Shifting Culture – Details, episodes & analysis

Patriarchy is a power that steals, kills, and destroys. But in the darkness, the Spirit of God hovers, waiting to give birth to new life. Danielle Strickland joins us today to shed light on this critical issue facing the church. Danielle unpacks how patriarchy has deeply distorted our view of God, the scriptures, and the flourishing of men and women together. She shares how this male-centered ordering of the world has undermined women's confidence and value, and how it stands in stark contrast to God's design for mutual flourishing. Yet Danielle also offers hope. She calls us to see the powerful witness of women throughout scripture - from Hagar to Mary Magdalene. And she challenges men to step up, to confront the systems of patriarchy, and to disproportionately invest in empowering women. This is a conversation that gets to the heart of the gospel - a message of life, not death; a vision of mutual empowerment, not domination. Danielle's words have the potential to shift the very culture of the church. So join us.

Danielle lets Love lead her to inspire, challenge, provoke and disrupt the present, and to live the future now. Having lived in different cultures and contexts around the world she celebrates diversity and deeply longs for wrong things to be made right. Danielle practises following Jesus daily. This pursuit has led to exciting entrepreneurial exploits (like co-founding multiple charities and non-profits) and a whole host of failures (that we don’t as often talk about). All of this has convinced her of the deep need we all have for hope, faith, and love. Her deepest longing is to demonstrate what living that boundless life looks like.

Danielle has written six books (the latest is The Other Side of Hope), has a podcast called The Right Side Up (which recently celebrated half-a-million downloads), and speaks to people at events all over the world. Danielle leads Boundless Communications Inc. which launches creative exploits like Women Speakers Collective (liberating voices of women around the globe), IMBY (a tiny home movement IN MY BACKYARD), Brave Global (preventing human trafficking), Infinitum (a way of living deeply), and Hagar’s Voice (support and advocacy for survivors of abuse). Danielle lives in Vancouver, Canada with her three sons and husband Steve. Danielle loves getting outside, doing new things, physical adventures, and she can’t seem to turn down a free lunch.

Danielle's Book:
Need to Know

Danielle's Recommendations:
The Power

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Today we have a conversation with Pete Portal, author of the book "How to Be (Un)successful" (or "Stop Trying to Be Successful" for our American listeners). Pete has spent the last 15 years living and working in the township of Mannenberg, South Africa, a community plagued by gang violence, drug addiction, and systemic injustice. What Pete has learned through this experience flies in the face of much of our conventional thinking about success, achievement, and the role of the church. He argues that true success in the kingdom of God is not about what you accomplish, but who you become - a life of faithfulness, vulnerability, and reciprocal relationship, even in the face of deep betrayal and suffering. Pete shares powerful stories of how God is at work, often in the most unexpected places, to raise up the valleys and humble the mountains. He challenges the notion of "culture wars" and the church's tendency to try and "invade and occupy" systems of power, instead calling us to a "seven valleys mandate" - to pervade the forgotten, marginalized spaces of society with the humble, self-giving love of Christ. This is a conversation that will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about success, the role of the church, and how the kingdom of God breaks into our world. It is deeply inspiring and profoundly hopeful. So join us.

Pete Portal serves on the Core Leadership Team of Tree of Life, a 24-7 Prayer Community based in Manenberg, Cape Town. He does life with young men coming out of gangsterism and drug addiction and helps these young men find faith, freedom and wholeness. He's on the board of 24-7 Prayer South Africa, and spends much of his time growing relationships and networks across racial and socio-economic divides, as well as speaking at churches and organisations both locally and internationally on matters of faith and social transformation.
Pete holds Masters degrees in Theology (Edinburgh) and Theology, Politics and Faith-based Organisations (Kings College London); He's written articles for The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times.
Pete has written two books - No Neutral Ground, and How to be (Un)successful.

Pete's Book:
Stop Trying to Be Successful

Pete's Recommendations:
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
The Critical Journey

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The conversation today gets at the heart of our modern mental health crisis. Richard Beck, author of the new book 'The Shape of Joy,' takes us into how our cultural obsession with introspection and the pursuit of self-esteem has undermined our wellbeing. He traces this back to key philosophical and psychological figures like Descartes and Freud, who ushered in this inward turn. He shows how this has led to excessive rumination, a fragile sense of self-worth tied to external achievements, and an inability to find true meaning and joy. But the real power of this conversation is in how Beck points us towards an alternative - a path of transcendence, of finding our identity and security in something greater than ourselves. He unpacks the psychological benefits of gratitude, awe, and spiritual connection. And he challenges us to move beyond just insight and self-analysis, towards more embodied, experiential ways of cultivating wellbeing. It's a rich discussion that gets at the heart of our modern malaise and points towards a more joyful and grounded way of being. A conversation worth diving into. 

