{"podcast":{"title":"Honoring the Journey","slug":"honoring-the-journey-6751564","podcast_index_feed_id":6751564,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/Swlbwx2u","website_url":"https://www.patheos.com/editorial/podcasts/honoring-the-journey","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/ef0a2fe7-7943-4710-96af-769dcdd9bc29/8f6ffda1-bc8a-4e85-a5e4-9e278ae3a924/3000x3000/hosted-20by-20leslie-20nease-3.jpg?aid=rss_feed","author":"Leslie Nease","episode_count":112,"summary":"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!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-13T10:21:20.329814+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/honoring-the-journey-6751564"},"episode":{"title":"From Fear to Freedom: Honoring the Journey of Pastor Joe Smith","slug":"from-fear-to-freedom-honoring-the-journey-of-pastor-joe-smith","published_at":"2026-05-11T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/honoring-the-journey-6751564/from-fear-to-freedom-honoring-the-journey-of-pastor-joe-smith","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/honoring-the-journey-6751564","url":"https://www.patheos.com/editorial/podcasts/honoring-the-journey","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/afp-13455-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/436ddef1-73dc-47da-9031-10559aad1978/episodes/f71182dd-29ee-4e31-8077-49278f886fcc/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=436ddef1-73dc-47da-9031-10559aad1978&awEpisodeId=f71182dd-29ee-4e31-8077-49278f886fcc&feed=Swlbwx2u","summary":"Today, Leslie sits down with Pastor Joe Smith, who leads Maison Church in Gainesville, Florida — a progressive, welcoming congregation formed from a merger of two churches. Joe shares his faith deconstruction journey, beginning in the Free Will Baptist tradition, where childhood teachings instilled deep fear of hell and the rapture. He traces his gradual shift away from fundamentalism, sparked by the birth of his daughter in 2002 and questions about gender hierarchy, accelerated by the political climate, and deepened during the COVID-19 shutdown when he had time to deeply study queer inclusion theology through books like Unclobbered and Changing Our Minds. The conversation explores themes of religious trauma, Christian nationalism, HSPs (highly sensitive people) and deconstruction, evolving views on sin and repentance, universalism, and the difference between certainty and faith — with both Leslie and Joe reflecting candidly on their own journeys out of fear-based religion and into a more inclusive, love-centered spirituality.","meta_description":"Today, Leslie sits down with Pastor Joe Smith, who leads Maison Church in Gainesville, Florida — a progressive, welcoming congregation formed from a merge…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4453,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/honoring-the-journey-6751564/episodes/from-fear-to-freedom-honoring-the-journey-of-pastor-joe-smith/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/honoring-the-journey-6751564/from-fear-to-freedom-honoring-the-journey-of-pastor-joe-smith.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}