OCF Crosspoint is a production of Officers' Christian Fellowship and is dedicated to sharing stories of military life at the intersection of faith, family & profession. Some stories will be informational, educational, inspirational...or maybe all three. OCF's vision is the military community positively impacted through Christ-like leaders. OCF engages military leaders in Biblical fellowship and growth to equip them for Christ-like service at the intersection of faith, family, and profession. For more information, visit the OCF website at www.ocfusa.org.
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
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Podcast Overview
OCF Crosspoint is a production of Officers' Christian Fellowship and is dedicated to sharing stories of military life at the intersection of faith, family & profession. Some stories will be informational, educational, inspirational...or maybe all three. OCF's vision is the military community positively impacted through Christ-like leaders. OCF engages military leaders in Biblical fellowship and growth to equip them for Christ-like service at the intersection of faith, family, and profession. For more information, visit the OCF website at www.ocfusa.org.
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Publishing Since
3/26/2012
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Recent Episodes
June 1, 2026
What's influencing you more: Culture or Scripture?
Lt Gen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.), and CH(COL) Light Shin, USA, discuss with host Josh Jackson how culture and scripture influence Christian officers, offering insights on authentic faith and leadership.
May 1, 2026
Dear Christian leader: Why are you really doing that?
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Matters of Conscience, Part 2:</span></strong></p> <p>In Part 2 of this two-part series, CH(CPT) Chris Erickson and West Point professor LTC Lee Robinson join host Josh Jackson to continue their candid conversation on matters of conscience for Christian military leaders. </p> <p>Together, they unpack a practical three-step framework for navigating the gray areas where faith and military service intersect—know your boundaries, check your motives, discern your impact. </p> <p>Drawing from their own experiences serving together, including a deployed Easter sunrise service and counseling soldiers from different faith backgrounds, Erickson and Robinson offer honest, sometimes disagreeing perspectives on prayer in formation, sharing faith with subordinates, and what it means to develop a personal "theology of approach." </p> <p>This episode is essential listening for any Christian officer wrestling with how to faithfully and effectively lead in a pluralistic military environment.</p> <p><strong>ICYMI:</strong> <a href= "https://www.ocfusa.org/2026/03/making-christian-decisions-in-the-gray-areas-of-military-life/"> Listen to Part 1 of this conversation here</a> or on your favorite podcast app. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Questions answered and themes covered in this interview include:</span></strong><br /> <br /> <strong>What is a practical framework Christian military leaders can use when navigating gray areas of faith and profession?</strong></p> <p>Robinson and Erickson offer a three-step process for Christian military leaders facing situations where the rules don't give a clear answer. </p> <p>Step one: know your boundaries—understand what's legally and professionally allowed, but recognize that many situations fall in a gray area where the legal framework won't resolve the question. </p> <p>Step two: check your motives—ask honestly why you're doing what you're doing. Is it springing authentically from your faith, or is there pride or another agenda mixed in? </p> <p>Step three: discern the impact—consider how your action might affect others, including whether it could be perceived as using your position to compel religious participation or as giving subordinates a green light to impose their own beliefs. As Robinson summarized: "It is permissible, but should I?"<br /> </p> <p><strong>How should a Christian officer think about praying with or in front of subordinates?</strong></p> <p>This question surfaces real, productive disagreement between the two guests. Robinson, reflecting on his time as a battalion commander, chose not to pray publicly with his unit—not because it was forbidden, but because of the weight of authority the position carries. </p> <p>"Battalion commander in the Army is just a monster position," Erickson noted, affirming the delicacy required. <br /> Robinson also shared a counterexample: he led a prayer with his team on a flight line in Iraq and said it was motivated by love and a desire to share comfort, not to signal his faith or compel agreement. </p> <p>Erickson, as chaplain, pushes back gently, arguing that commanders have just as much right to pray as chaplains do, but he also challenges chaplains themselves to stop and ask what they're trying to accomplish before praying. </p> <p>Both agree: the motive behind the prayer matters enormously.