Nuance: Being Faithful in the Public Square

Healing Purpose: Finding Satisfaction in a Healthcare Career with Dr. Mark David Topazian

What happens when an industry built on burnout, staff shortages, and broken systems begins to lose its very soul? In the modern medical economy, clinics and hospitals have become fast-paced hubs of technical performance, where the deeper meaning of care is easily lost in the shuffle. Healthcare professionals are suddenly being asked to carry overwhelming physical and emotional workloads, leading many to feel exhausted or disenfranchised. The question is no longer whether our medical systems can cure physical ailments, but what kind of spiritual blindness is being formed in the process. In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp welcomes gastroenterologist, professor, and author Dr. Mark Topazian to explore vocation, perception, and spiritual reality in healthcare. Dr. Topazian pulls back the curtain on the rapid commercialization of medicine and shares how learning to see differently can restore purpose to an already overwhelming job without adding a single thing to a clinician's to-do list. From serving in international missions to taking practical spiritual histories at the bedside, Dr. Topazian explains how to recognize God’s kingdom active in our clinics and hospitals. Through their discussion, Dr. Topazian helps listeners see how a mature, Christian worldview can withstand the intense pressures of a modern healthcare culture. 🔑 Key Topics Covered in This Episode: 🏥 The Spiritual Blindness in Healthcare: Confronting the idea that clinics and hospitals are spiritually neutral or merely cold, empirical spaces, and establishing why all true healing ultimately points to the kingdom of God. 📜 The Christian History of the Hospital: A look back at how the Christian tradition and a biblical view of human dignity directly birthed the modern hospital system, transforming how society cares for the sick and disabled. 🩺 Burnout vs. Missing Meaning: Redefining clinical burnout not merely as a crisis of workload or long hours, but as a crisis of meaning that can be recovered through attentiveness and true seeing. 📋 The FICA & LORD Frameworks: Practical, non-coercive tools for healthcare workers to take spiritual histories, helping clinicians put on "3D glasses" to care for patients as body, soul, and spirit. 🌍 Global Medicine & Training: A look inside Dr. Topazian's current work in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, exploring the unique challenges and rewards of training the next generation of specialized physicians in Sub-Saharan Africa. 📚 Episode Resources: Healing Purpose: Finding Satisfaction in a Healthcare Career by Dr. Mark Topazian - www.ivpress.com/healing-purpose InterVarsity Press - www.ivpress.com #podcast #podcastclips #faith #vocation #publicsquare #theology #listen #nuance #listenable #christianpodcast #christianliving #faithandwork  Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative where we wrestle together about living our Christian faith in the public square. Nuance invites Christians to pursue the cultural and economic renewal by living out faith through work every facet of public life, including work, political engagement, the arts, philanthropy, and more.  Each episode, Dr. Case Thorp hosts conversations with Christian thinkers and leaders at the forefront of some of today's most pressing issues around living a public faith. Visit wecolabor.com for resources, events, and more. Timestamps 0:00 Spiritual Blindness in Healthcare 1:02 Introducing Dr. Mark Topazian 1:16 Moving to Ethiopia & Training Gastroenterologists 2:51 Introducing "Healing Purpose" & The Crisis of Meaning 3:57 The Realities of Compassion Fatigue & Burnout 6:45 Hospitals are Outposts of God's Kingdom 7:43 The Christian Roots of the Modern Hospital 9:00 Processing Medical Grief: A Gotham Fellowship Story 10:47 Unifying the Scientific and Scriptural Narratives 12:26 The Biblical Concept of Shalom (Holistic Health) 14:11 Putting on "3D Glasses" for Patient Care 15:01 The FICA Framework for Spiritual Histories 16:14 The Science of Faith and Health Outcomes 19:12 Exploring Spiritual Curiosity with the "Nones" 23:41 The LORD Framework & Religious Struggle 27:18 Practicing Good Medicine While Integrating Faith 28:51 Micro-Habits for Busy Clinicians (Lock Screens & Laments) 32:41 The Reality of God in the Operating Room 33:46 Advice for Early-Career Medical Professionals 35:05 The Saline Process Workshop 37:07 Final Encouragement, Episode Resources & Outro

