Honoring the Journey

In this episode, Leslie has a dynamic conversation with guest Justin Scoggins, an author and day center director. Justin shares insights about his new book "Inking Christ," which explores the theological perspectives on tattoos. They also delve into his personal story of overcoming addiction, experiencing a transformative encounter with Jesus, and finding his place in pastoral ministry. The discus...

Today, we welcome Liz Charlotte Grant, an award-winning nonfiction writer from Colorado, where we dive into Liz's background and her dedication to empathy, which she often explores in her newsletter, "The Empathy List." We chat about Liz's experiences growing up, her faith journey, and her role as a birth doula, providing an insightful look into how she navigated her life and spiritual beliefs. Th...

Today we honor the journey of Josh Scott, a pastor and writer known for his progressive views. We discuss his spiritual journey and perspectives on Christianity. The conversation delves deeply into personal experiences with organized religion, the process of deconstructing faith, and the challenges faced along the way. Both Josh and Leslie share insights on moving beyond traditional beliefs, the i...

In this milestone 50th episode of "Honoring the Journey," Leslie reflects on the transformative experiences and lessons learned during the first year of the podcast. She shares insights on overcoming fear of failure and success, the importance of authentic human connection, and the power of listening. Additionally, she discusses the challenges faced by deconstruction content creators, the need for...

In this episode, Leslie welcomes guest Annelise, a singer/songwriter and TikTok star known for sharing her spiritual awakening. The conversation delves into Annelise's profound journey of spiritual discovery triggered by chronic pain post-childbirth. Annelise and Leslie discuss the shift from conventional Christian upbringing to a broader, more inclusive understanding of God as pure love, free fro...

Nic Flores is known for his deep and impactful conversations on the Collision Podcast. Today, we delve into Nick's recent experiences with burnout and his decision to step away from his podcast. Leslie & Nic explore how personal traumas and the challenges of holding space for diverse narratives contributed to this decision. Nick opens up about his journey of dealing with familial estrangement and...

This episode features Shane Claiborne discussing the intersection of faith and social issues, particularly focusing on the importance of welcoming immigrants and supporting the marginalized. Claiborne emphasizes that actions like welcoming strangers and uplifting the lowly are deeply rooted in the teachings of Jesus, citing the Gospel of Luke to illustrate his points. He argues that these principl...

In this episode, experience a heartfelt and insightful conversation with Bethany Nass Cseh. Bethany shares her journey from growing up in a conservative Baptist church to becoming a licensed pastor and embracing a more inclusive and empathetic faith. The discussion delves deep into their experiences with deconstruction, the challenges of pastoral roles, and the profound realizations that come with...

In this episode, special guest Dana Hicks discusses his book "The Quest for Thin Places: How to Find Spirituality After Deconstruction." Dana shares his journey from being a pastor and professor to experiencing a profound spiritual and personal transformation. He delves into his deconstruction of rigid, institutional religious beliefs and explores the ongoing nature of spiritual growth and reconst...

In this episode, Leslie speaks with former pastor Kyle Butler, who shares his transformative journey through deconstructing his religious upbringing. The conversation delves into Kyle's upbringing, his experiences with religious fear and indoctrination, and the realization of his true beliefs. The discussion also explores the psychological impact of religious teachings, the importance of self-love...

In this heartfelt episode, Susan Cottrell, Co-Host of Freedhearts Podcast, shares her personal journey of prioritizing love and acceptance over traditional evangelical beliefs upon her child's coming out as LGBTQ. Susan discuss the challenges faced within the church, the need for adults and children to learn anti-bullying behavior, and the courage it requires to step away from judgmental ideologie...

Joel Michael Herbert is an artist, coach, speaker, and musician. Joel opens up about his profound and often challenging journey from growing up in a conservative religious environment to becoming a worship pastor, and eventually deconstructing his faith. Through personal stories and key influences like Brennan Manning, Donald Miller, and Rachel Held Evans, Joel shares how he navigated through doub...

Shane Larsen grew up in the Latter Day Saints faith, but after a faith crisis, he began using critical thinking, asking the tough questions and found himself deconstructing his faith. Now, he wants others who leave the comfort and familiarity of their faith tradition to know that they are not alone. He has a TikTok account called "Shane Deconstructs" where he talks very openly about his faith shif...

