Honoring the Journey

Today on Honoring the Journey, Leslie chats with Halli Carbrey (@hallifaith.liberated) about leaving high control religion. Halli shares her story of growing up in a small, insular group called the Lord's Recovery, experiencing excommunication with her then-husband in 2019, and navigating the complex process of deconstruction while raising three children. The discussion explores themes of religious trauma, purity culture's impact on sexuality, the struggle to find identity beyond rigid belief systems, and the journey toward self-trust and authentic spirituality. Both women reflect on questioning deeply held beliefs, the loss of community when leaving religion, and finding healing through vulnerability and connection. Halli, who transitioned from being a Christian couples therapist to a religious trauma and sex coach, emphasizes the importance of rest, unconditional self-love, and creating safe spaces for others wrestling with similar experiences.

Find Halli on Instagram!

Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease and the artwork for the show is also created by Leslie Nease.
Pick up Leslie's new book, Honoring the Journey: The Deconstruction of Sister Christian here.
Interested in working with Leslie as your Life/Faith Transitions Coach? Check out her website and learn more about what she offers! https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com
If you'd like to be a part of the Honoring the Journey Team on Substack, click here! You can find her work and also support her financially if you desire.
Would you like to leave a voicemail for Leslie? Click here!
If you are looking for community as you deconstruct or just a place to go and enjoy the company of people who are seekers, learners and who are looking to connect with the Divine without religious baggage, please join the Private Facebook Community! Leslie is very passionate about connection and community, so if that sounds like you, please come join us!


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It's the 100th Episode of Honoring the Journey today!! Leslie welcomes Beau Stringer, a former Southern Baptist preacher who transitioned to mainline Christianity. Beau shares his journey from growing up in an evangelical bubble in West Texas, serving as a youth pastor at 19, and eventually becoming a senior pastor, to questioning biblical inerrancy and evangelical theology—particularly around the violence in the Old Testament versus Jesus's command to love enemies. After wrestling with these tensions for years, he left vocational ministry briefly before finding a home in the United Methodist Church in Kansas City, where he now serves at one of the largest mainline churches in North America. Throughout the conversation, they discuss what mainline Christianity is, the importance of pastoral care over conversion agendas, the shift from fear-based faith to love-centered faith, rethinking hell and the kingdom of God, and how to lovingly engage with people still in evangelical spaces without erasing or dismissing them—emphasizing humility, questions, and staying in relationship rather than canceling those who disagree.
Find Beau on Substack at https://substack.com/@beaustringer

Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease and the artwork for the show is also created by Leslie Nease.
Pick up Leslie's new book, Honoring the Journey: The Deconstruction of Sister Christian here.
Interested in working with Leslie as your Life/Faith Transitions Coach? Check out her website and learn more about what she offers! https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com
If you'd like to be a part of the Honoring the Journey Team on Substack, click here! You can find her work and also support her financially if you desire.
Would you like to leave a voicemail for Leslie? Click here!
If you are looking for community as you deconstruct or just a place to go and enjoy the company of people who are seekers, learners and who are looking to connect with the Divine without religious baggage, please join the Private Facebook Community! Leslie is very passionate about connection and community, so if that sounds like you, please come join us!


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Today we honor the journey of Jeremy Johnson, host of the Slutty Grace podcast, as we explore our parallel journeys of religious deconstruction. Both of us were raised in evangelical fundamentalist Christianity, and we discuss how we moved from rigid theological certainty to a more expansive, grace-centered faith. Jeremy shares his path from youth pastor to questioning core doctrines like total depravity, hell, and exclusionary salvation, catalyzed by reading Brian McLaren and experiencing diverse Christian traditions. Jeremy chats about how his childhood religious teachings shaped his self-worth, his eventual separation of faith from institutional paychecks, and his discovery that God's love might be far more generous and inclusive than he was ever taught. The conversation touches on the nature of sin, human connectedness, and the freedom found in embracing mystery and curiosity rather than doctrinal certainty.
Find Jeromy at Slutty Grace Podcast!

Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease and the artwork for the show is also created by Leslie Nease.
Pick up Leslie's new book, Honoring the Journey: The Deconstruction of Sister Christian here.
Interested in working with Leslie as your Life/Faith Transitions Coach? Check out her website and learn more about what she offers! https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com
If you'd like to be a part of the Honoring the Journey Team on Substack, click here! You can find her work and also support her financially if you desire.
Would you like to leave a voicemail for Leslie? Click here!
If you are looking for community as you deconstruct or just a place to go and enjoy the company of people who are seekers, learners and who are looking to connect with the Divine without religious baggage, please join the Private Facebook Community! Leslie is very passionate about connection and community, so if that sounds like you, please come join us!