Inside the Massive Business of Modern College Football with Ben Godwin

What happens when an industry built on competition, performance, and money begins to reshape itself overnight? In the modern sports economy, name, image, and likeness have become massive assets, and the transfer portal has completely rewritten the rules of loyalty.  College athletes are suddenly being asked to make massive, adult business decisions before they have even reached adult maturity. The question is no longer whether sports shape our culture, but what kind of people the system forms in the process. In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp welcomes Ben Godwin, Vice President of Licensing at Catapult, to explore faith, work, and moral presence in the modern sports economy. Ben pulls back the curtain on the rapid professionalization of college athletes and shares how faith and work shape his approach to leading with integrity in a high-speed system where incentives often point elsewhere. From sports data analytics to corporate clearances, Ben explains how to bring order and truth to a tumultuous landscape.  Through their discussion, Ben helps listeners see how a mature, Christian worldview can withstand the intense pressures of a "win-now" culture. 🔑 Key Topics Covered in This Episode: 📜 The NIL & Portal Revolution: Unpacking the rapid litigation that legally opened Pandora's box overnight, transforming the NCAA into a free-market system akin to professional free agency. 📊 The Power of Sports Data Analytics: How Catapult aggregates up to 800 data points a second from wearable player devices to manage athlete health, optimize performance, and drive media distribution. ⚖️ Protecting Athletes in "The Wild": Navigating the gray areas of booster deals and uncertified agents, and why unrepresented or lower-level college athletes are particularly vulnerable to being taken advantage of by major brands. ⏱️ The "Microwave Society": Confronting a cultural landscape that demands instant results, immediate payouts, and five-minute highlight reels at the expense of patience, mentoring, and character growth. 🙏 Spiritual Parenting & Biblical Parenting: A look inside Ben's life as a father of five, sharing practical parenting advice for raising kids with courage, trust, and faith through the chaos of daily life. 📚 Episode Resources: Catapult Sports Website: https://www.catapult.com #podcast #podcastclips #faith #vocation #publicsquare #theology #listen #nuance #listenable #christianpodcast #christianliving #faithandwork  Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative where we wrestle together about living our Christian faith in the public square. Nuance invites Christians to pursue the cultural and economic renewal by living out faith through work every facet of public life, including work, political engagement, the arts, philanthropy, and more.  Each episode, Dr. Case Thorp hosts conversations with Christian thinkers and leaders at the forefront of some of today's most pressing issues around living a public faith. Visit wecolabor.com for resources, events, and more. Timestamps 0:00 Faith, Work, and Moral Presence in Modern Sports 1:17 Introducing Ben Godwin 3:04 How Sports Data Is Used 4:36 Wearables, Load Management, and Player Health 5:32 Catapult in Pro, College, and High School Sports 6:06 Media, NIL, and Monetizing Athlete Content 6:55 Ben’s Career Path from Accounting to Sports Media 8:14 Leading Catapult’s Licensing and Media Division 10:13 Explaining Name Image Likeness and the Transfer Portal 11:47 How NIL Changed Overnight in College Sports 13:45 Transfer Portal as Free Agency and Roster Rebuilds 14:15 What Fans Misunderstand About NIL and the Portal 15:51 Booster Money, Gray Areas, and Legitimate NIL Deals 17:00 Revenue Sharing and TV Money for Playoff Athletes 18:37 Bringing Christian Integrity to NIL Deals and Business 20:12 Caring for Less Represented and International Athletes 23:25 Formation, Character, and a Microwave Sports Culture 24:30 Leading a Values Driven Office 26:29 Hidden Costs of the Portal 27:53 Coaches Using the Portal to Turn Over Rosters 28:48 Humanity Versus Metrics in the Sports Economy 30:30 Highlights, Algorithms, and Changing Sports Consumption 31:50 Developing Young Professionals in Sports Media 33:54 Tension Among Athletes, Families, Coaches, and Agents 35:24 Advice to Young Athletes Navigating NIL and Transfers 36:56 Trusting Coaches, Authority, and Long Term Formation 38:42 Faith, Parenting, and Micro Prayers in Daily Life 41:04 Discipling Children and Planting Spiritual Seeds 42:41 Closing Reflections

