Created in the Image of God
Tune in every Tuesday for an inspiring journey on Created in the Image of God: Building Vibrant Communities. Wade Fransson and his distinguished guests explore the essence of human nature and the transformative power of unity in diversity through live-streamed discussions rooted in the Independent Investigation of Reality. This series advocates for authentic connections among individuals to foster thriving, inclusive communities. Anchored in spiritual truths and a collective quest for understanding, these conversations inspire growth and progress toward a harmonious world.
Episodes
The Dark Odor of Death with Dan Allender | Created In The Image of God 274
Dan Allender, PhD, is a pioneering therapist, professor of counseling psychology, and co-founder of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, known for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of trauma, abuse, and the Christian story. For more than 40 years, the Allender Theory has helped hundreds of thousands engage their stories of harm in light of the gospel, reshaping how pastors, couns
Your Jesus Is Too American with Steve Bezner | Created In The Image of God 273
Steve Bezner is a pastor, professor, and author who now serves as Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry and Theology at Truett Seminary at Baylor University. After more than a decade as Senior Pastor of Houston Northwest Church, Steve has become known for helping Christians think more clearly about discipleship, culture, and the ways American values can distort the way we follow Jesus. He is th
God in the Neighborhood with Derek Vreeland | Created In The Image of God 272
Derek Vreeland is a pastor, author, and discipleship leader who serves as Discipleship Pastor at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Known for thoughtful, humorous, and authentic teaching, he is the author of several books, including Centering Jesus: How the Lamb of God Transforms Our Communities, Ethics, & Spiritual Lives, a 2024 ECPA Book Award finalist, and the God in the Neighborhood
Cultural Witness in a Fractured Age with Graham Tomlin | Created In The Image of God 271
Graham Tomlin is a British theologian, author, and former Church of England bishop who now leads the Centre for Cultural Witness, helping the church speak more clearly and imaginatively into public life. He previously served as Bishop of Kensington in the Diocese of London from 2015 to 2022, where he became a key pastoral voice in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire and its national memorial servi
In Memory of John Esposito with Wade Fransson | Created In The Image of God 270
This special episode of Created In The Image of God is dedicated to the memory of Professor John L. Esposito, the pioneering Georgetown scholar whose work helped generations of students, readers, and leaders think more clearly about Islam, pluralism, public life, and Muslim–Christian understanding. Scheduled to appear on the show, Esposito passed away on July 15, 2026, in Philadelphia as a result
The Vulnerable Pastor with Mandy Smith | Created In The Image of God 269
Mandy Smith is a pastor, author, and one of the clearest voices speaking into the need for sustainable, human‑scaled ministry. Best known for The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry, she has spent years exploring what it means to take Jesus seriously in a world that prizes power, polish, and control. Her writing asks a simple but disruptive question: if God really shows H
Conscience, Evangelicalism & Home with Mark Galli | Created In The Image of God 268
Mark Galli is an American Catholic writer, editor, and former Protestant pastor best known for his leadership at Christianity Today, where he served in various roles—culminating in seven years as editor in chief. A California native who moved from Presbyterian ministry into evangelical Anglicanism before returning to the Catholic Church in 2020, he has written widely on evangelicalism, theology, a
Corporate Soul, Sacred Path with Richard Strilowich | Created In The Image of God 267
Richard Strilowich is a corporate SAGE coach who helps conscious professionals treat their careers as a spiritual path—integrating inner wisdom with outer success. Drawing on more than 40 years in IT, including leadership roles in small, medium, and global companies, he brings a systems-thinking mindset and practical depth to questions of work, identity, and purpose. Over three decades of spiritua
Building a Kingdom Business Without the Grind with Brian Adamson | Created In The Image of God 266
Brian Adamson is a Kingdom business coach, co-founder of Purpose to Profits, and host of the Believers N Biz podcast. He helps faith-driven coaches, consultants, and experts grow to six and seven figures through scalable business models built on biblical principles rather than hustle, burnout, or constant one-to-one effort. After leaving corporate at 35 and building his own online business to near
