The Intersection with Dr. J + Friends

Justin Detmers
  • 5.0 (8)
  • CHRISTIANITY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Intersections are high-traffic areas, with people coming from and heading in all sorts of directions. While intersections are places of potential collision and calamity, they are also the very places where we can find direction and learn where to go. The Intersection is a podcast where faith engages the complexities of our modern world. Though intersections sometimes feel risky, they are where real dialogue happens, they are where we find direction and discover where to go next.

  1. Digital Mission in the Brave New World of Web3

    9H AGO

    Digital Mission in the Brave New World of Web3

    Justin chops it up with entrepreneur and technologist John Knox about faith, technology, and the rapidly changing digital frontier. From AI to blockchain to the emerging world of Web3, the discussion explores what it might mean for Christians to cultivate a faithful presence in spaces that shape how information is disseminated, how authority is distributed, and how influence flows. Rather than treating new technology as either a savior or a threat, Knox invites listeners to think with careful and holy optimism about the moral and spiritual opportunities embedded in our tools. The conversation examines the promise and complexity of decentralization, the rise of online communities, and the generational shifts shaping how people encounter both faith and information. Along the way, they wrestle with a central question: if technology is reorganizing public life, what role do Christians have in responsibly shaping it? Knox argues that the tech sector should not be ceded to purely commercial or ideological interests. Instead, Christians working in technology—and those simply navigating it—have an opportunity to engage these spaces with imagination, ethical clarity, and a sense of mission. From practical steps for “digital missionaries” to broader reflections on how faith and vocation intersect in the modern economy, the episode offers a hopeful but clear-eyed look at the possibilities before us. For anyone curious about the forces shaping our (digital) lives, this conversation offers a thoughtful invitation: don’t just consume or avoid technology—help shape it. ~LINKS~ Christians in Web 3 (CW3)FaithTech.comPodcast: What Would Jesus TechBook: Debugging Discipleship: Flowing the Church out as Liquid to Bear Fruit that Lasts by Joanna NgBook: Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future by Dr. Jean TwengeJohn’s Firm: MedranoPartners.com

    58 min
  2. Civil Rights & The Black Church w Rachel Smith

    FEB 27

    Civil Rights & The Black Church w Rachel Smith

    Dr. J talks with Rachel Smith for a biblically grounded, historically rich, and honest conversation about the Black Church, the Civil Rights Movement, and the long shadow cast over American life. This is not nostalgia or a highlight reel of famous speeches; it’s grappling with how faith formed communities, confronted injustice, and generated real social and economic opportunity. Beginning with the Great Migration, the conversation traces how Black communities reshaped cities like Flint and how the Black Church emerged not merely as a spiritual refuge but as an organizing engine that cultivated leadership, promoted dignity, and created pathways for education, economic opportunity, and collective action when no one else would. Smith presses back against the reduction of the Black Church to a single moment or function, highlighting its theological sophistication, cultural depth, and adaptive resilience. Together, they explore racism not just as personal prejudice but as a systemic force that structured neighborhoods, schools, wealth, and opportunity—and how the legacy of segregation and white flight still constrains mobility today. Along the way, the conversation highlights how churches filled civic gaps, formed supportive communities, and carried a vision of justice rooted in God’s love.  This episode also asks what it means for the church now; how history should interrogate contemporary beliefs, practices, and complacency. Against the temptation to flatten faith into private spirituality or symbolic gestures, the Black Church offers a model of cultural engagement sturdy enough to sustain hope, dignity, and action in the real world. If you’re interested in how faith worked itself out in history and what that history leads us into today, this conversation offers a path forward. Book: The Warmth of Other Suns by WilkersonLetter from Birmingham Jail by MLKRedling in Lansing

    49 min
  3. The Triangle in the Secular Age with Dr. Andrew Root

    FEB 20

    The Triangle in the Secular Age with Dr. Andrew Root

    Dr. J chats with Dr. Andrew Root for a searching conversation about secularism, belief, and what it means to live faithfully in what we often (too imprecisely) call a “secular age.” Rather than treating secularism as a settled idea or a simple threat to faith, the conversation probes its complexity—how it emerged, how it affects us, and how it quietly reshapes our understanding of meaning, identity, and hope. Together, they explore how belief is not optional but unavoidable, even in a world that imagines it has moved past faith. Root introduces the idea of navigating belief through competing frameworks—what he describes as a triangle of belief systems—and introduces the “Beyonder,” someone who transcends reductive options, refusing nihilism, escapism, or thin optimism. Along the way, they examine how cultural narratives—especially those embedded in media, comedy, memoirs, and political discourse—form us long before we realize it. The conversation reflects on transformation stories, funerals, and the ways community and tradition hold us inside a larger story when individualism runs out of gas. Against the modern temptation to reduce faith to self-expression, therapy, or fodder for conquest, this episode insists that Christianity offers something sturdy enough to carry grief, sin, and hope. Rather than offering quick fixes or easy slogans, this conversation invites us to ‘learn our shapes’ by recognizing the forces that shape our beliefs, and to recover a vision of reality that transcends isolated selves and reconnects us to God, our neighbor, and a story worth living in. If you sense that modern life promises freedom but delivers fragmentation, this episode offers a deeper way of naming what’s going on—and where hope still breaks in. Website: AndrewRoot.org (books, podcast, etc.)