Are You Accidentally a Heretic? The Trinity & Council of Nicea Explained with Dr. Jonathan Lett

What happens when the foundational beliefs of your faith are suddenly up for debate? 1700 years ago, a fractured early church gathered not to innovate, but to confess—and to say something out loud, together, in public. Understanding the nature of Jesus and the Trinity is the absolute bedrock of the Christian faith, yet many modern believers struggle to articulate it. In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp welcomes back Dr. Jonathan Lett to explore the legacy of the Council of Nicaea and why a 4th-century debate still matters today. Jonathan unpacks the controversy surrounding the Arian heresy and clarifies how the Nicene Creed was ultimately about reading Scripture rightly. Drawing on his deep theological expertise, he makes the case that the doctrine of the Trinity isn't just an abstract puzzle, but the very foundation for Christian prayer, worship, and vocation. From navigating ancient theological debates to understanding complex terms like "consubstantial," Jonathan helps modern believers see how the eternal relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit directly shapes our daily lives. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: * The Arian Heresy: Unpacking the 4th-century belief that Jesus was merely a created being and why getting this wrong threatens the Christian understanding of salvation. * Reading Scripture Rightly: How the Council of Nicaea wasn't just about philosophical arguments, but about establishing the correct framework for interpreting the Bible. * Begotten, Not Made: Decoding the complex, non-biological language of the Nicene Creed and why specific words were essential to defend the faith. * Faith Seeking Understanding: Shifting from trying to intellectually solve the Trinity to actively participating in the eternal life of God through prayer and obedience. * Trinitarian Vocation: How understanding God as a communal being changes how we approach our daily work and our role in the public sphere. Episode Resources:  * LeTourneau University: https://www.letu.edu/ [https://www.letu.edu/] * Jesus Wars by Philip Jenkins: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095J2NQSL/ [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jesus-wars-john-philip-jenkins/1120313247]  * Theological Orations by Gregory of Nazianzus: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3102.htm [https://www.google.com/search?q=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf207.iii.html] * Faith, Science, and Technology Initiative at LeTourneau University: https://www.letu.edu/academics/faith-science-technology-initiative/index.html [https://www.letu.edu/academics/faith-science-technology-initiative/index.html] * Nicea 2025: Why the Council of Nicea? - Dr. Jonathan Lett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFqsqUCNZNY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFqsqUCNZNY] * Nicea 2025: What the Trinity Tells Us About Who God is - Dr. Jonathan Lett: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9Md6yYLx0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9Md6yYLx0] #podcast #podcastclips #faith #vocation #publicsquare #theology #listen #nuance #listenable #christianpodcast #christianliving #faithandwork #publicsquare Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative where we wrestle together about living our Christian faith in the public square. Nuance invites Christians to pursue the cultural and economic renewal by living out faith through work every facet of public life, including work, political engagement, the arts, philanthropy, and more.  Each episode, Dr. Case Thorp hosts conversations with Christian thinkers and leaders at the forefront of some of today's most pressing issues around living a public faith. Visit wecolabor.com for resources, events, and more. Timestamps 0:00 Foundations Of The Trinity & Christian Faith  0:19 The Council Of Nicaea's 1700th Anniversary  2:13 Historical Background To 325 AD  2:28 Reading Scripture & Early Debates About the Trinity  3:40 Monotheism & the Son  5:33 Obedience, Exaltation, & Biblical Tension About Jesus  7:10 Struggling To Understand The Trinity In Theology Class  7:37 Is The Son Equal with the Father?  9:29 Humor, Heretics, and Chickens  10:48 Alexander Versus Arius  11:09 Arianism Explained  14:05 Why The Trinity Matters For Salvation  16:03 The Nicene Creed on Christ  17:16 Incarnation, Salvation, And Human Nature Healed  20:01 What is Not Assumed is Not Redeemed  20:55 Messy Church Councils  23:41 Israel’s Broken Story  29:19 The Creed as Communal Confession  31:56 Using Father ^ Son Language Without Biological Confusion  32:58 Begotten Not Made  35:49 Faith Seeking Understanding & Trinitarian Prayer  39:46 Nicene Creed & Christian Vocation  42:27 Closing Thoughts