The Spacious Way of Jesus with Jen Pollock Michel | Created In The Image of God 265
Jen Pollock Michel is an author, speaker, and writing mentor whose work circles around desire, time, home, and the ordinary practices that shape a life with God. She has written six books—Teach Us to Want and In Good Time (both award‑winners), Surprised by Paradox, Keeping Place, A Habit Called Faith, and her forthcoming A Rule for the Rest of Us. With degrees in French, literature, and an MFA in
Cultural Witness from the Midst of Conflict with Vinoth Ramachandra | Created In The Image of God 264
Vinoth Ramachandra is a Sri Lankan theologian, writer, and international lecturer who has spent decades helping Christians engage the university and public life with intellectual rigor and social integrity. Trained in nuclear engineering at the University of London, he returned to Sri Lanka rather than pursue an academic career in the West, helping to build an inter-denominational Christian univer
The Pace of Peace with Jay Kim | Created In The Image of God 263
Jay Kim is a pastor, author, and cultural observer who serves as lead pastor of WestGate Church in the heart of Silicon Valley. He is the author of The Pace of Peace, Listen Listen Speak, Analog Christian, and Analog Church, where he explores what it means to follow Jesus with depth, attention, and embodied presence in a distracted digital age. A contributor to outlets like Christianity Today, The
The Wonder‑Filled Universe with Jennifer Wiseman | Created In The Image of God 262
Jennifer J. Wiseman is an astrophysicist whose journey runs from a childhood in rural Arkansas to labs and observatories connected with MIT, Harvard, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. As an undergraduate she discovered the periodic comet Wiseman–Skiff and has since become a leading expert on star‑forming regions, studying interstellar clouds, protostars, and stellar outflows across the Milky
Our Judeo‑Christian Heritage with Tremper Longman III | Created In The Image of God 261
Tremper Longman III is one of the world’s leading Old Testament scholars, serving as Distinguished Scholar and emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College after nearly two decades there and eighteen years at Westminster Theological Seminary. Trained at Ohio Wesleyan, Westminster, and Yale (PhD in Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern studies), he has written influential commentarie
From Saigon to “Promised Land” with David Truong | Created In The Image of God 260
Born in Vietnam and forced to flee as a child after the fall of Saigon, David Truong’s life traces a modern Exodus—from war, displacement, and refugee camps to rebuilding in America and discovering a deeper freedom in Christ. After escaping by boat and surviving the uncertainty of camp life, he and his family eventually resettled in the United States, an experience he recounts in his memoir Escape
From Hustle to Holy Habits with Jason Heinritz | Created In The Image of God 259
Jason Heinritz grew up in a conservative Christian home in Waukesha, Wisconsin—church on Sundays, sports and good grades through the week. But underneath the wholesome exterior, he learned to draw his worth from performance: being liked, being captain, winning. In college, that drive found a perfect outlet in direct sales with Cutco Cutlery, where he quickly became a top producer and then a succes
Reading the Bible in Its Historical Context with Gary Rendsburg | Created In The Image of God 258
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Oasis & the Half‑Caste Kid with Steve Chalke | Created In The Image of God 257
If you ask Steve Chalke why Oasis exists—a network of churches, schools, housing projects, youth work, anti‑trafficking initiatives, and community hubs serving tens of thousands across the UK—he’ll take you back to a teenage boy walking home in South London. The son of a South Indian railway worker and a white English mother, Steve grew up in poverty, watching his father passed over for jobs and l
Life Worth Living with Miroslav Volf | Created In The Image of God 256
Miroslav Volf’s theology was born not in an ivory tower, but in the cracks of a fractured world. Raised in post–World War II Yugoslavia by a Pentecostal pastor father and a Bible‑soaked mother, he spent his earliest years in a tiny apartment shared with a Serbian nanny, Milica Branković—“the angel of my childhood,” as he calls her. In a country still marked by violence between Croats (largely Cath
You’re Only Human with Kelly Kapic | Created In The Image of God 255
