Shifting Culture

A few weeks before leaving to pursue mainstream music, Tim Timmons was told he had five years to live. In this episode, we talk about the story behind his song “Even If,” how that confession was forged in the middle of stage-four cancer, and how his journey is now portrayed in the film I Can Only Imagine 2. We explore what it means to hold grief and gratitude together, to surrender outcomes without giving up hope, and to resist contempt through enemy-love in a divided culture. This isn’t a polished victory arc. It’s a conversation about paying attention to Jesus in the 10,000 ordinary minutes of our lives — and discovering that even if the healing doesn’t come, God himself is still our hope.
Tim Timmons is a singer-songwriter who has spent over two decades in ministry, writing songs born from personal experience with pain, cancer, hope, and joy. In 2001, he received a terminal cancer diagnosis with a five-year prognosis—he's now 24 years into that journey. "The gift of cancer is perspective," he shares. "It's really the open door to speak into people's stories."
Since his 2013 debut "Cast My Cares," Timmons has been creating what he calls "prayers set to music," including co-writing MercyMe's Grammy-nominated "Even If." His latest work with Integrity Music explores themes of God's presence through struggle, including singles like "You Never Let Go" and "Roar"—songs that put praise into action even in the midst of hardship.
After 15 years leading worship in Orange County, California, Timmons now tours full-time, carrying a message forged in the fire of his own battle with incurable cancer. "I hear so many stories after every show where people are just stuck in religion—exhausted, shame-filled, powerless, and joyless," he notes. "I want to have songs that actually help them through their journey and invite them beyond fear."
When home in Nashville, Tim, his wife Hilary of 23+ years, and their four children live out their faith in everyday moments. Six years ago, he founded the non-profit 10000 MINUTES with a weekly podcast inspiring people to practice Jesus in all 10,000 minutes of their week, not just the 80 spent in church. He is also the author of the forthcoming book, Waking Up Again: A Journey of Grief and Gratitude (March 3, 2026).
Tim Timmons' greatest desire—whether through his cancer story, his theology, or his songs—is to help people discover the real life found with Jesus, one day at a time.
Tim's Book:
Waking Up Again
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

Jason Green was serving in the Obama White House when a phone call from his mother sent him home to sit with his grandmother in the hospital — and into a story he never knew was his. In this conversation, we talk about the hidden history of Quince Orchard, a Black community founded after emancipation, and three segregated churches that chose to merge in 1968 after Dr. King’s assassination. We explore remembrance before reconciliation, the communal strength of the Black church, breaking cycles of harm, and what it actually costs to build resilient, integrated community in a divided time. If you’re asking where we go from here — chaos or community — this episode is for you.
Jason G. Green is a Maryland-born community organizer, attorney, entrepreneur, and storyteller whose work sits at the intersection of economic opportunity, community trust-building, and democratic renewal. He is the author of the forthcoming book Too Precious to Lose (One World | Penguin Random House, 2026), an intimate narrative that blends a personal, community history with a broader call to repair the connections that bind us together.
Green served as Special Assistant to the President and Associate White House Counsel to President Obama, advising on domestic and economic policy during the recovery from the Great Recession. He later co-founded SkillSmart, a pioneering workforce and economic-impact software company that has helped quantify more than $100 billion in economic development activity and supported a talent pipeline of more than 50,000 skilled workers across the United States.
He is the President and CEO of EverGreen Labs, a strategy studio that helps organizations deepen stakeholder alignment, improve market positioning, and drive measurable business outcomes. Green previously served as Executive-in-Residence at Zeal Capital Partners, supporting early-stage companies focused on the future of work, financial technology, and health equity.
A civic leader deeply committed to history, memory, and reconciliation, Green is a trustee of the Pleasant View Historic Association and a founding commissioner and former chair of the Montgomery County Commission on Remembrance and Reconciliation. His award-winning PBS documentary, Finding Fellowship, explores the intertwined Black and white history of Quince Orchard and the community-led fight to preserve its legacy
Green has served several corporate and nonprofit boards, including Daivergent, Flare, Clear Impact, Per Scholas, the Arena, the Washington University Alumni Board of Governors and Regional Cabinet, and the Yale Law School Executive Committee and is a non-resident fellow at the Urban Institute. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.
His work—spanning technology, public service, storytelling, and community leadership—is rooted in a belief that our shared future depends on our capacity to connect and build together. Green currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Ritu and their son Aidan.
Jason's Book:
Too Precious to Lose
Jason's Recommendation:
Great Expectations
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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, Threa
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

In this episode, I sit down with Hannah Miller King to talk about hope when life doesn’t resolve neatly. We explore what it means to live in the now and the not yet, how grief, loss, and unanswered prayers shape our faith, and why Christian hope isn’t the same thing as optimism. We talk about the table, the Eucharist, and the idea that salvation is less about transaction and more about union with God. This conversation wrestles honestly with suffering, expectancy versus expectation, and the courage it takes to keep loving and hoping in a broken world - without rushing past the pain.
Hannah Miller King is an Anglican priest and writer in western North Carolina. She is the associate pastor of the vine Anglican Church and author of “Feasting On Hope: How God Sets a Table in thr Wilderness” (IVP)
Hannah's Book:
Feasting on Hope
Hannah's Recommendations:
Between Two Kingdoms
The Teacher of Nomad Land
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

In this episode, I sit down with Michael Leach for a thoughtful conversation about fear, faith, and what it looks like to keep moving forward when clarity is hard to come by. We talk about his journey from growing up on the South Side of Chicago to working in the NFL and serving in the White House, but more importantly about how faith is formed through practice, resilience, and trust in uncertain seasons. We explore purpose and identity, calling versus assignment, burnout and boundaries, and why connection matters more than simply having the right words. This is an honest, grounded conversation about choosing faith over fear and learning how to live with courage and moral clarity in a complicated world.
Michael Leach is a distinguished leader whose career spans the NFL, national politics, and the White House. Born on the South Side of Chicago, his journey has shaped him into one of today’s most trusted and relatable voices on faith, leadership, and resilience. He began with the Chicago Bears, advanced to NFL Headquarters, helped lead and build the most diverse presidential campaign team in U.S. history, culminating in a historic victory, and later made history as the first-ever Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the White House. Now Founder & CEO of BridgeTrust Partners, Leach helps leaders and organizations strengthen trust, purpose, and impact across industries.
Michael's Book:
Faith Over Fear
Michael's Recommendation:
The One Thing
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show

What if Christianity was never meant to be about escaping earth for heaven, but about God coming home to the world? In this episode, I sit down with N. T. Wright for a wide-ranging conversation that reclaims the Bible’s larger story: heaven and earth meant to overlap, God dwelling with humanity, and new creation beginning now. We explore temples and tabernacles, resurrection and judgment, what it truly means to be human, and how the church is called to reflect God’s presence in a fractured world. Drawing from Wright’s latest book God’s Homecoming, this conversation invites youto rethink faith, hope, justice, and the future of the world and to rediscover a gospel that is far bigger, richer, and more grounded than we thought.
N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He is Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, and Senior Editor at Saint Andrews. He has been featured on ABC News, Dateline, The Colbert Report, and NPR’s Fresh Air. Wright is the award-winning author of many books, including Paul: A Biography, Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, The Day the Revolution Began, Simply Jesus, After You Believe, and Scripture and the Authority of God.
N.T. Wright's Book:
God's Homecoming
Connect with Joshua: [email protected]

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
Get Your Sidekick
Support the show