A Theology of Technology: Bodies, Screens, and Boundaries with Dr. Jonathan Lett

What happens when technology is not just something we use, but something that quietly catechizes us? For millions of people, our phones, algorithms, and digital tools are actively shaping our attention and reworking our labor. Finding a way to flourish in a tech-driven world is one of the defining spiritual challenges of our time, and many of us are underprepared to address it. In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp sits down with Dr. Jonathan Lett, Director of the Faith, Science, and Technology Initiative at LeTourneau University, to explore the foundational questions we must ask before we build the next big thing. Jonathan argues that before deciding what to do with tech, we must first understand what it means to be human. Drawing on theological anthropology and his deep study of limits, dependence, and embodied existence, he makes the case that true freedom isn't found in overcoming our boundaries, but in embracing them. From challenging the "Silicon Valley ideology" to understanding how technology offers shortcuts around our natural limits, Jonathan's work helps us integrate ancient Christian wisdom into our modern digital lives. Key Topics Covered in This Episode: * The Silicon Valley Illusion: The myth that tech creators aren't responsible for their platforms, and why we must make public decisions about our digital tools. * What It Means to Be Human: Redefining human nature through the lens of limits, dependence, and our deeply "embodied existence." * Freedom Through Limits: How our modern allergy to limits hurts our spiritual formation, and why embracing constraints is the true path to freedom. * The Anxious Generation: Discussing the impact of screens on children's mental health and the urgent need to protect the developing mind. * Coding as Ministry: How LeTourneau University equips the next generation of engineers to view coding as a genuine theological calling. Episode Resources: * Faith, Science, and Technology Initiative at LeTourneau University: https://www.letu.edu/academics/faith-science-technology-initiative/index.html [https://www.letu.edu/academics/faith-science-technology-initiative/index.html] * Karl Barth as Theologian of Nature by Jonathan Lett: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0567728315 [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/karl-barth-as-theologian-of-nature-jonathan-lett/1149705206]  * The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9N2L56X/ [https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/] #podcast #podcastclips #faith #vocation #publicsquare #theology #listen #nuance #listenable #christianpodcast #christianliving #faithandwork #publicsquare Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative where we wrestle together about living our Christian faith in the public square. Nuance invites Christians to pursue the cultural and economic renewal by living out faith through work every facet of public life, including work, political engagement, the arts, philanthropy, and more.  Each episode, Dr. Case Thorp hosts conversations with Christian thinkers and leaders at the forefront of some of today's most pressing issues around living a public faith. Visit wecolabor.com for resources, events, and more. Timestamps 0:00 Limits, Freedom, and True Christian Freedom 0:31 Introducing Dr. Jonathan Lett 1:36 LeTourneau University as a Christian Polytechnic Hub 3:19 Jonathan Lett’s Journey Into Theology & Technology 6:06 Karl Barth, Creation, & Theology of Nature 8:32 How Theological Anthropology Shapes Today’s Culture Wars 12:44 Limits, Dependence, and the Illusion of Limitless Technology 15:00 Medical Innovation, Suffering, and Creaturely Limits 15:52 Christian Vision of Human Flourishing 20:00 Embodied Existence 24:38 Augustine and the Goodness of the Body 25:36 Karl Barth on Being Made for Joy 31:49 Rethinking a Flourishing Society in a Technological Age 34:54 Silicon Valley Ideology and Moral Responsibility 38:12 Children, Screens, and the Teen Mental Health Crisis 41:34 Coding as Christian Ministry 43:19 Recovering Public Theology in a Polarized Culture 43:57 Closing Remarks

