Cultural Connections
Cultural Connections is a podcast that tackles the real-life issues modern people face every day. From trending topics to personal struggles, each episode approaches today’s cultural conversations through a Biblical lens. Our goal is simple: to help you navigate everyday life with timeless truth.
Episodes
28 episodes
If God Can Use a Dummy, He Can Use You
Pastor Daniel Cox and Marie Cox sit down with Jo, Ted, and Rocky. Jo is the ventriloquist. Rocky is the dummy. Ted is Jo's husband. They have been reaching children with the gospel since Rocky showed up in 1989. This week they were at Calvary B...
24 Things We've Learned in 24 Years of Marriage
A pastor and a licensed counselor put 24 years of marriage in a bucket of numbered slips. Forty-five seconds to a minute to explain each one. Go short or go long, and you do not get the point.This is not a lecture. It is 24 things Danie...
You Don't Have to Perform for God
You do not have to perform for God. You already have His favor in Christ.A pastor and a licensed counselor talk about the performance trap. It shows up in ministry, in parenting, and in marriage. It starts when we try to earn from God w...
Can You Disagree Without Losing the Relationship?
We've lost the ability to disagree without losing the person. It is not just toilet paper and pecan pie. It is identity, politics, church, and marriage.A pastor and a licensed counselor talk about the lost art of disagreement. When it i...
She Was 16, Raising Her Siblings Alone. Then God Rewrote Her Story
She was 16 in a Denver apartment with no heat, no water, and two younger siblings to keep alive. Her dad was in prison. Her mom was in jail. Nobody came.This is Brandy’s story, the first in our series This Is My Story. She had only told...
Cultural Connections | Ep 23 | Pride, Narcissism, and Christ-Centered Humility
Have you been called a narcissist lately? The word is everywhere. Thanksgiving dinner, church, marriage, ministry. We throw it at anyone who seems proud or hard to deal with. That is not how this works.Pastor Daniel Cox and his wife Mar...
Episode 22 | Complicated Grief & Our God Who Redeems
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide and complicated grief. If you are struggling, please reach out for help.If you or someone you know is in crisis:Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lif...
Cultural Connections | EP.21 | Stop Letting Your Feelings Define Your Identity
Your feelings are real… but they were never meant to become your identity.Culture says “I feel it, therefore I am it.” The Bible says something very different. In this episode we expose the dangerous modern idea that emotions sh...
Episode 20 | When Leaders Fall
When leaders fall, the fallout reaches families, churches, and people who trusted them. In this episode of Cultural Connections, Pastor Daniel and Marie Cox open a hard, honest conversation about Christian leadership failure—why it hits so deep...
Episode 19 | Is Cutting off family ever Biblical? Toxicity, Boundaries & Reconciliation
Family estrangement is becoming normal and a lot of believers don’t know what to do with it.In this episode of Cultural Connections, Pastor Daniel Cox and Marie Cox talk honestly about the rise of family estrangement: why adult c...
Episode 18 | The Devil Doesn’t Have to Make Us Bad. He Just Has to Keep Us Busy
In this episode of Cultural Connections, Pastor Daniel and Marie Cox have an honest conversation about the epidemic of busyness and burnout in our culture and how the Bible invites us into something much better: rhythms of rest and true sha...
Episode 17 | Marriage Mythbusters: 12 Lies About Marriage BUSTED with Scripture
Are you happily married… or quietly believing some of the lies our culture tells about marriage?In Episode 17 of Cultural Connections, Pastor Daniel Cox and his wife Marie sit down for an honest, Scripture packed conversation as they bu...
Episode 16 | America at 250: Patriotism, Faith & Social Media
As America marks its 250th year, Pastor Daniel and Marie Cox talk about patriotism, parenting, immigration, social media, and how believers can love their country honestly, without ignoring hard truths, all through a biblical lens.In th...
Episode 15 | Our Show Has Gone to the Dogs: Sharing Christ Through Therapy Dogs
What if the key to sharing the gospel with a lonely neighbor has four legs and a wagging tail?In this episode of Cultural Connections, we sit down with Lesley and Terri from Doggie Disciples and the real star of the show, Cheyenne...
Episode 14 | How to Parent an Anxious Child | Christian Q&A on Screen Time, Fears & Grace
How do you parent an anxious child when their anxiety shows up as anger, stubbornness, or rebellion? In this honest conversation, we share real stories from the parenting trenches including a powerful moment when one of us realized we had been ...
Episode 13 | Grace-Based Parenting: 5 Biblical Ways to Lead Your Kids Without Guilt or Fear
Grace-based parenting isn't soft parenting — it's parenting that starts with God's grace in you, then flows to your children through clear boundaries, open relationship, and redemptive discipline.In this episode of Cultural Connections,...
Episode 12 | Our Story: Faith, Calling & Marriage
We usually sit down with someone else and ask the questions. This time we turned the mic around.This is the episode where we slow down — no guest, no headlines — and talk about our own lives: Florida roots, the churches and schools that...
Episode 11 | "It’s the Veteran, Not the Preacher" | Silver Star Marine Ray Kelley Shares His Story
Vietnam veteran Ray Kelly shares his powerful story of war, sacrifice, survival guilt, and finding redemption through Christ.Ray served as a Marine machine gunner in Vietnam and was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in 1967 — but ...
Episode 10 | "Disclosure Isn't Coming, We're Already In It" | Aliens, Demons & The Garden of Eden
Disclosure isn’t something that’s coming someday we’re already living in it.In this deep and eye-opening conversation, Joel from The Soul Trap joins Cultural Connections to explain why what the world calls “disclosure” is actually a slo...
Episode 9 | "We Will Not Get Angry at God" | Joy Lewis on Grief & Faith
In this powerful episode, Joy Lewis opens up about her journey through deep loss and unwavering faith. After losing her husband of 28 years, **Pastor Shane Lewis**, to leukemia in 2020, Joy shares how she and her family chose to trust God even ...
Episode 8 | Depression: Biblical Hope for the Weary Soul
In this powerful episode of Cultural Connections, we tackle one of the most misunderstood and painful topics of our day: depression. With the World Health Organization reporting that 1 billion people worldwide are struggling wit...
Episode 7 | Overcoming Anxiety: Biblical Wisdom for a Worried World
In this powerful episode of Cultural Connections, we tackle one of the most pressing issues of our time: anxiety. From clinical definitions to spiritual roots, we unpack what anxiety really is, why it’s so common today, and most...
Episode 6 | Generations W/ Ethan Cox
Join us for a special family conversation on Cultural Connections as we sit down with our 19-year-old son, Ethan Cox. Ethan shares his real-life experiences navigating Gen Z culture — from Christian school to public high school sports teams, bu...
Episode 5 | Brian Buono W/ Faith & Freedom Festival
In this powerful episode, Brian Buono shares his raw and transparent testimony of redemption — from a broken childhood as a latchkey kid and years of pride, ego, and exhausting control, to a life-changing encounter with Christ on a street corne...