Richard Beck (PhD) is Professor of Psychology and Senior Fellow of the Landon Saunders Center for Joy and Human Flourishing at Abilene Christian University. Richard also teaches in the Doctor of Ministry programs at Fuller Theological Seminary and Abilene Christian University. 

During his teaching career, Richard has been honored twice as ACU Teacher of the Year. Richard has also been recognized as Honors Teacher of the Year and has won the College of Arts and Sciences Classroom Teaching award and Faith Integration award.

Outside of the classroom, Richard travels the world as a sought after speaker and an award-winning blogger and author. 

To explore speaking engagements for your church or organization email beckr@acu.edu.

Richard's Book:
The Shape of Joy

Richard's Recommendations:
All Things Are Full of Gods
The Penguin

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In this episode, Ryan Skoog and I have an incredible conversation about leading with prayer. As Ryan and his teams go to the toughest places on earth, they have to rely on prayer. It’s crucial. But prayer isn’t just for the people on the front lines in hard places. It’s for us all. We learn from the global church what an intentional prayer life looks like. We talk about wasting our time with Jesus in friendship, tithing our time to the Lord, the allure of chasing influence rather than obedience, the importance of intentionality and creating our own personal liturgy. And we really hit what it looks like to pray through tough times. So join us as we learn from the global church what leading with prayer looks like.

Ryan is cofounder and president of VENTURE, a nonprofit that works in the toughest places of the world, serving war refugees, trafficked people, oppressed children, and the unreached. VENTURE has planted thousands of churches that serve in their own communities to rescue girls from trafficking, start farms, and train in microenterprise and feminine hygiene, leading to generational transformation. Ryan co-authored the books Chosen: A 30 Day Devotional and the forthcoming Lead with Prayer. He and his wife Rachel enjoy adventuring with their two ginger headed kids and the newest addition to their family Kyea Sin Thant.

Ryan's Book:
Lead with Prayer

Ryan's Recommendations:
E.M. Bounds
Charles Spurgeon

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In this episode, David Fitch and I reckon with power in this conversation. We talk about worldly power versus Godly power. What’s the difference? Why do we need a new relationship with power? We talk about mutual submission, engaging the table for reconciliation and justice, non-coercive evangelism. We even engage in a conversation around power dynamics and the Middle East. It’s a fantastic conversation that is much needed as we continue to encounter abuse of power in the church. So join us as we reckon with power and hand over the reigns to God. 

David Fitch (Ph.D Northwestern University) is a professor at Northern Seminary and a pastor at Mission Renew Church in Westmont, IL. He is married to Rae Ann and they have one son named Max. He’s coached hockey for the YMCA USA Hockey program for seven years. David teaches, speaks, and writes within the fields of Neo-Anabaptist theology, missiology, culture studies, political theory, and ethics. 

He writes from time to time on his own page at Missio Alliance, on his own substack,  for Christianity Today, Outreach Magazine, ChurchLeaders.com, EthicsDaily, and multiple other sites, magazines and journals. He is co-host of the Theology of Mission podcast. His latest book is Reckoning with Power from Brazos press.

David's Book:
Reckoning with Power

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In this episode, Meghan Larissa Good and I have a great discussion around themes from her latest book Divine Gravity. How can we enter into a new reformation that helps the body of Christ look more like Jesus? Jesus can lead us into this new place and time. We can disagree with each other and still have unity. We can follow the discernment of the Holy Spirit. We can have a cross-shaped power which is a power under and not a power over. We can join Jesus in the reconciliation of all things. Jesus is making all things new. So, let’s join Him and get on the ride. So, join us as we discuss whether or not we are in a new reformation that will help us look more like Jesus.

Meghan Larissa Good is lead pastor at Trinity Mennonite Church (Phoenix, AZ). She is a frequent preacher and lecturer at churches and universities across the country, speaking on subjects such as biblical interpretation, contemporary preaching, and Christianity's 'next reformation.' Meghan is author of The Bible Unwrapped: Making Sense of Scripture Today and Divine Gravity: Sparking a Movement to Recover a Better Christian Story. She lives in Phoenix, AZ with a prized dinosaur bone and a ridiculously large book collection.

