I always like to know a little something about an author before I sit down to open up his or her book. Today, I interview my friend Jen Oshman about her new book, Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of Our Age and How We Were Made for So Much More. Jen always writes with a beautiful combination of warmth and wisdom and I can’t wait to read this book. It releases on March 22, 2022 and you can pre-order it here today!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Currently, I live in my home state of Colorado with my family. My husband and I just celebrated 23 years of marriage and we have four daughters who are now teens and young adults. Our family has spent many years doing missions and church planting in Japan and the Czech Republic. Our current church plant, Redemption Parker, just turned five years old, which is a huge gift! In the past six years, since our return from overseas, I have been writing, speaking, and podcasting in hopes of encouraging women in their love of Jesus and growing a biblical worldview. A couple other fun facts: I’m just shy of 6’ tall, and my 6’ 5” husband is the skilled and generous chef in our family.
When did you first start writing? What do you enjoy about it?
With an English teacher for a mom and an attorney for a dad, I think I was bound to become a communicator and passionate advocate for truth. I was the editor of my high school newspaper and went to college to pursue journalism. But it wasn’t until we hit the mission field that I became focused on communicating the truths of God and what he’s doing around the globe. I longed to give our friends and family back home a glimpse of God’s goodness on the other side of the world. It was through newsletters and blogging about God’s faithfulness that I really gained a desire to write more about Jesus and a Christian perspective on global events and cultural trends. My sweet spot in writing is applying theology to anthropology—discerning and sharing what the Bible has to say about what’s happening here and now.
Is writing ever difficult for you? How so?
Yes, absolutely! As a Christian writer my biggest fear is unintentionally misrepresenting our God or his Word. That (good) fear can immobilize me. I try to mitigate it by reading and studying deeply and inviting plenty of theologians and mature believers to edit my work as I go. My second biggest fear is unintentionally wounding the reader. Because I often write about controversial cultural topics, I am gravely aware that even if my motives and words are good, sometimes they will wound. I pray about this every time I write, and I invite frequent feedback from trusted sources. And finally, writing is just hard work. It takes discipline to sit down and put pen to paper in a winsome and helpful way. This too requires prayer and accountability, plus careful scheduling so that I can be faithful to God’s call on my life.
What led you to write Cultural Counterfeits?
I have been in women’s ministry for over 20 years. It has been one of the greatest privileges and joys of my life. In that time, I have seen (and experienced myself) the harm caused by cultural counterfeits—these are the idols of our age that promise identity, life, and freedom, but ultimately deliver exploitation, enslavement, and even death. This book seeks to do two things: pull back the facade on the empty promises of our age and to show women and girls that we were made for an abundant and very good life in Jesus.
What’s the central message you hope readers will take away from your book?
My greatest hope for this book is that readers will come to the end of it with an unshakable belief that we were made for so much more than this world has to offer. While the idols exposed make for some very heavy reading, the immeasurable grace and mercy of our God is poured out on every page as well. There’s both truth and grace in this book. More than anything, I want women and girls to see that we have a Father who loves us unconditionally and lavishly. As in the parable of the Prodigal Son, he is watching us, even now, while we’re a long way off, and is eager to run out to us, embrace us, and bring us home to his feast (Luke 15:11:32).
What’s real is that we have a good God, and he stands ready to heal. Let’s go home, friends. Life was meant to be so much more. A feast awaits. There will always, always be a place for us at our Father’s table.
How has writing this book affected your own life?
Writing Cultural Counterfeits has affected me in two ways. First, I have grown in my awe and gratitude of God’s mercy and goodness. Nothing is beyond his forgiveness, and nothing can separate us from his love. More and more I realize I am made for home—and home is where my Father is. Secondly, being immersed in the sociological data covered in this book has made me more vigilant and aware of the pitfalls of this age when it comes to myself, my daughters, and other women I love. These idols are tenacious and antagonistic, and with God’s help, I want to stand strong against them and help others do the same.
For a sneak peek, here is a snippet from her book:
“Through Jesus we have so much more than we could have ever dreamed, so much more than we deserve.
Home is a person. His name is Jesus.
Human well-being requires harmony with reality. East of Eden, we’ve been seeking and striving after meaning and significance. Like the Prodigal, we’ve sought it out in a far country: outward beauty and ability, cheap sex, abortion, and changing identities on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. But we’ve been left hungry, exhausted, and homeless by these empty promises of our age. Like the older brother, we’ve sought identity and peace through right behavior, exalting the good gifts of marriage and motherhood way beyond their rightful place. These empty promises have left us angry, disappointed, and unsatisfied because they haven’t delivered what they said they would. We’ve missed out on harmony because we’ve rejected reality.
What’s real is that we have a good God, and he stands ready to heal. Let’s go home, friends. Life was meant to be so much more. A feast awaits. There will always, always be a place for us at our Father’s table” (pgs. 197-198).
Through Jesus we have so much more than we could have ever dreamed, so much more than we deserve.
Here’s what others are saying:
“In Cultural Counterfeits, Jen Oshman addresses some of the most significant and sensitive issues of our day with a combination of informed integrity, biblical insight, and godly compassion. In these pages you will find a winsome call away from the world’s false promises and toward what is real, true, and beautiful.”
– Nancy Guthrie, Bible teacher; author, Even Better than Eden
“This book is provocative in all the right ways. Jen Oshman wants to ensure that women don’t settle for less than God’s good and glorious intention for their life. Jen takes on some of the most pressing issues of our day, boldly proclaiming biblical truth while overflowing with gospel grace that soothes the sinner’s heart and breaks the Pharisee’s pride.”
– Trevin Wax, Vice President of Research and Resource Development, North American Mission Board; author, This Is Our Time
“Women are confronted with all sorts of ideas in today’s culture. It’s hard to know what is true and what truth is to be believed. Jen Oshman unpacks the most common ideas women face with care, research, and a more beautiful vision of God’s plan for us. Jen has years of experience as a ministry worker of the gospel, as a student of the word, and as a mom of daughters. As a mom of sons and as someone who ministers to women, I’m thankful for her work! This is a book I plan to give to the women I minister to, and I hope you will do the same.”
– Courtney Reissig, author, Teach Me to Feel and The Accidental Feminist
If you had an afternoon to do whatever you’d like, where would we find you?
In an alpine meadow, high in the Rocky Mountains, with my friends and family, enjoying a lavish picnic and tons of laughter.
Jen Oshman has been in women’s ministry for over two decades as a missionary and pastor’s wife on three continents. She’s the mother of four daughters, the author of Enough about Me: Find Lasting Joy in the Age of Self (Crossway, 2020) and Cultural Counterfeits: Confronting 5 Empty Promises of Our Age and How We Were Made for So Much More (Crossway, March 2022), and the host of All Things, a podcast about cultural events and trends. Her family currently resides in Colorado, where they planted Redemption Parker, an Acts29 church. Jen’s passion is encouraging women in their love of Jesus and growing a Biblical worldview. You can find her writing and podcast at jenoshman.com.