Christians and AI: The Danger of Deformation | Rev. David Kim

If God can speak through a donkey, can He speak through artificial intelligence?  AI and the church are converging faster than most Christians are prepared to engage, and the theological stakes are higher than the cultural conversation usually acknowledges. In this episode of Nuance, host Case Thorp sits down with Reverend Dr. David Kim, founder of Goldenwood, to explore what Christians and AI have to say to one another. David argues that because God's providence remains active in the world, faith and artificial intelligence need not be held apart. The church can approach new technologies with "hopeful intelligence," a posture that takes seriously both AI's capacity for deception and its potential for genuine good. Drawing on Walter Brueggemann's prophetic imagination, David makes the case that AI can expand our ability to understand systemic brokenness and materialize hope in concrete ways.  From an "exilic" posture toward cultural engagement to the practical implications of what David calls "the enchanted frame," this conversation offers a theological grammar for one of the defining technologies of our time. 🔑 Key Topics Covered in This Episode: * Hopeful Intelligence: Moving beyond fear to envision how generative AI can connect people and materialize hope in practical ways. * Exilic Discipleship: Understanding our relationship with technology through the Old Testament paradigm of living as exiles who seek the peace of the city. * The Prophetic Imagination and AI: Applying Brueggemann's concepts to see how AI's ability to synthesize massive amounts of data can help humans grasp the true complexity of systemic brokenness. * The Enchanted Frame: How giving a large language model parameters that assume God's presence shifts its outputs and opens it as a tool for spiritual reflection. * The Deception Concern: Acknowledging the Genesis 3-rooted dangers of AI being used to blur the lines between truth and deception. 📚 Episode Resources: * Goldenwood: https://goldenwoodnyc.org [https://goldenwoodnyc.org] * The Prophetic Imagination: 40th Anniversary Edition: https://a.co/d/03CM0llI #podcast #podcastclips #faith #vocation #publicsquare #theology #listen #nuance #listenable #christianpodcast #christianliving #faithandwork #publicsquare Nuance is a podcast of The Collaborative where we wrestle together about living our Christian faith in the public square. Nuance invites Christians to pursue the cultural and economic renewal by living out faith through work every facet of public life, including work, political engagement, the arts, philanthropy, and more.  Each episode, Dr. Case Thorp hosts conversations with Christian thinkers and leaders at the forefront of some of today's most pressing issues around living a public faith. Visit wecolabor.com for resources, events, and more. Timestamps 0:00 Introducing Rev. Dr. David Kim 1:44 Early Adopting to ChatGPT and Generative AI 2:58 Genesis 3 and the Danger of AI Deception 4:26 Can We Discern AI Truth from Reality? 6:40 AI Web Scraping and Christian Theology 9:40 The Vastness of Historical Christian Literature vs. The Web 11:20 The Enchanted Frame 12:31 Applying a Christian Lens to Technology 14:20 Exilic Discipleship: Engaging with Modern Culture 16:04 Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, and AI 17:54 Using AI to Synthesize and Understand Systemic Brokenness 19:20 Processing Church Hurt Using ChatGPT 21:26 Theological Implications of the Holy Spirit and AI 22:26 Nautilus: Training Believers to Use AI for Spiritual Formation 24:14 Finding God's Providence in Technology 26:42 Why AI is Especially Useful for the Third Third Generation 28:34 Can an Empathic AI Bring Healing? 29:34 Overcoming Evil with Good in the Tech Space 31:54 Closing Thoughts