<br /> </p> <p><strong>How should Christian officers approach praying at official military events like a change of command?</strong></p> <p>Erickson draws a sharp distinction between the invocation he gave at a recent change of command and the prayer he led at a Christian worship service the next morning: "Those were two very different approaches." </p> <p>At the change of command, more than 60 soldiers were required to attend. He deliberately did not offer an exclusively Christian prayer. His reasoning: soldiers are compelled to be present, and a chaplain's effectiveness across an entire battalion depends on being seen as someone who serves the spiritual fitness of all soldiers—not only those who share his faith. </p> <p>This doesn't compromise his personal beliefs; it reflects a considered theology of approach to a setting where the context is institutional, not devotional.</p> <p> <br /> <strong>What does it mean for a Christian military leader to develop a "theology of approach"?</strong></p> <p>At its core, it means going back to what you actually believe about God and what you believe God is directing, especially before entering complex situations involving faith and leadership. </p> <p>Erickson references Romans 14, which he argues reminds Christians that each person "will give an account of himself to God"—meaning subordinates are ultimately accountable to God, not to their commander's faith convictions. </p> <p>For Erickson, this shapes everything: it frees him to minister to soldiers of all backgrounds by engaging universal human needs, such as comfort, wisdom, counsel, leadership, without leading first with his denominational perspective. </p> <p>He describes counseling a Muslim soldier and a Jewish family both from his Christian faith, and both expressed genuine gratitude. "All truth is God's truth," he said, "and so I can share truth with you when the time is right."</p> <p> <br /> <strong>How can Christian military leaders check whether they're sharing faith out of genuine love versus pride or self-promotion?</strong></p> <p>Both guests return repeatedly to the question of motive, and both connect it to authenticity. Erickson references the account of Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4, noting that her testimony was compelling because it was personal and genuinely transformational: "She went back and told others about that." </p> <p>The contrast he draws is a faith expression that's forced—slamming a Bible on a desk, tacking a gospel message onto a wedding—versus one that flows naturally from who you are. </p> <p>Robinson frames it as a binary: "Is that motive out of pride or is it out of love?" He applies it directly to his own flight line prayer in Iraq: "That was out of love." </p> <p>Erickson's challenge to listeners: "If your religious belief is something worth anything, then it should come out in those personal moments. It should be a part of who you are and why you live."</p> <p> <br /> OCF Crosspoint is produced by Officers' Christian Fellowship and is a podcast for Christian military officers at every stage of service. Learn more about OCF at www.ocfusa.org/learnmore.</p>
March 30, 2026
Making Christian decisions in the gray areas of military life
<p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Matters of conscience, Part 1:</span></strong></p> <p>In part one of this two-part series on matters of conscience, Josh Jackson talks with CH(CPT) Chris Erickson, USA, an active-duty Army chaplain serving with 1-41 Infantry Battalion at Fort Carson, Colo., and LTC Lee Robinson, USA, an Army aviator and West Point professor who directs the American Politics Program. </p> <p>Together, they examine how Christian military leaders can think through gray areas of faith and profession when the Bible does not seem to give a simple, direct answer. Rather than focusing only on what is legal, the conversation explores how leaders can ask what they should do in a given moment. </p> <p>This episode is worth hearing if you are trying to navigate the space between religious liberty, leadership responsibility, and wise judgment in uniform. </p> <p>This is Lee's third time as a guest on OCF Crosspoint. While it isn't necessary to listen to his previous interviews, consider listening to both episodes since Chris and Lee will reference them at a few points. Listen here: </p> <ul> <li><a href= "https://www.ocfusa.org/2025/07/navigating-the-wall-of-separation-between-church-and-state-july-2025/"> Navigating the wall of separation between church and state</a> </li> <li><a href= "https://www.ocfusa.org/2025/08/faithful-leadership-you-wont-get-this-perfect-and-thats-ok/"> Faithful Leadership: You won't get this perfect—and that's OK </a></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Questions answered and themes covered in this interview include: </strong></span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>How should a Christian military officer discern whether something is a matter of conscience? </strong></p> <p>A matter of conscience is defined less by the specific decision and more by the process used