Many Christians live with a quiet, relentless pressure: be everywhere, know everything, do it all—then feel guilty when they can’t. Kelly Kapic has spent much of his life gently dismantling that lie. A theologian and long‑time professor at Covenant College in Georgia, Kelly was raised in a Catholic home in northern California, drifted from church as a kid, and then came to a lively faith through a
Serving Two Masters? Faith, Business & the Poor with Peter Greer | Created In The Image of God 254
Peter Greer grew up on a historic street in Concord, Massachusetts—home of the “shot heard round the world”—in a house where faith, hospitality, and global curiosity were simply normal. His dad pastored a local church, his mom served in the schools, and Sunday lunch almost always included an extra guest at the table. Those early lessons in welcoming the stranger and learning from other cultures be
Songs, Stories & a Kinder God with Andrew Peterson | Created In The Image of God 253
Before he was writing fantasy novels, founding the Rabbit Room, or penning modern hymns, Andrew Peterson was a pastor’s kid who felt like he didn’t belong. Born in Illinois while his Southern parents were in seminary, his early years looked like a Norman Rockwell painting: John Deere tractors, cornfields, and an Andy‑Griffith innocence. At seven, everything shifted. His family moved “home” to Nort
Haunted Plantation, Holy Authority with Eric Davis | Created In The Image of God 252
Some people talk about spiritual warfare in theory. Eric Davis had to live it. A lifelong lover of antiques and old homes, he visited a plantation in South Carolina, fell in love with the idea, and asked God for one of his own. In 2016, that prayer seemed to be answered when he acquired Springhill Plantation. The joy didn’t last long. Almost immediately after moving in, Eric and his family began t
Breaking the Power of the Mask with Jocelyn J. Jones | Created In The Image of God 251
Jocelyn J. Jones grew up in Catholic school, watching her mom convert so the kids wouldn’t be left out—and quietly learning how to perform faith without ever really meeting God. She remembers sitting bored in Mass, inventing sins for confession, and treating church as ritual rather than relationship. That began to shift at a Kairos retreat in high school, but the real turning point came in college
Intellectual Friendship with R. J. Snell | Created In The Image of God 250
R. J. Snell likes to say he’s a farm boy from nowhere. Growing up in Carbon, Alberta—a town of about 360 people—he learned early what it meant to belong to a place where everyone showed up for your little league game and honked the horn, regardless of which church they attended or whether they believed at all. When his parents suggested he probably wasn’t cut out to be a farmer and should “keep go
Elephants, the Grass & the Teacher with Chinyere Egbe | Created In The Image of God 249
When wars are told in history books, the focus is usually on generals, presidents, and borders. Chinyere Emmanuel Egbe insists the real story lies elsewhere. A Nigerian‑born economist and long‑time CUNY professor who has spent decades teaching statistics and finance in Brooklyn, Dr. Egbe is also the author of Elephants, the Grass and the Teacher, a memoir of growing up during the Nigerian Civil Wa
The Stories Our Words Tell with Gregory Coles | Created In The Image of God 248
Gregory Coles is a writer, speaker, and language scholar whose life sits at the crossroads of faith, identity, and words. The author of Single, Gay, Christian, No Longer Strangers, The Limits of My World, and the forthcoming Sexuality Beyond Sex (IVP, 2026), Greg has spent years asking what it means to follow Jesus as a single, gay Christian who loves the church and takes Scripture seriously.In th
From Grief to Gratitude with Steven Ferrara | Created In The Image of God 247
On paper, Steven Ferrara had the kind of life many people dream about. Born into a poor but tightly knit Italian family in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, he grew up surrounded by Sunday dinners, grandparents in the basement kitchen, and a home full of love. A spiritual seeker from his teens—studying universal principles, practicing Transcendental Meditation, and devouring teachings on consciousn
Shapes of Love with Michael Gungor | Created In The Image of God 246
For years, many knew Michael Gungor as a worship leader and the creative force behind the band Gungor. Today, he’s just as likely to call himself a “creative mystic,” experimenting with ambient soundscapes, podcasts, and a forthcoming book, The Shape of Things. Underneath the changing forms, one question has stayed constant: What is the real shape of reality—and how do you live in tune with it?In
Faith, Data & Being American Muslim with Dalia Mogahed | Created In The Image of God 245