    55 min
  4. Punching Blind into Culture with Dr. Robert Joustra

    FEB 6

    Punching Blind into Culture with Dr. Robert Joustra

    In this episode of The Intersection, Dr. J is joined by Dr. Rob Joustra—political theorist, scholar, and thoughtful guide through the thicket of modern public life—for a wide-ranging conversation at the crossroads of Christian faith, tribal narratives, and political theology. It seeks to untangle cluttered half-truths, moral panic, and the temptation to reduce complex issues to simple talking points. Rather than offering tidy answers, the conversation lingers on self-aware considerations that shape how we see the world—stories about power, justice, identity, and belonging. Together, Justin and Rob explore how cultural narratives both form and deform Christian imagination, often smuggling in assumptions that go unexamined. They press the need for humility and perspective, especially in a moment when “what about…?” questions dominate moral and political debate, distracting from the harder work of faithful discernment. Drawing from Scripture, history, and political theology, the episode wrestles with how Christians might understand power, current events, and interconnectedness without naïve idealism. Dr. Rob offers a robust vision of God’s sovereignty over nations and powers, situating modern Western politics within a uniquely Christian moral inheritance—one that still echoes hope even when it forgets or contradicts its source. This conversation resists both reactionary certainty and detached cynicism. It calls listeners toward humility, tenderness, and truth as marks of discipleship in public life, while underscoring the importance of history, tradition, and church renewal for faithful cultural engagement. If you’re weary of hot takes, allergic to moral shortcuts, or hungry for a deeper framework for navigating faith in a polarized world, this episode offers clarity without caricature—and a steadier way forward. LINKS: BioPunching Blind article in Comment MagazineBooksThe Belgic Confession

    48 min
  5. A Scandalous Witness to National Myth-Making with Dr. Lee C. Camp

    JAN 23

    A Scandalous Witness to National Myth-Making with Dr. Lee C. Camp

    In this episode of The Intersection, Dr. J is joined by Dr. Lee C. Camp—author of Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians, professor, speaker, and host of the No Small Endeavor podcast—for an honest conversation at the crossroads of Christian faith, nationalism, and public life—a crossroads often crowded with slogans, pride, and selective memory. Rather than treating Christian nationalism as a new cultural outbreak, the conversation situates it as an old reflex with deep historical roots. Together, Justin and Lee explore the persistent tension between the gospel and the nation-state, probing how faith becomes distorted when it is conscripted into political projects. Along the way, they challenge the myth of America as a “Christian nation,” arguing that honest historical accountability is not an act of disloyalty but a form of love; one that refuses nostalgia in favor of truth-telling. Drawing from theology, history, and social ethics, the episode presses toward a nonpartisan Christianity shaped by orthodoxy rather than fallen ideology. Lee makes the case that the gospel is not merely publicly relevant but inherently political in its demands for justice, mercy, and love of neighbor—especially when those demands unsettle myths and arbitrary boundaries of belonging. This conversation resists both culture-war outrage and disengaged piety. It calls listeners to historical awareness, civic humility, and faithful presence, reminding us that the past is never past—and that Christian witness becomes most compelling when it refuses power grabs in favor of costly truth. If you’re tired of syncetism, shallow patriotism, or faith reduced to tribalized stories, this episode offers clarity, conviction, and a more honest way forward. Podcast: No Small Endeavor https://www.nosmallendeavor.com/Website: https://www.leeccamp.com/Book: Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians: https://www.amazon.com/Scandalous-Witness-Political-Manifesto-Christians/dp/0802877354Books: https://www.leeccamp.com/books

