Catholic Church, Mark brings a rare perspective on the tensions between conviction, tradition, public witness, and political power.Together, we explore what happens when loyalty to Christ challenges loyalty to tribe, how conscience is formed in times of cultural and ecclesial upheaval, and what it means to keep seeking truth with humility across the changing landscapes of Christian identity. This is a conversation for anyone wrestling with belonging, integrity, and the cost of spiritual honesty. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Jul 27

    Corporate Soul, Sacred Path with Richard Strilowich | Created In The Image of God 267

    Richard Strilowich is a corporate SAGE coach who helps conscious professionals treat their careers as a spiritual path—integrating inner wisdom with outer success. Drawing on more than 40 years in IT, including leadership roles in small, medium, and global companies, he brings a systems-thinking mindset and practical depth to questions of work, identity, and purpose. Over three decades of spiritual exploration—through mind-body-spirit modalities, energy-consciousness work, somatic therapy, and spiritual direction—have shaped the way he now guides others through StillPoint Coach.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Rich joins Wade for a deeply personal conversation about the long road from Catholic boyhood to corporate leadership to spiritual integration. He reflects on formative moments that shaped him—from singing at the Vatican as a 13-year-old and receiving communion from Pope Paul VI, to finding a quiet, wordless communion with God in nature, to losing himself in software development and later discovering that even debugging code could become a kind of mystical focus.Together, they explore what happens when success no longer satisfies, why inner pain can become the beginning of calling, and how the spiritual path sometimes finds us long before we know how to name it. For anyone trying to reconcile ambition, faith, work, and wholeness, Rich offers a thoughtful invitation: your career may not be separate from your soul’s journey after all. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Jul 22

    Building a Kingdom Business Without the Grind with Brian Adamson | Created In The Image of God 266

    Brian Adamson is a Kingdom business coach, co-founder of Purpose to Profits, and host of the Believers N Biz podcast. He helps faith-driven coaches, consultants, and experts grow to six and seven figures through scalable business models built on biblical principles rather than hustle, burnout, or constant one-to-one effort. After leaving corporate at 35 and building his own online business to nearly $10 million, Brian developed his “1 to Many” system to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs expand their impact without sacrificing what matters most.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Brian joins Wade for a practical and faith-centered conversation about what it means to grow a business God’s way. Together, they explore how entrepreneurs can move beyond inconsistent income, overwork, and survival mode into models shaped by clarity, conviction, and Kingdom alignment.They also discuss why focusing on the right inputs matters more than obsessing over outcomes, how biblical principles can reshape the way we think about scaling, and what becomes possible when our work is anchored in truth and surrendered to God. For anyone building a business while trying to stay faithful, present, and sane, this episode offers both strategy and encouragement. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Jul 21

    The Spacious Way of Jesus with Jen Pollock Michel | Created In The Image of God 265

    Jen Pollock Michel is an author, speaker, and writing mentor whose work circles around desire, time, home, and the ordinary practices that shape a life with God. She has written six books—Teach Us to Want and In Good Time (both award‑winners), Surprised by Paradox, Keeping Place, A Habit Called Faith, and her forthcoming A Rule for the Rest of Us. With degrees in French, literature, and an MFA in creative writing, she now mentors writers in Whitworth University’s MFA program and pens a popular Substack of “Monday letters” from her near‑empty nest in Cincinnati.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Jen and Wade trace the story beneath those books: a childhood spent moving around the Midwest and South as her English‑teacher dad pursued a PhD in communications; a home where poems were written for birthdays and words were the family currency; and a church life rich in Bible drills and doctrine, but—at least at first—thin on joy. As a teen, Jen assumed she’d follow Jesus “later,” once she’d had her fun. Then, at 16, a youth camp encounter shifted everything, turning faith from cramped rules into a spacious path of joy, obedience, and grace.From there, the conversation dives into how we misunderstand God’s law as mere restriction, why “choose to sin, choose to suffer” is more about reality than lightning bolts, and how being re‑storied by Scripture helps us love rightly—God, neighbors, children, and even our own desires—in proper proportion.For anyone who grew up in church but quietly wondered if a life with God would be too small, Jen’s story is an invitation into a bigger, truer way of being human: one where limits are gifts, obedience leads to joy, and every ordinary day can be woven into God’s surprising, spacious grace. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  7. Jul 15

    Cultural Witness from the Midst of Conflict with Vinoth Ramachandra | Created In The Image of God 264

    Vinoth Ramachandra is a Sri Lankan theologian, writer, and international lecturer who has spent decades helping Christians engage the university and public life with intellectual rigor and social integrity. Trained in nuclear engineering at the University of London, he returned to Sri Lanka rather than pursue an academic career in the West, helping to build an inter-denominational Christian university ministry and later serving on IFES’s Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. His work has also included civil rights advocacy in Sri Lanka, global networks for development and justice through Micah Network, creation care with A Rocha, and advisory roles with the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Vinoth joins Wade for a searching conversation about cultural witness shaped not in comfort, but in the midst of conflict. From Sri Lanka’s long civil struggles to the wider myths of nationalism, secularism, and Western modernity, he explores how Christians can resist shallow narratives and recover a more faithful, globally aware discipleship. Drawing on books like Gods That Fail, Subverting Global Myths, and Sarah’s Laughter, Vinoth brings theology into conversation with suffering, doubt, politics, and hope.Together, they ask what faithful public presence looks like in a fractured world—and why genuine witness must be courageous, dialogical, and deeply attentive to the humanity of every person. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

  8. Jul 13

    The Pace of Peace with Jay Kim | Created In The Image of God 263

    Jay Kim is a pastor, author, and cultural observer who serves as lead pastor of WestGate Church in the heart of Silicon Valley. He is the author of The Pace of Peace, Listen Listen Speak, Analog Christian, and Analog Church, where he explores what it means to follow Jesus with depth, attention, and embodied presence in a distracted digital age. A contributor to outlets like Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, and Relevant, Jay also hosts IVP’s Digital Examen Podcast.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Jay joins Wade for a searching conversation about faith, technology, church hurt, and the pressures of modern life. Born in South Korea and raised in Silicon Valley after his mother’s dramatic conversion to Christianity, Jay grew up in the world of the immigrant church—where faith, belonging, and community were deeply intertwined. But when that world fractured through betrayal and pain, he walked away, only to find his way back through the patient love of friends who embodied Jesus differently.Together, they explore what it means to pursue peace in an anxious age, why digital life so easily fragments our attention, and how a more faithful Christian presence begins not with speed or performance, but with slowness, depth, and love. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe

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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

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