Meghan's Website:
www.meghanlarissagood.com

Meghan's Book:
Divine Gravity

Meghan's Recommendations:
The Democratization of American Christianity by Nathan Hatch
Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God by Marva Dawn

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In this episode, Blaine Eldredge and I look at the Bible in a new light, so we can see the stories come alive and we can fall in love with them once again. Blaine is a fantastic storyteller and he helps us see how we can follow Jesus in a time of decline, what we can learn from history for our time and place, and how we can eliminate the familiarity with which we read the Bible. Join us as we discover the fascinating insights the story of the Bible brings to our lives today.

Blaine is a teacher and writer from Peyton, Colorado. For the past decade, he has built platforms to help the Church thrive in late modernity. Blaine loves to read, write and talk about culture, history and theology. He really loves to contemplate the Gospel of Jesus and make resources to convey its astonishing beauty. He’s part of Kindred Church in Colorado Springs and holds a Masters Degree in Language from the University of British Columbia. He spends his free time bowhunting, chopping wood, and at poetry readings.

Blaine's Website:
www.blaineeldredge.com

Blaine's Book:
The Paradise King

Blaine's Recommendations:
The Priority of Christ by Robert Barron
Supernatural by Michael Heiser
Men and Women are from Eden by Mary Healy
The Lord of Spirits podcast

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In this episode, Nadya Williams and I talk through her book Cultural Christians in the Early Church. Did you know that cultural Christianity has been a problem from the beginning? Giving in to worldly power and praise, apostasy and divisions in the church, Christian Nationalism, celebrity culture. All of these things and more are problems the early church dealt with and we still deal with them today. But there is good news – The way of Jesus is possible and we even have models to follow who faithfully follow Jesus amidst the culture of the day. Join us as we discover what faithfulness to Jesus looks like even when people around us are following the culture of the day instead of the radical way of Jesus.

Nadya Williams received her PhD in Classics from Princeton University. She is the author of Cultural Christians in the Early Church (Zondervan Academic 2023) and Priceless (under contract with IVP Academic). She is Book Review Editor for Current, where she also runs the Arena blog.

Nadya's Book:
Cultural Christians in the Early Church

Nadya's Recommendation
Look at Him by Anna Starobinets

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It’s the best of 2023! We are going to count down the most listened to episodes of the past year and I am going to countdown my favorite books of the year. 

But before we dive in, I just have to say thank you – thank you to you, the listener. I have so enjoyed making this podcast and having the conversations I’m having, but without you there wouldn’t be a podcast. So keep listening. Keep spreading the word. Tell your friends, your family, even your enemies to listen to Shifting Culture.

You can find a list of my favorite books of the year here:
Favorite Books of 2023

Top 10 episodes of 2023:

Ep. 136 Alan Hirsch & Rob Kelly - Metanoia: How God Radically Transforms People, Churches, and Organizations From the Inside Out

Ep. 124 James Martin, SJ - The Promise of Jesus's Greatest Miracle

Ep. 135 Scot McKnight - The Pivotal Priorities, Practices, and Powers to Transform Into a Tov Culture

Ep. 97 Pete Greig - Shadows and Light

Ep. 95 Beth Paz - A God who Identifies With Us in our Grief and Suffering

Ep. 104 Hugh Halter - Family on Mission

Ep. 122 Karen Swallow Prior - The Evangelical Imagination that has Shaped a Culture in Crisis

Ep. 130 Michael Frost Returns - Mission is the Shape of Water

Ep. 113 Andrew Root Returns - When Church Stops Working

Ep. 128 Andrew Root - The Church in an Age of Secular Mysticisms

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In this episode, Grace Hamman and I get into a really great conversation around the medieval period and how Jesus was viewed. It’s amazing to me how illuminating it is to read thinkers of the past and how it shapes my perspective in ways that are unexpected and helps me encounter Jesus in new ways. We talk about people like Thomas Aquinas and Julian of Norwich and we look at Jesus as a Knight, as Judge, as Mother, and more. Join us as we gain a fresh perspective by encountering the past and looking at Jesus through medieval eyes.

Grace Hamman (Ph.D., Duke University) is the author of Jesus through Medieval Eyes: Beholding Christ with the Artists, Mystics, and Theologians of the Middle Ages, and independent scholar of late medieval poetry and contemplative writing. Her work has been published by academic and popular outlets, including Plough Quarterly and The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Grace hosts a podcast called Old Books with Grace which celebrates the beauty and joy found in reading the literature and theology of the past. She lives near Denver, Colorado with her husband and three young children.

Grace's Book:
Jesus Through Medieval Eyes

Grace's Recommendations:
Thomas Traherne poetry
Only Murders in the Building

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