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Honoring the Journey

Leslie Nease

Life is a journey, and we’re all walking our own unique path. But every now and then, we get the chance to step onto someone else’s path, to see the world from their perspective, and to learn from their experiences. That’s what we do here on Honoring the Journey. We walk alongside others, explore their stories, and then step back onto our own path—hopefully with new insights, deeper understanding, and a broader perspective for the journey ahead. Honoring the Journey is hosted by Leslie Nease, a former Christian Radio Host, Speaker & Writer and Contestant on Survivor China known as "Sister Christian". Leslie has since deconstructed her Evangelical beliefs, but is still deeply connected to God and is seeking to understand faith from every perspective. Let's journey together!

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#134
Today · 58 min
The Facts of Her Life: Honoring the Journey of Lisa Whelchel
In this episode of Honoring the Journey, Leslie welcomes actress, author, and fellow Survivor alum Lisa Whelchel for an honest conversation about evolving faith, identity, and the courage to live authentically. Known for playing Blair on The Facts of Life, Lisa reflects on how her fundamentalist Christian faith provided safety during her childhood in Hollywood—and how divorce, a longing for deeper connection, and her experience on Survivor challenged her to move beyond rigid beliefs and the pres
#133
November 2 · 1 hr 8 min
The Tattooed Theologian: Honoring the Journey of Dillon Naber-Cruz
In this episode of Honoring The Journey, Leslie interviews Dylan Naber-Cruz — a former U.S. Marine, cowboy, writer, and co-host of the God Squad Pod — about his journey through and out of fundamentalist Christianity. Dylan chats about his childhood shaped by competing denominations (Church of Christ and Southern Baptist), being baptized twice before age 14, enduring rapture anxiety well into his 30s, and living through the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. He traces the cracks in his faith to a colleg
#132
October 26 · 53 min
Leaving the Two-By-Two Religion: Honoring the Journey of Jared Snyder
Today on Honoring the Journey, Leslie speaks with Jared Snyder, who spent 21 years as a "worker" — an itinerant, homeless minister — in the Two by Two church, a little-known fundamentalist sect founded in Ireland in 1897 that holds meetings in homes, sends preachers out in pairs with no permanent residence, and teaches it is God's one true way. Jared walks Leslie through the church's structure and culture, from Sunday meetings and "fundie voice" testimonies to the fear-based conformity and suppr
#131
October 19 · 1 hr
The Bible and LGBTQ Inclusion: Honoring the Journey of Colby Martin
In this episode of Honoring the Journey, Leslie revisits a conversation with author and former pastor Colby Martin after a technical issue ruined their first recording at the Wild Goose Festival. Colby shares his personal journey from being raised in a Baptist family and sensing a call to ministry as a teenager, to pastoring at an evangelical megachurch in Arizona—where a single Facebook post celebrating the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" triggered a confrontation that ultimately led to his t
#130
October 12 · 45 min
The Power of Story Telling: Honoring Your Story with Keith Giles
In this episode of Honoring the Journey, host Leslie Nease sits down with Keith Giles — author, publisher, and co-owner of Quoir Publishing — for a wide-ranging conversation about the art of storytelling and the launch of his new science fiction imprint, Pink Beam Press. Keith shares free, practical advice for writers on crafting compelling stories, drawing on a memorable creative writing exercise that taught him the power of economy in prose: condense a four-page scene to two, then to one, and
#129
October 5 · 1 hr 3 min
Overcoming Fear, Finding Faith: Honoring the Journey of Jason Becker
Today we welcome Jason Becker, host of the podcast “What the Hell Do I Know? with JB,” for a powerful conversation about faith, doubt, deconstruction, and spirituality. Jason shares growing up Southern Baptist, being taught fear-based salvation and repeatedly praying the salvation prayer into his 30s, and how that coercion fueled later questions about hell, control in the American church, and conflicting doctrines. He describes moving into ministry, challenging treatment of LGBTQ+ people, planti
#128
September 28 · 1 hr 8 min
Religion & The Brain: Honoring the Journey of Dr. Shaleen Kendrick
What happens in our bodies when the beliefs we grew up with begin to unravel? In this episode of Honoring the Journey, I talk with Dr. Shaleen Kendrick, author of Your Three Brains, about her experience growing up as a megachurch pastor’s daughter and how understanding the brain and nervous system helped her make sense of religious trauma. We explore fear, curiosity, and what it can look like to find wholeness as we make room for a new story.
#127
September 21 · 55 min
Religious Trauma & The Nervous System: Honoring the Journey of Kallie Klug
On today's Honoring the Journey, Leslie sits down with Kallie Klug a somatic practitioner, yoga instructor, and author of Tired of Being Good, to explore the concept of "fawning" as a biological stress response rooted in people-pleasing. They discuss how growing up in religious environments can wire the nervous system for chronic fawning by coupling goodness with salvation and stigmatizing anger as sinful. Kallie breaks down the physiology behind the fawn response and how it layers freeze and ap
#126
September 14 · 59 min
Let's Talk About Religious Trauma: Honoring the Journey of Vernique Esther
This conversation with Vernique Esther went so many places, and I loved every minute of it! Vernique grew up in a beautiful and sometimes chaotic mix of denominations, cultures, and ideas about God, shaped by her Haitian and West African roots. Her journey eventually led her into a legalistic campus ministry that she now describes as “culty,” an early marriage that ended in devastating infidelity and divorce, and the political upheaval of 2016 that caused the cracks in her faith to break wide op
#125
August 31 · 1 hr 4 min
LSD to Galilee: Honoring the Journey of Rob Zahn