Public debates about Islam and Muslims in America are usually loud, shallow, and short on facts. Dalia Mogahed has spent much of her life trying to change that. Born in Cairo and raised in the United States, she grew up in a family where high-level scholarship and deep devotion were normal: a grandfather who taught at Al‑Azhar—the “Harvard” of the Muslim world—training women in theology, and a mot
Female Future of Faith with Gina Zurlo | Created In The Image of God 244
Most people hear “Christianity” and think of their own congregation, country, or a handful of familiar headlines. Gina Zurlo spends her days looking at the whole picture. A Senior Researcher and Lecturer in World Christianity at Harvard Divinity School, editor of the World Christian Database, and co‑editor of the third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia (which she personally presented to
From Survival to Sovereignty with Lela Tuhtan | Created In The Image of God 243
Many people are raised on a simple script: work hard, get a stable job, stay loyal to one institution, and security will follow. For Lela Tuhtan, that script shaped her early life and career—and then became the very story she had to unlearn. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area by second‑generation immigrant parents—an electrician father and a teacher mother—she grew up in a home where diligence,
Fake ID & the Search for Truth with Abdu Murray | Created In The Image of God 248
Abdu Murray grew up certain Islam was true. The son of Lebanese immigrants in southeast Michigan, he was raised in a serious Shia Muslim home where faith wasn’t just cultural; it shaped his identity and his arguments. From an early age he absorbed both apologetics (why Islam is true) and polemics (why Christianity is false), and in 1980s–90s America—when it was fashionable to call yourself “Christ
God’s Imperfect Plan with Steve Rotermund | Created In The Image of God 241
From the outside, Steve Rotermund checked all the Christian boxes. He’d gone from a powerful Promise Keepers experience to volunteering, sensing a call to ministry, and eventually stepping into pastoral leadership. He served as a children’s pastor over 150 kids, directed Awana and Celebrate Recovery, planted a church, and even hosted a radio ministry. But behind the scenes, a different story was u
The Way of Unity with Robert Atkinson | Created In The Image of God 240
Most conversations about peace stay either abstract and idealistic, or narrowly focused on the latest crisis. Robert Atkinson’s work refuses that split. An award‑winning author, developmental psychologist, and pioneer in life storytelling, he has spent decades helping people understand their own journeys as part of a much larger story — one in which human oneness is not a wishful slogan, but the d
Faith Like My Father with John Fela | Created In The Image of God 239
Some dads pass on a lifetime of memories; John Fela’s father handed him two words: “Don’t panic.” Growing up on the north side of Chicago in a stereotypical blue‑collar Catholic home—with a truck‑driver dad who drank every day and a mom holding the family together—John watched a man he loved slowly check out of his own life, yet still show up for work and provide. As a teenager, he wrote his fathe
Good Samaritan Medicine with Kosti Psimopoulos | Created In The Image of God 238
Healthcare conversations easily drift into policy, budgets, and systems. Constantine “Kosti” Psimopoulos insists the place to begin is with a wounded traveler on the side of the road. An Orthodox Christian, Harvard‑trained kinesiologist, and bioethicist, Kosti works at the intersection of medicine, spirituality, disability, and ethics—shaping training for scientists and clinicians at Harvard Medic
Peacemaking in a Polarized World with Najeeba Syeed | Created In The Image of God 237
Before she held titles like “executive director,” “chair,” or “professor,” Najeeba Syeed was a little Muslim girl on a school bus in southern Indiana whose family simply needed halal meat. Her father, a grad student at Indiana University, struck up an unlikely partnership with her Christian bus driver, Mrs. Anderson, who invited him to her farm so he could perform ritual slaughter in line with Isl
Purim, Persia & the Present with Jennifer Rosner | Created In The Image of God 236
For many Christians, Purim is a minor feast attached to a familiar children’s story about Esther. For Jennifer Rosner—and for Jewish communities around the world this year—it became something far more immediate. As Jews read again about a plot to annihilate their people in ancient Persia, they did so while watching breaking news from modern‑day Iran: the Ayatollah, a declared enemy of Israel, kill
Making Scripture Simple with Dan Nichols | Created In The Image of God 235
