# The Wilderness Is Not a Detour (featuring Dustin Kleinschmidt)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/life-after-ministry-6573611/the-wilderness-is-not-a-detour-featuring-dustin-kleinschmidt
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/life-after-ministry-6573611/the-wilderness-is-not-a-detour-featuring-dustin-kleinschmidt.md
Podcast: [Life After Ministry](https://stenobird.com/podcast/life-after-ministry-6573611)
Published: 2026-02-10T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://lifeafterministry.podbean.com/e/the-wilderness-is-not-a-detour-featuring-dustin-kleinschmidt/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/8q2u2nf4pma4ed6k/Life_After_Ministry_Podcast_Episode_769d33c.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/life-after-ministry-6573611/episodes/the-wilderness-is-not-a-detour-featuring-dustin-kleinschmidt
Duration seconds: 2594

## Resource

Most ministry leaders expect relief after stepping away. What they don’t expect is the wilderness to begin after the resignation. In this honest conversation, Dustin Kleinschmidt shares how years of crisis leadership, misaligned values, and unresolved grief led to burnout, anxiety, and a deep reckoning with faith. Rather than rushing toward resolution, Dustin invites leaders to reconsider what the wilderness is actually for. This episode reframes suffering, challenges Christian shortcuts around pain, and offers language for leaders who feel stuck between obedience and disappointment. If you’ve ever wondered whether you missed God or why healing is taking so long, this conversation meets you right where you are.

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## Transcript

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