    51 min
  6. Created Creators: Discerning AI

    JAN 9

    Created Creators: Discerning AI

    In this episode of The Intersection, Dr. J talks with Dr. Michael Shi, a Silicon Valley AI researcher, for a clear-eyed conversation at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, faith, and human responsibility—a crossroads typically crowded with hype, fear, and hot air. Rather than treating AI as either savior or saboteur, the conversation frames it as a powerful tool that inevitably reflects the values, intentions, and limits of its creators. Drawing from technology, ethics, and theology, the episode traces AI’s evolution from rigid rules to data-driven models, addressing common anxieties around hallucinations, plagiarism, creativity, and education. Justin and Michael press listeners toward discernment over panic, emphasizing integrity, verification, and wisdom—especially for leaders, educators, and people of faith navigating a rapidly changing landscape. AI may extend our capacities, but it cannot replace conscience, relational presence, or moral responsibility. Framed by the Christian vision of humans as co-creators under God, the episode resists both techno-utopianism and reactionary fear, calling for faithful, humble engagement. If you’re curious about AI but allergic to panic, hype, or shortcuts—and interested in what thoughtful engagement actually looks like—this episode offers clarity, balance, and just enough details to be productive.

    59 min
  7. Troubling Dominionism: Faithfulness in Exile Without Hunger for Power

    12/27/2025

    Troubling Dominionism: Faithfulness in Exile Without Hunger for Power

    In this episode of The Intersection, Dr. J sits down with Colleen Davenport for a thoughtful, clear-eyed conversation at the crossroads of Christianity, culture, and power—an intersection often cluttered with bad history, louder opinions, and the assumption that faith is most faithful when it’s in charge. Together, they bring historical depth and wisdom to a topic many Christians lean on confidently, but define poorly: dominionism. The talk explores how certain visions of cultural “victory” can quietly distort the gospel, especially when political influence begins to masquerade as spiritual faithfulness. Drawing from Scripture, church history, and lived experience, the episode unpacks the biblical idea of exile—what it means to follow Jesus faithfully in a world that does not share our assumptions, priorities, or allegiances. Rather than defaulting to fear, withdrawal, or conquest, the conversation presses toward a Christ-centered posture marked by humility, discernment, and love of neighbor. Justin and Colleen wrestle honestly with wonky syncretism, cultural engagement, and the temptation to place misplaced hope in politics, naming how easily tribalism can eclipse discipleship. Along the way, they return again (and again), to Jesus—not as a mascot for ideology, but as the crucified and risen King whose cause advances through peacemaking, service, and faithfulness rather than domination. The result is a conversation that challenges easy answers without collapsing into cynicism, reminding listeners that Christians are called to be ambassadors, not conquerors—and that the church’s credibility is most compelling when it is rooted in love for the marginalized rather than proximity to power. If you’re weary of cable-news-shaped theology, suspicious of baptized political ambition, and curious about what faithful presence actually looks like in a polarized age, this episode offers clarity, conviction, and just enough discomfort to be spiritually productive. LINKS: Jake Meador, Mere Orthodoxy: Four Types of Christian Cultural Engagement (Shameless) Plug: ColleenDavenportPhoto.com Abortion Statistics, Pew Research

    58 min
  8. Faith & Science Without the Culture-War Hangover

    12/02/2025

    Faith & Science Without the Culture-War Hangover

    In this episode of The Intersection, Dr. J chats with microbiologist and educator Dr. Rachel Morris for a rich conversation at the crossroads of science and faith; two worlds people often pit against each other, usually because they’re too busy doomscrolling culture-war headlines. Rachel brings both expertise and empathy as the two explore how socialisation shapes our understanding of complex issues, why misinformation spreads with the speed of a sneeze in a crowded room, and how listening (real listening—not the “waiting to reply” version) can transform even the most strained relationships. Drawing from her experiences as a scientist, a woman in male-dominated spaces, and a Christian navigating the academy, Rachel reflects on the historical forces that shape our assumptions about belief, evidence, and authority. Together, she and Justin examine how compassion can bridge divides, how difficult knowledge requires both courage and nuance, and how engaging ideas we disagree with can actually strengthen our convictions rather than threaten them. The conversation moves easily between history and microbiology, discipleship and public discourse, touching on everything from the sneaky power of misinformation to the quiet heroism of women whose contributions to science and faith go unnoticed. Through it all, all truth belongs to God, and a key thread remains: humility is not timidity, nor is it weakness; it’s the posture that makes real dialogue possible. If you’re hungry for a conversation (with a laugh or two) that disarms the noise, honors complexity, and offers a little hope in an age of unproductive hot takes, this episode is for you.

    1h 10m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Intersections are high-traffic areas, with people coming from and heading in all sorts of directions. While intersections are places of potential collision and calamity, they are also the very places where we can find direction and learn where to go. The Intersection is a podcast where faith engages the complexities of our modern world. Though intersections sometimes feel risky, they are where real dialogue happens, they are where we find direction and discover where to go next.

Information

  • Creator
    Justin Detmers
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    34
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ©2024 Riverview Church, Justin Detmers

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