Dan Nichols has lived both sides of the modern church story. On one hand, he planted Restored Church in Wilkes‑Barre, PA from the ground up, started the Northeast Leadership Summit, and launched the Northeast Collaborative to equip churches across a region often described as “spiritually hard soil.” On the other, he now serves as pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship in Cortland, NY—a 225‑year‑old
The Salt and Light Express with Lee Ann Walling | Created In The Image of God 234
What happens when the life you built around love, faith, and routine suddenly falls apart—and the country outside your front door feels just as fractured? In The Salt and Light Express, Lee Ann Walling follows an older woman who sets out alone in a small RV after the death of her long‑time partner. The journey takes her through the physical landscape of a divided America and the inner terrain of g
The Great Deception with Don Britton | Created In The Image of God 233
For many believers, “church” has become the measure of spiritual life: the services attended, the prayers repeated, the doctrines affirmed. Don Britton’s story cuts across that assumption. After decades as a businessman and church‑going Christian, his life fell apart when adultery led to the end of his second marriage. Broken and out of answers, he turned to God not for another religious routine,
What Do U.S. Latinos Believe? with Arlene Sánchez‑Walsh | Created In The Image of God 232
Ask what Latinos in the United States believe, and you’ll often hear quick answers: “mostly Catholic,” “becoming more evangelical,” “socially conservative but….” Arlene Sánchez‑Walsh has spent her career showing why those shortcuts miss the story. As a historian of Latino/a religion and author of Latino Pentecostal Identity, she has traced how faith, migration, race, class, and culture combine to
Heart Healing with Jesus with Shea Odom | Created In The Image of God 231
From the outside, Shea Odom’s story could be summarized as “a heart patient who survived.” Born with a congenital heart defect, undiagnosed until heart failure at six weeks old, she underwent her first open‑heart surgery as an infant in Atlanta. Childhood took her from a German compound in Saudi Arabia—playing with neighbors from Pakistan, Austria, and beyond—back to North Florida, where cardiolog
Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower with Tom Krattenmaker | Created In The Image of God 230
For many people, “secular” and “Jesus” sound like opposites. Tom Krattenmaker’s life doesn’t fit that script. Raised in a Catholic context in Minnesota, he never really took to church life—but the stories and teachings of Jesus stayed with him. The teenager who sat restlessly through Mass found himself captivated by a figure who measured character by how we treat those with the least, and who chos
Strength of Scars with Avonley Lightstone | Created In The Image of God 229
Some stories feel almost too heavy to tell. Avonley Lightstone’s childhood was one of them: a house fire at age three, the loss of her mother, and years of abuse that followed after adoption. The pain did not come in a single moment, but in waves that seemed determined to erase any sense of safety, belonging, or worth. Yet even in those dark years, Avonley carried a fragile but persistent sense th
The Surplus & the Saints with Roger Wheeler | Created In The Image of God 228
When the apostle Paul gathered collections for the poor saints in Jerusalem, he described it as a matter of “fairness”—those with plenty supplying the needs of those in want. Roger Wheeler has taken that vision to heart in a very specific way. A real estate agent and missionary, he founded Shoulder 2 Shoulder to help address food insecurity in Zambia, a nation of roughly 20 million people where an
From NFL to New Creation with Derwin Gray | Created In The Image of God 227
For years, Derwin Gray went by “Dewey,” the kid from San Antonio whose sanctuary was a football field. Growing up around violence, substance abuse, and unspoken trauma, he learned early to stay on high alert. Football promised a different world: clear rules, hard work, and a sense of control his home life never gave. By high school he had transformed his undersized frame into a recruitable body; b
Temple Keepers with Matthew & Leah Headden | Created In The Image of God 226
Many Christians talk about the body as “the temple of the Holy Spirit,” but few know what it looks like to live that out in the middle of trauma, addiction, and everyday stress. Matthew Headden’s story brings the language down to ground level. Raised in a loving Southern Baptist home but never quite fitting the mold, he bounced between church leadership and rebellion—kicked out of school even as h
Grace in the Grind with Wanda Thibodeaux | Created In The Image of God 225
Joy can feel like a luxury when life is heavy. For Wanda Thibodeaux, it became a lifeline. Growing up in a small rural community in Michigan, she walked through trauma, confusion about her worth, and seasons where the loudest messages around her were anything but kind. That journey pushed her into psychology, music, and writing—eventually becoming a Christian author, ghostwriter, and host of the F
