Shifting Culture

Joshua Johnson
  • 4.9 (69)
  • CHRISTIANITY

On Shifting Culture we have conversations at the intersection of faith, culture, justice, and the way of Jesus. Hosted by Joshua Johnson, this podcast features long-form conversations with authors, theologians, artists, and cultural thinkers to trace how embodied love, courage, and creative faithfulness offer a culture of real healing and hope. 

  1. Ep. 419 Scot McKnight & Adrienne Gibson - Traumatized Church

    3H AGO

    Ep. 419 Scot McKnight & Adrienne Gibson - Traumatized Church

    In this episode, I talk with Scot McKnight and Adrienne Gibson about their new book Traumatized Church, and what it looks like to read Paul, and our congregations, through a trauma-informed lens. We explore what trauma actually is, how it lives in the body, and why so many people are being quietly re-traumatized in the very communities meant to heal them. The conversation moves between Paul's raw letter in 2 Corinthians and the practical work of building churches that are safe, full of mutuality, and honest about the pain in the room. Scot McKnight (PhD, Nottingham) has been a Professor of New Testament for more than four decades. He is the author of more than ninety books, including the award-winning The Jesus Creed as well as The King Jesus Gospel, A Fellowship of Differents, One.Life, The Blue Parakeet, Revelation for the Rest of Us, and Kingdom Conspiracy. Adrienne Gibson is a licensed professional counselor (LPC), clinical supervisor for the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), and the owner of Valor Counseling. She has been licensed for over two decades, working with children, families, and adults, and has served as a clinical supervisor and clinical director for two large community based mental health agencies in Arizona and Oregon. She has master’s degrees in counseling and New Testament. She regularly speaks on the topic of trauma and healing and consults with denominations on implementing trauma-informed care practices. Scot & Adrienne's Book: Traumatized Church Scot's Recommendation: Complicity in the Holocaust Adrienne's Recommendation: The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog Connect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the podcast and the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Support the show

    57 min
  2. Ep. 418 Alan Noble - How to Live Well in a Fractured World

    3D AGO

    Ep. 418 Alan Noble - How to Live Well in a Fractured World

    We’re living in a fractured world, pulled in a thousand directions, unsure what it actually means to live a good life. In this episode, I talk with Alan Noble about virtue, telos, and how prudence, justice, courage, temperance, faith, hope, and love reorient us toward a life that is whole, grounded, and shaped by the way of Jesus. We explore decision-making, suffering, agency, and hope - and what it looks like to actually embody these virtues in everyday life. Dr. O. Alan Noble is Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, a fellow at the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, and author of four books, including: To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times, On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living, and You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World. Dr. Noble has published articles at The Atlantic, The Gospel Coalition, First Things, and Christianity Today. He lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and three children. Alan's Book: To Live Well Alan's Recommendation: The Quest for Community Connect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    49 min
  3. Ep. 417 Steven Garber - Making Peace with the Proximate

    APR 24

    Ep. 417 Steven Garber - Making Peace with the Proximate

    What do you do when the world refuses to become what you know it should be? In this conversation, Steven Garber introduces the concept of "the proximate" - learning to make peace with what is nearly, but not yet, true - in our marriages, our work for justice, and our longing for God's kingdom to come. Drawing on Tolkien, Augustine, the Clapham Society, and the surprising cry of a postmodern novelist, Steven helps us understand the difference between hope and optimism, what it means to carry our wounds into the world as healers, and why the question of what it means to be human may be the most urgent question of our age. His new book is Hints of Hope. Steven Garber has been teacher of many people in many places for many years, a professor for undergraduates, graduates, and people at work in the world. The founder of the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture, he now serves as the Senior Fellow for Vocation and the Common Good for the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Senior Advisor for the Economics of Mutuality and Senior Fellow for the Institute for Marketplace Transformation; and for several years was the Professor of Marketplace Theology at Regent College, Vancouver BC. The author of several books, his most recent are Hints of Hope: Essays on Making Peace with the Proximate, Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good, and The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work. With his wife Meg, they are the parents of children and grandchildren, and have long lived in Virginia among family, friends and flowers. A native of the mountain valleys of Colorado and California, a geography of people and place which is still a deep home to him. Steven's Book: Hints of Hope Steven's Recommendations: A Christmas Carol Les Miserables Connect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    49 min
  4. Ep. 416 Andrew Root - Rescuing Church Growth from Idolatry

    APR 21

    Ep. 416 Andrew Root - Rescuing Church Growth from Idolatry

    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: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    58 min
  5. Ep. 415 Jason VanRuler Returns - Discovering Your Communication Type: The Path to Deeper Connections and Stronger Relationships

    APR 20

    Ep. 415 Jason VanRuler Returns - Discovering Your Communication Type: The Path to Deeper Connections and Stronger Relationships

    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: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    52 min
  6. Ep. 414 Amy Orr-Ewing Returns - Reclaiming the Power of Forgiveness in a Culture of Outrage and Fear

    APR 17

    Ep. 414 Amy Orr-Ewing Returns - Reclaiming the Power of Forgiveness in a Culture of Outrage and Fear

    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: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    55 min
  7. Ep. 413 Malcolm Guite - Lifting the Veil: Beauty, Myth, and Re-Enchantment

    APR 14

    Ep. 413 Malcolm Guite - Lifting the Veil: Beauty, Myth, and Re-Enchantment

    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: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    57 min
  8. Ep. 412 Jay Stringer - What Your Desires Are Trying to Tell You

    APR 10

    Ep. 412 Jay Stringer - What Your Desires Are Trying to Tell You

    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: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com 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 Support the show

    1h 1m
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4.9
out of 5
69 Ratings

About

On Shifting Culture we have conversations at the intersection of faith, culture, justice, and the way of Jesus. Hosted by Joshua Johnson, this podcast features long-form conversations with authors, theologians, artists, and cultural thinkers to trace how embodied love, courage, and creative faithfulness offer a culture of real healing and hope. 

Information

  • Creator
    Joshua Johnson
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    422
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Shifting Culture
  • Show Website
    Shifting Culture

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