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode of Honoring the Journey is a deeply personal conversation with Justin Telthorst, who shares his journey of coming out as gay at age 25 while remaining within the Catholic Church—a path that defied the common narrative of leaving religion behind. Growing up in a conservative Catholic environment in the Midwest, Justin initially viewed his sexuality as a "cross to bear" and his secret testimony to overcome. After years of internal struggle, falling in love with a man, and experiencing profound peace in that relationship, he faced a pivotal moment: conversations with unsupportive priests led him to leave his dream job at a Catholic nonprofit and begin the painful process of coming out. Rather than abandoning his faith entirely, Justin found his way back to Catholicism after several years, choosing to stay and create welcoming spaces within the church. He now runs a Discord community for LGBTQ+ Catholics, offers one-on-one spiritual direction, and advocates for a theology centered on God's infinite mercy and love rather than rules and condemnation.
Follow Justin on Instagram.
Empty Chairs Website
Key Points of Interest: 
• Justin's realization that the Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality was based on outdated 1950s psychology, not serious theological reflection 
• The profound moment of peace he felt holding hands with a man while driving through the Colorado mountains—a spiritual experience that contradicted everything he'd been taught 
• His decision to return to the Catholic Church after leaving, viewing it as a place where he encounters God while maintaining spiritual autonomy 
• The importance of taking deconstruction "one step at a time" rather than trying to figure out the entire future at once 
• His discovery that Jesus's only commandment is to love God and neighbor—a realization that transformed his entire theological framework 
• The role of online community and welcoming churches in providing support during the coming-out process 
• His perspective that God's justice IS mercy, and that divine love is an "unfathomable ocean" we can't fully comprehend

Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease and the artwork for the show is also created by Leslie Nease.
Pick up Leslie's new book, Honoring the Journey: The Deconstruction of Sister Christian here.
Interested in working with Leslie as your Life/Faith Transitions Coach? Check out her website and learn more about what she offers! https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com
If you'd like to be a part of the Honoring the Journey Team on Substack, click here! You can find her work and also support her financially if you desire.
Would you like to leave a voicemail for Leslie? Click here!
If you are looking for community as you deconstruct or just a place to go and enjoy the company of people who are seekers, learners and who are looking to connect with the Divine without religious baggage, please join the Private Facebook Community! Leslie is very passionate about connection and community, so if that sounds like you, please come join us!


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Today, Leslie brings back a past guest: Jonathan Foster. They chat about navigating the "messy middle" of faith deconstruction—the space between conservative and progressive Christianity where people seek compassion, curiosity, and nuanced thinking rather than quick reactions. They discuss Jonathan's work with the Curian Network, a new denominational ecosystem that credentials pastors, chaplains, and faith leaders around "uncontrolling love" rather than rigid theological boundaries, offering a safe alternative for those who've been pushed out of traditional evangelical spaces. The conversation explores the challenges of living with uncertainty, resisting the urge to become what you're fighting against, and creating healthier systems centered on grace and human flourishing.
Key Points of Interest:
• The Curian Network - A new 501(c)3 denominational ecosystem credentialing pastors, chaplains, and spiritual directors around "uncontrolling love" rather than strict theological requirements
• Messy Middle Identity - The struggle of not being conservative enough or liberal enough, and feeling "homeless" between traditional camps
• Conditional Belonging - How both evangelical and progressive spaces can demand conformity, creating the same triggering dynamics people tried to escape
• Scapegoating Patterns - Discussion of how humans are biologically wired to create in-groups and out-groups, and the work required to resist this tendency
• Calling vs. Shape - The core of one's calling remains constant, but its expression changes dramatically as life and the world evolve
• Safe Spaces - The importance of finding people where you can be curious, ask questions, and process without immediate judgment or demands for certainty
• Prayer and Community - Even amid theological shifts, the value of being invited into prayer and community regardless of doctrinal differences

Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease and the artwork for the show is also created by Leslie Nease.
Pick up Leslie's new book, Honoring the Journey: The Deconstruction of Sister Christian here.
Interested in working with Leslie as your Life/Faith Transitions Coach? Check out her website and learn more about what she offers! https://www.leslieneasecoaching.com
If you'd like to be a part of the Honoring the Journey Team on Substack, click here! You can find her work and also support her financially if you desire.
Would you like to leave a voicemail for Leslie? Click here!
If you are looking for community as you deconstruct or just a place to go and enjoy the company of people who are seekers, learners and who are looking to connect with the Divine without religious baggage, please join the Private Facebook Community! Leslie is very passionate about connection and community, so if that sounds like you, please come join us!


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.