to reach it. Lee explains it as an area where civil authority does not dictate the outcome—something shaped by personal conviction, informed by reason, study, and Scripture. Chris adds that leaders must go beyond asking "what is legal?" and instead wrestle with "what should be done?" These situations often arise in gray areas where Scripture does not give explicit direction, requiring leaders to arrive at a decision they can be "fully convinced" of in their own mind (Romans 14:5, ESV). </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Can a Christian military officer share their faith when asked about their leadership philosophy? </strong></p> <p>Yes, with important nuance. When a soldier asks about a leader's philosophy, that question opens a door the leader didn't force open. Chris argues that a soldier-initiated question is meaningfully different from a leader promoting religion unprompted. Lee's experience illustrates the tension: he shared Scripture-rooted principles without explicitly connecting them to his Christian faith, largely because other soldiers were present. Chris challenged that, arguing honest answers—including the faith source—aren't coercion. Both agree the key questions are: Who started the conversation? Is this a public or private exchange? Could sharing be perceived as using rank to promote belief? </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>How should a Christian officer respect religious differences while staying true to his faith in a diverse unit? </strong></p> <p>Chris argues that a leader needs a settled "theology of approach" before they are ever in the moment, working out in advance what he or she believes about expressing and sharing faith, and about respecting others' spiritual accountability. Romans 14:12 (ESV) anchors this: "Each of us will give an account of himself to God." Every soldier is individually accountable to God, not through their commander. Lee adds that religious pluralism is "our greatest moral argument to the world," and leaders who model genuine respect for diverse convictions honor that. The practical test: Am I seeking to provide comfort and care, or to promote my faith? </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>How should Christian officers balance faith expression with leadership responsibility and authority? </strong></p> <p>A key theme is the distinction between expressing faith and promoting it through authority. Chris stresses that using one's position to promote religion undermines true religious freedom, while sharing personal beliefs appropriately can be part of authentic leadership. He encourages leaders to examine their "why", whether they are seeking to influence belief or simply being transparent about what shapes them. Lee adds that leaders must consider how their actions affect unit cohesion and perception, especially in public or group settings, requiring leaders to think through factors like environment, audience, and intent rather than relying on rigid rules. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Is it appropriate for a Christian commander to pray with troops after a tragedy? </strong></p> <p>Lee shares a vivid example from combat after two soldiers in his company were killed by enemy fire. Standing before the formation, he had not planned to pray, but seeing their faces, he believed they needed more than facts. Before praying, he told them that if they were not praying people, he respected that and they did not have to participate. He then offered a non-denominational prayer for the families, for one another, and for the actions ahead. Lee says he would make the same decision again—though he never prayed once as a battalion commander, relying on Chris for that function. Chris frames the moment plainly: "You were not seeking to promote your faith. You were seeking to promote comfort." In his view, stepping in to provide comfort through personal belief is "good leadership"—not an attempt to advance religion. </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>What is the difference between expressing Christian faith in uniform and using military authority to promote religion? </strong></p> <p>Chris argues that Christian leaders do not need to eliminate religion from their lives or silence themselves, but they do need to examine why they are doing what they are doing. The problem is not faith itself but using authority to promote faith. That distinction matters for commanders and chaplains alike. Chris pushes back on the idea that chaplains automatically have broader permission simply because of their role. The goal should not be to pressure others into belief, but to offer comfort, care, counsel, wisdom, and support. A leader may share from personal belief but must not use official position to advance religion as such. </p>
141 total episodes available with 1 transcripts
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Clint Hinote
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Light Shin
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This podcast updates weekly.
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