Today, Leslie has a conversation with Rob Zahn, a Lutheran pastor and author of LSD to Galilee. The episode weaves together Rob's unconventional path into ministry, the story of discovering his estranged father on his deathbed and uncovering his father's ties to a 1960s drug-smuggling countercultural movement (the Brotherhood of Eternal Love), and a deeply theological conversation about certainty, deconstruction, and where the divine can be found — including surprising historical and academic pa
#124
August 24 · 1 hr 1 min
From Christian Worship Leader to Atheist: Honoring the Journey of Promise Backlund
In this episode of Honoring the Journey, we hear from the lovely Promise Backlund (Eve Was Framed), a former worship leader in Charismatic Churches, to discuss her deconstruction from an evangelical upbringing to eventual atheism. We explore themes like the fear of hell and losing salvation, the loss and rebuilding of authentic friendships, navigating family relationships after leaving the faith, and the difference between dogmatic belief and lived kindness — all tied to her new book, The Gospel
#123
August 17 · 1 hr 8 min
Grief, Deconstruction & Holding Onto Jesus: Honoring the Journey of Rob Bell
In this episode of Honoring the Journey, Leslie sits down with writer, artist, playwright, and speaker Rob Bell—someone whose work had a tremendous impact on her own deconstruction journey. If you’ve spent any time questioning or reexamining the faith you inherited, chances are you’ve come across Rob’s work. His groundbreaking book Love Wins famously landed him in hot water within evangelical circles for challenging long-held beliefs about hell, salvation, and the character of God. In this rich
#122
August 10 · 1 hr 8 min
Bridge Builder: Navigating Faith, Family & Deconstruction with Britt Hartley & Leslie Nease
Today on Honoring the Journey, Leslie welcomes back Britt Hartley from No-nonsense Spirituality for a wide-ranging conversation about navigating relationships with family members who are still religious after leaving the faith. The two cover the emotional dynamics of deconstruction, including the desperate need for validation, the defensive reactions of loved ones, and why leading with vulnerability rather than debate tends to be far more effective for maintaining connection. They explore how di
#121
August 3 · 47 min
Funny Songs, EDM, Gay Christians, & More: Honoring the Journey of Kurt & Jason
Today, Leslie chats with Kurt Kirton & Jason Beetz from the bands Inevitable and Kurplunk! These two gentlemen grew up in Evangelical Christianity and both realized at early ages that they were gay. Their struggles into finally accepting who they are and continuing to follow Jesus were not easy, but it led to incredible freedom! They share openly about their experiences, and also about the music they create with their two (very different) bands. A fun and relatable conversation that I'm sure you
#120
July 27 · 57 min
Walking Away from MAGA: Honoring the Journey of Steven Francisi
What happens when someone wakes up and starts to question their entire life? He was MAGA, happily patriarchal and deep in evangelicalism, but one day he began to question it all. In this episode of Honoring the Journey, Leslie chats with Steven Francisi, founder of Healing Roots On Up and author of From A-Hole to All Right. Steven shares a raw and wide-ranging story that begins with a difficult childhood in New York marked by inconsistent parenting, feeling like an outsider in his own Italian
#119
July 20 · 1 hr 10 min
Unbelieve: Honoring the Journey of Marla Taviano
Today on Honoring the Journey, Leslie interviews Marla Taviano — a former evangelical Christian author who wrote books for conservative Christian wives and later went through a very public deconstruction. Marla shares her journey from being deeply embedded in evangelical Christianity (as a missionary, author, Christian school teacher, and camp counselor) to leaving the faith altogether, driven by growing questions about salvation-focused theology, racism, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and the pro-life move
#118
July 13 · 1 hr 9 min
Shalom and The Un-spun Gospel: Honoring the Journey of Lisa Sharon Harper
In today’s episode, Leslie talks with theologian and activist Lisa Sharon Harper about her faith deconstruction. Lisa traces her family's centuries-deep American roots, from enslaved ancestors to Indigenous heritage and describes how a 2003 pilgrimage retracing the Trail of Tears forced her to reimagine the evangelical gospel through her great-great-great-grandmother's eyes, sparking a year of depression and ultimately a full "decolonization" of her faith. The conversation weaves through the su
#117
July 6 · 1 hr 2 min
Let's Talk About Deconstruction: Honoring the Journey of Phil Drysdale
In this episode, titled “Let’s Talk About Deconstruction”, Leslie interviews Phil Drysdale, a Scotland-based psychotherapist, researcher, and founder of Deconstruction Network, for a wide-ranging conversation about the psychology of deconstruction. Phil shares his own journey from a fundamentalist upbringing through deconstruction while traveling the world as a speaker, and how that led him to spend nearly two decades coaching and now doing therapy with people leaving high-control religious sy
#116
June 29 · 1 hr 6 min
Changing Our Mind About LGBTQ: Honoring the Journey of David Gushee
Today, Leslie sits down with David Gushee, a Pastor and Professor of Christian Ethics who is also a writer of one of the most influential books of Leslie’s deconstruction process—Changing our Mind. Leslie invites David to share his journey with us all trough being a Southern Baptist convert to a progressive Christian Scholar. David openly shares about his gradual theological broadening from accepting women in ministry to ultimately affirming LGBTQ inclusion in 2014, which cost him his standing
#115
June 22 · 57 min
Testify to Love: Honoring the Journey of Melissa Greene
Today, Leslie invites Melissa Green, a former member of the beloved Christian music group Avalon, for a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation about faith deconstruction, spiritual evolution, and the courage to question inherited beliefs. Melissa traces her journey from growing up in the Southern Baptist church and becoming a member of Avalon, through the pivotal moment when founding member Michael Passons was quietly removed from the group after being outed as gay, to her gradual theolo

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