God, Mammon & Exchange with Devin Singh | Created In The Image of God 224
Most believers know the warning about serving two masters—God and Mammon—but few have traced how closely those two have traveled together in Western history. In this episode, Dr. Devin Singh, associate professor of religion at Dartmouth College, unpacks the long, complicated relationship between Christian theology and economic life. From early doctrines of debt and sacrifice to modern ideas about
Beloved with Lorraine Hess & Erica Strong | Created In The Image of God 223
Many faith conversations stay abstract, far from the messy places where people actually live. Lorraine Hess and Erica Strong are trying to close that gap. As co-hosts of the Beloved podcast, they sit down each week to talk about the things most people are really dealing with—loss, gratitude, parenting, calling, discouragement—and then ask what those stories look like when seen through the eyes of
Ubuntu & Justice with Marlena Graves | Created In The Image of God 222
In a moment when nearly every issue becomes a battlefield, Marlena Graves offers a different starting point: we belong to each other. Drawing on the Southern African concept of Ubuntu—“I am because we are”—and the teachings of Jesus, she argues that genuine spiritual formation cannot be separated from the pursuit of justice. Our well-being, she insists, is tied to the flourishing of those we might
Behavior & Hope with Megan Rosselot | Created In The Image of God 221
From the outside, Megan Rosselot looked like a teenager who just wasn’t trying hard enough. Inside, she was fighting a very different battle. Undiagnosed learning disabilities turned school into a constant struggle; while her younger sisters seemed to glide through academics and activities, Megan failed tests, stumbled in sports, and absorbed the labels that came her way. Resentment and shame slow
Hope Elevation with Scorpio Lamonte | Created In The Image of God 220
On the surface, many men look successful—solid job, decent income, life “under control.” Underneath, the story can be very different: numbness, quiet resentment, or the sense of living someone else’s script. Scorpio Lamonte calls this mediocrity a social disease, and he has built his life’s work around confronting it. As an identity mentor and founder of Hope Elevation, he helps men and young peop
Choose Freedom with Rose Ann Forte | Created In The Image of God 219
Wanting to quit and knowing how to quit are two very different things. Rose Ann Forte understands that gap from the inside. After years in corporate leadership and a private battle with alcohol, she reached a breaking point that became a turning point. What followed was a season of surrender, rebuilding, and discovering how Scripture and neuroscience together could support real, lasting transforma
When You Look with Mick Wienholt | Created In The Image of God 218
Streaming platforms are filled with scripted drama, but some of the most gripping stories are the ones that actually happened. Mick Wienholt has built his life around listening to those real accounts—the moments when something unexplainable breaks into an ordinary day—and then helping people name what those experiences mean. As host of the When You Look show, he creates space for guests to ask a s
Leaving Babylon with Jonathan England | Created In The Image of God 217
Some decisions make no sense on paper—and yet, in hindsight, they mark the beginning of an entirely new life. In this episode, Jonathan England tells the story of how he went from building community in Austin, Texas to founding Earthwaking Village in Costa Rica, guided by what he understands as a clear and urgent call from God. Along the way, he describes a shocking encounter with a prophet living
Truth, Fiction & the Newsroom with John DeDakis | Created In The Image of God 216
Every day, headlines claim to tell “the truth,” while fiction invites readers into stories that never happened. John DeDakis has spent a lifetime moving between those worlds. As a former White House correspondent and CNN editor, he covered real events in real time during the Reagan years. As an award‑winning mystery‑thriller author, he now transforms that experience into stories that let readers f
Philosophy, Faith & Education with Joseph Atman | Created In The Image of God 215
Most people feel that something is broken in education, but struggle to name exactly what it is. Joseph Atman believes the problem goes deeper than test scores or funding—it reaches into how we form concepts, define our terms, and understand reality itself. As the founder of Middle Tree, a nonprofit committed to making education accessible to everyone, he has spent years building a system where st
