Shifting Culture

As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to pause and look back, not at what was loud or polarizing, but at what people actually stayed with. This episode gathers the 10 most listened to conversations of the year, and together they reveal something honest about this moment: a deep longing for a faith shaped by humility instead of power, a discipleship rooted in real life, and a way of Jesus that resists fear, shame, and easy answers. This episode counts down from #10 to #1. I introduce each clip, then step back and let the voices speak for themselves. You’ll hear excerpts from conversations with John Eldredge, Sheila Gregoire, Trevor Hudson, Michael John Cusick, Kerry Burnight, Matthew Bates, Beth Allison Barr, Andrew Root, and John Fugelsang voices that helped shape Shifting Culture this year and, judging by the listens, shaped many of you as well.Episodes featured:Ep. 280 Andrew Root - Hope Beyond the Failed Promise of HappinessEp. 287 Sheila Gregoire - The Marriage You WantEp. 327 Dr. Kerry Burnight - JoyspanEp. 281 Beth Allison Barr - Becoming the Pastor's WifeEp. 259 Trevor Hudson - Discerning God's Will in Our LivesEp. 314 Daniel Hummel - The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism Ep. 257 Michael John Cusick - Sacred AttachmentEp. 279 Matthew Bates - What Does the Bible Really Say About Salvation?Ep. 278 John Eldredge - Experience Jesus. Really.Ep. 341 John Fugelsang - Separation of Church and HateConnect with Joshua: [email protected] 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 YouTubeConsider 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 am joined by Lore Wilbert and Byron Borger for a roundtable countdown of our top ten books of 2025. Moving from number ten to number one, we reflect on the novels, memoirs, theology, and cultural criticism that most shaped our reading year. Along the way, the conversation opens into deeper questions about faith and doubt, grief and hope, community and isolation, and what it means to stay human in an anxious, mechanized world. Rather than chasing trends, this episode lingers with books that slowed us down, challenged empire, and pointed toward love, imagination, and faithful presence. This is a conversation about reading as formation and why the stories we choose matter more than ever.Go to Hearts and Minds Books to order any of these books and let Byron know you heard about them from Shifting Culture.Lore’s List:10. The Serviceberry9. The Signature of All Things8. Heating and Cooling7. Great Circle6. Nervous Systems5. Wild Dark Shore4. Monsters3. The Names2. Circle of Hope1. The CorrespondentByron’s List:10. Becoming God’s Family9. The Core of the Christian Faith8. You Can Trust a God with Scars7. Liturgies for Resisting Empire6. The Violent Take it by Force5. Bear Witness4. Rags of Light3. Good Soil2. The Last Supper1. World of WondersJoshua’s List:10. Making Time9. We Tell Ourselves Stories8. Wild Dark Shore7. Spellbound6. The Anti-Greed Gospel5. The Teacher of Nomad Land4. Twelve Churches3. The Correspondent2. Christ in the Rubble1. A Beautiful YearConnect with Joshua: [email protected] 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 YouTubeConsider 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 Bill and Kristi Gaultiere for a thoughtful conversation about empathy - what it really is, why it’s so often misunderstood, and why it matters for the way of Jesus. We talk about God’s great empathy for us and how the incarnation reveals a God who enters our experience, not just intellectually but emotionally and bodily. Together, we explore the role of emotions in the spiritual life, the weight of shame and grief, the reality of compassion fatigue, and how empathy, truth, and responsibility belong together. This conversation is an invitation to receive God’s love more deeply and to learn how that love reshapes the way we live, love, and care for others.Bill is a psychologist (PhD) and ordained pastor and Kristi is a licensed professional counselor (PsyD). Together they lead Soul Shepherding, which is a nonprofit ministry to help pastors, leaders, churches, and others to go deeper with Jesus in emotional health and loving leadership. They lead immersive retreats that integrate Jesus-centered psychology and spiritual formation. Participants have the option to earn a Certificate in Spiritual Direction to improve their relationship skills and earn side income as a spiritual director or coach. They are authors of a number of soul care books, including Journey of the Soul, which was #1 on Amazon in Christian Counseling, and Healthy Feelings, Thriving Faith. Their newest book is Deeply Loved: Receiving and Reflecting God’s Great Empathy for You.Bill & Kristi's Book:Deeply LovedConnect with Joshua: [email protected] 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 YouTubeConsider 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’m joined by theologian and storyteller Leonard Sweet for a deep conversation on the imagination of Jesus and why imagination is central to faith, discipleship, and what it means to be human. We talk about how Jesus doesn’t simply explain reality but reshapes it through story and metaphor, and why Jubilee sits at the heart of his vision for the world. We also explore what it means to move beyond fear-based, information-driven faith toward a life where Christ is formed in us. This conversation is an invitation to move from knowing about God to truly knowing God, and to live with an imagination shaped by goodness, beauty, and truth.Leonard Sweet is one of the most prolific Christian authors in the world today, with over 70 books to his name—and a dozen more on the way–and 2000 published sermons. A theologian of imagination, a semiotician of Bible and culture, and a prophetic voice to the church, Sweet defies easy categorization. His works span genres and generations, challenging readers to see the world—and the gospel—with fresh eyes. While others chase bestseller lists, Sweet charts a different path: one defined not by sales, but by depth, creativity, and theological daring.Len's Book:Jesus: Maker, Mender, Minder, MasterLen's Recommendation:They Flew: A History of the ImpossibleConnect with Joshua: [email protected] 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 YouTubeConsider 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, pastor and author Kate Murphy shares the surprising story behind Lost, Hidden, Small, a season when ministry fell apart, illusions shattered, and the only way forward was surrender. Kate reflects on discovering that God often does His deepest work in places that look like failure, weakness, and smallness, and how her congregation learned to see again, love their neighbors without transaction, and trust God for resurrection they could not manufacture. This conversation offers a hopeful reminder that faithfulness, not success, is the true metric of the kingdom, and that the quiet and hidden work of God in ordinary communities still creates life beyond anything we can imagine.Kate Murphy serves as the pastor of The Grove Presbyterian Church, a multi-ethnic congregation in Charlotte NC. Originally from Louisville, KY, she studied biology and music at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN. She received her Masters of Divinity and Masters of Sacred Theology from Boston University and accepted her first call to be an Associate Pastor at Fourth Presbyterian, a multicultural, inner-city church in South Boston. She's just published her first book, Lost Hidden Small. In her free time, Kate enjoys running, reading, writing, drinking coffee, and watching pointless reality television. She and her husband Colin have three daughters.Kate's Book:Lost, Hidden, SmallKate's Recommendations:Looking Inward, Living OutwardField Notes for the WildernessConnect with Joshua: [email protected] 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 YouTubeConsider 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