How do you balance free exercise and non-establishment as a leader? / Crosspoint Highlights
Release Date: 07/16/2025
What's happening in ROTC that most OCF members don't see
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest Spotlight: Approximately 60% of active-duty officers commission through ROTC programs at more than 1,500 colleges and universities—making campus ministry to cadets and midshipmen a strategic mission field. In this episode of the OCF Crosspoint podcast, we hear from John Hoyman, OCF’s Director of ROTC Ministry and a 30-year Army veteran (Active Duty, National Guard, and Army Reserve), about the renewed vision and momentum in ROTC outreach. John shares his personal connection to OCF, why evangelism and discipleship are central to his vision, what he is witnessing spiritually...
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Accelerate change or lose: A futurist's guide to Biblical leadership
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest Spotlight Today’s episode features more of the conversation between Crosspoint host Josh Jackson and Lt Gen Clint Hinote, USAF (Ret.). Within his 35-year career as a fighter pilot, military strategist, and senior leader, Clint also served as a futurist for the Air Force prior to retiring in 2023. He is now a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy. Clint breaks down how to think strategically about the future without getting paralyzed by uncertainty, how to read the signals of change, and how to communicate vision. Whether you're leading in...
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A new take on the “armor of God”: The power of fighting as a unit
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Guest Spotlight Today's episode features a conversation between Crosspoint host Josh Jackson and LTC Brittany Simmons, USA (Ret.). Brittany served 20 years in the Army Military Police Corps, including deployment to Iraq as a platoon leader from 2004-2005. In this episode, Brittany challenges the common individualistic reading of the Armor of God passage in Ephesians 6. Drawing from her combat experience and understanding of Roman military formations, she explains why Paul's analogy was always meant to be understood not only individually, but also collectively—as a unit linking...
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Christmastime reflections & New Year expectations with CEO/Executive Director Scott Fisher
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
Today’s episode features Col Scott Fisher, USAF (Ret.), who serves as OCF’s CEO and executive director. Throughout his 27 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Scott and his wife Christie were involved in OCF ministry as Local Leaders across the globe, on OCF Council, and to our chaplains. Scott joins Crosspoint host Josh Jackson to share about the meaning of the Christmas story, to address those facing the unique challenges of military life during the holiday season, and to discuss God’s faithfulness to individuals and to the OCF ministry. After also sharing some expectations...
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“Anchored & armed”: Meet women's ministry podcast hosts Naomi & Mackenzie
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Support widows and widowers across OCF this GivingTuesday: Your gift—large or small—directly provides opportunities for widowed members of the OCF family to find comfort, community, and Christ-centered encouragement at our Conference Centers. Visit ocfusa.org/givingtuesday to learn more and donate now. Read the latest Annual Impact Report: Visit ocfusa.org/air to check out financial reports, members’ stories of impact, and year-in-review reports from OCF Service Academy & Gateways, Regional Coordinators, and Conference Centers. ...
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“No perfect leaders, no perfect lives”: 5 common qualities of Biblical leaders
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS If you are interested in this opportunity at White Sulphur Springs (Manns Choice, Pa.), contact WSS Center Director Paul Robyn (wssdirector@ocfusa.org) or WSS Director of Hospitality Susanne Pappal (wssoffice@ocfusa.org) or call (814) 623-5583 for further information and an application. Your gift—large or small—directly provides opportunities for widowed members of the OCF family to find comfort, community, and Christ-centered encouragement at our Conference Centers. Visit ocfusa.org/givingtuesday to learn more and donate now. Register for a...
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Leadership Micro-series: A leader’s responsibility to care for people / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
In the final episode of this Crosspoint Highlights micro-series on leadership, Col Jassen Bluto, USAF (Ret.), shares his third core principle—caring—and what it truly means to care for the people you lead. Far from being sentimental, Bluto explains that genuine care is a leader’s responsibility to meet both the physical and emotional needs of those under their command. Drawing from his military experience, he shares how simple, compassionate acts—like ensuring subordinates have proper equipment or recognizing when someone needs time to regroup—can transform a unit’s morale and...
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Leadership Micro-series: Four attributes of respect / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
In part two of this Crosspoint Highlights micro-series on leadership, Col Jassen Bluto, USAF (Ret.), explores the second core principle—respect—and breaks it down into four key expressions: respect for your unit, for each other, for yourself, and for the authority entrusted to you. He explains that genuine respect begins with love for the people you serve alongside and extends to humility in how you lead them. Bluto cautions against the pride that can accompany rank or privilege, urging leaders instead to see their authority as a responsibility to mentor, develop, and care for others....
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Leadership Micro-series: Being a trustworthy leader / Crosspoint Highlights
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
In this first part of the Crosspoint Highlights micro-series on leadership, Col Jassen Bluto, USAF (Ret.), unpacks the foundational principle of trust. He explains that true leadership requires both character and competence: the moral integrity that inspires confidence and the professional skill that earns respect. Drawing from personal experience as a squadron commander, Bluto discusses how accountability, care for people, and technical excellence work together to build trust within a team. He shares real-life examples of mentoring, correction, and difficult personnel decisions, showing that...
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"Good leadership lifts others”: Practical truths for Biblical leadership
OCF Crosspoint Podcast
OCF MINISTRY NEWS Keep an eye out for this fall’s Connected print newsletter: A digital copy of the newsletter is also available online at ocfusa.org/connected Serve as the ministry support volunteer position: Check out the full volunteer listing for details and the application. Calling all female cadets & mids: Connect with your peers via OCF Sisters in Service’s monthly Zoom calls. Find out more on SIS’ Instagram: Register for a Winter Retreat session at one of OCF’s Conference Centers: 20-27...
info_outlineGuest: LTC Lee Robinson, USA
In this Crosspoint Highlight from July 2025, LTC Lee Robinson explores the delicate balance military leaders must strike between free exercise of religion and non-establishment under the First Amendment.
He emphasizes that the amendment’s brevity—and its ambiguity—stem from the compromises between Federalists and Anti-Federalists at the time of America’s founding. Lee explains how the language evolved, rejecting broader proposals like prohibiting any laws “touching religion” to avoid overly limiting the federal government.
He encourages military leaders to wrestle with the historical context and constitutional principles behind the First Amendment to better understand their own oath to support and defend the Constitution, particularly in gray areas where religion intersects with public duty.
What do you think?
How does understanding the historical compromise behind the First Amendment help shape your approach to religious liberty in leadership?
What practical steps can you take as a military leader to uphold both the free exercise of religion and the principle of non-establishment?