Religion, History & America’s Culture Wars with Mark Silk | Created In The Image of God 214
Conversations about nearly any topic in America today seem to turn political in seconds. Behind that tension is a long story about how religion has shaped public life—and how public life has shaped religion. In this episode, Mark Silk brings that story into focus. A historian by training and a journalist by vocation, he began his career studying the Middle Ages before turning his attention to cont
Fear, Faith & Horror with Josh Larsen | Created In The Image of God 213
For many Christians, horror movies sit on the edge of what seems acceptable, if not far beyond it. Josh Larsen believes that boundary is exactly where some of the most important questions can be asked. A veteran film critic and author of Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror, Josh has spent years considering how the genre grapples with fear, evil, and the human longing for deliverance—and w
Post-Evangelical Hope with David Gushee | Created In The Image of God 212
For decades, evangelical Christianity shaped America’s spiritual landscape—but today, more and more people find themselves searching beyond the familiar labels. In this episode, Dr. David Gushee—author, ethicist, and trusted voice on faith—examines the rise and unraveling of a movement and the unexpected hope waiting on the other side.Drawing from his years of scholarship and experience, Gushee tr
Widening the Path with Julia Strukely | Created In The Image of God 211
Raised in the rituals of Catholicism, Julia Strukely found early meaning in scripture, teaching, and community life—yet her deepest growth came when she stepped outside the boundaries she’d always known. Her pursuit of media literacy, curiosity about pop culture, and experience in an ecumenical spiritual direction program taught her that God can’t be contained by any one tradition.In this episode,
The Mission Driven Life with Audrey Rindlisbacher | Created In The Image of God 210
Most people admire heroic lives from a distance without ever imagining they could live one. Audrey Rindlisbacher began in that same place, reading The Hiding Place while raising small children and simply wanting to be “a family like that” without knowing how. What followed was a deep study of the lives of men and women who seemed extraordinary—and the surprising discovery that they all started as
New Year’s Revolution with Morgan Guyton | Created In The Image of God 209
For the first episode of 2025, Wade Fransson welcomes writer and pastor Morgan Guyton for a special New Year’s conversation that goes far beyond ordinary resolutions. Together, they chart a course into what Morgan calls a “New Year’s revolution”—rooted in mercy, courageously using privilege for the good of others, and forging authentic community in the face of division. Their discussion travels fr
The Limits of Knowing with Alan Lightman | Created In The Image of God 208
What should we expect from science—and where must we look beyond it? In this episode, Wade Fransson welcomes Alan Lightman for an hour-long journey through the frontiers of knowledge, awe, and responsibility. Drawing on his years as a physicist, novelist, and teacher at MIT, Lightman opens up about the curious intersection where theoretical physics meets philosophy and the search for meaning.The c
Conquering Hell Within with David Langness | Created In The Image of God 207
What if hell isn’t a place beneath our feet—but a metaphor for what we experience inside? In this episode, Wade sits down with David Langness, a Baha’i of 56 years and the editor of Baha’iTeachings.org, to unravel one of religion’s oldest—and most misunderstood—concepts.David explains how the idea of hell has often been used to frighten and control, but the Baha’i writings invite us to see it diff
A Peace Proposal for Christianity and Judaism with Ellen Charry | Created In The Image of God 206
What does it take for faith traditions with centuries of complicated history to move from uneasy armistice toward genuine peace? In this illuminating episode, theologian Ellen Charry—Emerita Professor of Theology at Princeton—reflects on a lifelong journey that began as a curious Jewish child and transformed her into a bridge-builder between worlds. Ellen is frank about her own story: growing up J
Independent Investigation of Reality with Mehrtash Olson | Created In The Image of God 205
The call to “follow the science” has become a defining phrase of recent years—but what does it mean to investigate reality for ourselves when institutions, experts, and financial incentives all shape the story we’re told? In this episode, journalist and independent researcher Mehrtash Olson brings the Bahá’í principle of the independent investigation of reality into direct contact with today’s inf