Jay's church, Revolution Gathering, can be found on Instagram , Facebook, YouTube and X(Twitter) . You can pick up any of Jay's books on Amazon! Here is a link to do that. Jay's mom, Tammy Faye Bakker, wrote a book he talks about in the interview that I think you should pick up, too! Here is the link for the book, I Gotta Be Me . You can also find Jay's writings on Patheos . ******************* Wa...

Jared Byas is the co-host of The Bible for Normal People Podcast and he is also a writer, and a former professor of Philosophy and Biblical Studies. In this episode, he shares his journey through deconstruction and his consistently deep desire to know the love and truth of God. He doesn't hold back in offering some of the wisdom he has learned along the way! A fabulous conversation that will leave...

Andrea, who uses the pen name Cheydrea (shy-drae-uh), had a childhood filled with instability, neglect and fear. Through the years, she has fully deconstructed her evangelical beliefs and has found tremendous healing in her writing and art. Her poetry reveals her pain in raw and vivid detail. Through courageous and vulnerable self-expression, she has learned to honor her emotions, re-parent hersel...

Reza Aslan came to the US when his family fled from Iran when he was 7 years old. He was raised in the Muslim religion, but converted to Christianity in college, then found his way back to his Muslim/Islam roots in his twenties. He has studied religion deeply for years, has written books, has been on podcasts and documentaries about religion and has incredible insights into the purpose and role of...

Gary Alan Taylor was very active in ministry for a number of years. He actually worked with Focus on the Family, where he was in charge of touring with The Truth Project (remember that?). But when he began to question some things about his theology, there was a huge shift in his life. He now has a podcast called Holy Heretics , helped found The Sophia Society , and is a writer and speaker in the d...

Mason Mennenga grew up in the early 2000's youth group purity culture era. His curiosity and determination to understand truth led him to deconstruct his beliefs and now he's a voice on social media and through his podcasts, A People's Theology and The Black Sheep Podcast! He brings humor and sarcasm to the deconstruction community, and I for one appreciate the laughs! Enjoy the journey, friends!...

Molly LaCroix is a Marriage & Family Therapist and utilizes the IFS (Internal Family Systems) model in her work. In this episode, she shares her journey, why she thinks our personal stories are so sacred, and gives us a peek into the complexities of religious trauma and what it looks like to use the IFS model in therapy. A fascinating and powerful interview you won't want to miss! You can learn mo...

Come honor the journey of Tripp Fuller with us today! Tripp is a self-proclaimed "Theology Nerd" but he's so much more! He is an Open and Relational Theologian, Author of several books, including co-author with Tom Oord of the new book God After Deconstruction , and he's the one who started Theology Beer Camp several years ago! His journey has been one of absolute curiosity, questioning and findin...

April Ajoy was a worship leader and Christian Nationalist (she even wrote a song about it) for most of her life, until a few years back when she began deconstructing her theological beliefs. Now she is a content creator, podcaster, and author of a book called Star Spangled Jesus: Leaving Christian Nationalism and Finding a True Faith due out in October! Her journey is one of incredible twists and...

Stephen Knight (known on the internet as Knightopia) is not afraid to speak up for the least of these. His heart for the marginalized, his love for his fellow humans and his desire to see social justice in the world fuels him each day. His journey from working in a conservative mission organization, the Billy Graham Association and now fighting for the rights of human begins with Just Leadership U...

Our final day of QUOIR WEEK on Honoring the Journey is a special Q&A episode with Leslie’s friend, Rachel Wunderli. They tackle questions like: How do you find your purpose now that you’re deconstructing? How do you find community? What are you going to do for weddings or funerals if you’re not in church? Why do you talk about deconstruction so much? Also, Leslie reads the Introduction from her ne...

Day 3 of QUOIR WEEK on Honoring the Journey features Quoir Author, Pierce Marks. Pierce is the author of A New Way of Seeing: Meaning of Life and the Christian Vision of Nature. He is not only an author, but also a philosopher and artist and deep thinker. He has had an incredible journey out of evangelicalism, and now is happily planted in an Eastern Orthodox Church. He craves liturgy, tradition a...