Created in the Image of God

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 Gospel Coalition, and Relevant, Jay also hosts IVP’s Digital Examen Podcast.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Jay joins Wade for a searching conversation about faith, technology, church hurt, and the pressures of modern life. Born in South Korea and raised in Silicon Valley after his mother’s dramatic conversion to Christianity, Jay grew up in the world of the immigrant church—where faith, belonging, and community were deeply intertwined. But when that world fractured through betrayal and pain, he walked away, only to find his way back through the patient love of friends who embodied Jesus differently.Together, they explore what it means to pursue peace in an anxious age, why digital life so easily fragments our attention, and how a more faithful Christian presence begins not with speed or performance, but with slowness, depth, and love. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe [https://wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

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 Way.Beyond her research, Jennifer is widely known for her work at the intersection of science, faith, and public life—directing the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, and serving with organizations like BioLogos and the American Scientific Affiliation. In this episode of Created In The Image of God, she and Wade explore what our rapidly expanding picture of the universe means for life on Earth: from galaxies, dark matter, and black holes to the emerging science of astrobiology and the search for life beyond our planet.Together they ask how cosmic discovery can deepen, rather than diminish, our sense of wonder, ethics, and responsibility. What does it mean to speak of being created in the image of God on one small world in a vast, ancient cosmos? How might the possibility of other worlds and other lives reshape the way we think about God’s creativity, human humility, and our call to care for this planet and each other? Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe [https://wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

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 commentaries on Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Daniel, Jeremiah, and more, and co‑edited the award‑winning Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. As a senior translator for the wisdom books in the New Living Translation and author of works like Confronting Old Testament Controversies and The Bible and the Ballot: Using Scripture in Political Decisions, he is known for combining rigorous scholarship with accessible guidance for Christians wrestling with Scripture and contemporary issues.In this episode of Created In The Image of God, Tremper and Wade ask what our “Judeo‑Christian heritage” really means. If the Bible helped shape Western law, notions of justice, and the very idea that humans bear God’s image, is it still relevant for public life today? How should Scripture inform political decisions without becoming a partisan weapon—or being pushed to the margins as merely “private” belief?Together they explore how the Old Testament speaks into questions of justice, power, character, and community, and how believers can engage culture and politics with humility, wisdom, and a deeper respect for the text at the heart of their faith. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe [https://wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

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 to America, featured on NPR and in regional media.Today David is a husband, father, corporate attorney, and deacon at Dulles Church of Christ, a Bible‑based congregation he helped plant more than 20 years ago. In this episode of Created in the Image of God, he reflects on how God met him in trauma and transition, reshaped his understanding of freedom, duty, and opportunity, and turned a family’s desperate escape into a story of redemptive love and purpose.We talk about memory, migration, and gratitude—what it means to honor the life you narrowly escaped, the life you were given, and the responsibilities that come with both. For anyone wrestling with hardship, origin stories, or the meaning of “promised land” in their own journey, David’s story offers a sober, hope‑filled look at providence, perseverance, and thankfulness. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe [https://wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

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 successful office owner.Through his twenties, Jason lived the classic “work hard, party hard” script: binge‑drinking weekends, achievement‑driven hustle, and a faith life largely reduced to an hour on Sunday. He still called himself a “Jesus guy,” but his real priorities were trips, trophies, and building his own kingdom. The breaking point came when he got engaged in a relationship built on chemistry and convenience more than shared calling—and realized, just months before the wedding, that he couldn’t honestly bring God into a future he was already compromising.In this episode, Jason unpacks that wake‑up call and the year of reset that followed: calling off the wedding, stepping back from dating, diving into Scripture, morning routines, and wholehearted surrender. We trace how God led him from divided loyalties into a life of “holy habits”—launching the Wake Up Jesus People movement, the 40 Forge Challenge, and the journal and practices now helping believers move from hustle to sustainable rhythms with Jesus.If you’re tired of living split between your public success and your private soul, Jason’s story is a practical, hopeful invitation to let God reorder your days—so you can live with deeper peace, purpose, and joy in a noisy, distracted world. Get full access to Created in the Image of God at wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe [https://wadefransson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]