Humor, Disability & Hope with Sy Hoekstra | Created In The Image of God 204
What if faith and humor aren’t opposites, but companions on the road toward hope? In this episode, we sit down with Sy Hoekstra—a writer, editor, and podcaster whose story weaves together deep honesty and joyful perspective. Blind since birth, Sy brings firsthand insight into the realities of living with disability, but refuses to let hardship define the story. Instead, his writing explores faith
The Invitation of Uncertainty with Mark Vernon | Created In The Image of God 203
Mark Vernon steps into the studio for an episode that faces our collective anxieties with honesty and depth. The conversation opens with the sense of collapse many feel today—a sense that familiar certainties are fading. Instead of offering quick fixes or retreating into platitudes, Mark explores what happens when we approach uncertainty as a call to discover deeper forms of truth and beauty.Drawi
Turning Guns Into Garden Tools with Shane Claiborne | Created In The Image of God 202
Shane Claiborne is neither content with ideas nor preoccupied with abstractions. His vision of peacemaking is urgent, tangible—and sometimes quite literally, forged in fire. In this episode, Shane shares the journey behind Raw Tools, where surrendered guns are melted and re-formed into gardening instruments, echoing the prophetic call to “beat swords into plowshares.” The work is as symbolic as it
Fear, Trauma & Oneness with Michael Stone | Created In The Image of God 201
Michael Stone joins us again for a focused conversation on fear, trauma, and the quiet work of becoming whole. He explains how trauma forms early, how it influences our choices and relationships, and why fear often becomes the lens through which we interpret everything. His approach is steady, practical, and rooted in decades of lived experience.Building on his previous appearance, Michael reflect
Awkward Awakening with Dr. Scott Guerin | Created In The Image of God 200
Humanity is standing on the edge of a profound transition. In this episode, award-winning author and educator Dr. Scott Guerin joins us to unpack the central themes of his book Awkward Awakening—a call to recognize our divine nature, our expanding awareness, and the subtle shifts reshaping how we understand mind, body, and spirit. He outlines why the old boundaries between the physical and nonphys
Progressive Revelation with Reynaldo Pareja | Created In The Image of God 199
Reynaldo Pareja joins the conversation to explore two questions that have defined much of his work: How does God communicate with humanity, and is there a single principle that holds the universe together? His perspective moves between the sweep of cosmic reality and the interior landscape of human consciousness, treating both as essential parts of the same search.He reflects on revelation as an o
Faith, Survival & Grace in America with Daniel Gray | Created In The Image of God 198
Facing nine federal indictments and a possible thirty-seven-year sentence, Daniel Gray did something few people in today’s outrage-driven culture ever do: he took responsibility for everything. Not only for January 6, but for the digital spiral that pulled him in — the doomscrolling, the toxic influencers, and the online ecosystem that blurred judgment and distorted truth. When he pleaded guilty,
Living Uncaged with Mary DeMuth | Created In The Image of God 197
Mary DeMuth joins Wade Fransson for a direct and honest conversation about what it takes to heal from harm. Rather than circling the idea of trauma, she names the internal patterns that linger long after the moment has passed—shame, silence, and the false belief that suffering is the end of the story.She speaks openly about the discipline of rebuilding a self: how truth-telling restores agency, ho
Freedom for Sale with Mehrtash Olson | Created In The Image of God 196
Freedom for Sale begins by revisiting one of the most urgent frontiers of our age: the struggle to think freely. Journalist Mehrtash Olson joins Wade Fransson to examine how modern information systems—powerful, profitable, and often opaque—reshape not only public opinion but the inner landscape where conviction, conscience, and moral clarity are formed.Expanding on earlier conversations about skep
Planting Seeds of the Divine with Yiscah Smith | Created In The Image of God 195
Yiscah Smith joins us to reflect on a lifetime of transformation—from the suburban landscapes of 1950s America to the spiritual terrain of modern Israel, where her search for meaning has unfolded across decades.Her latest work, Planting Seeds of the Divine: Torah Commentaries to Cultivate Your Spiritual Practice (University of Nebraska Press), gathers the wisdom of her experience into a meditation
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