Elle Reneé of St. Louis Chapter of Black Nonbelievers joins Chuck and Brady in the studio.
 
Elle's step father was a pastor for multiple churches of varying denominations and current pastor of a nondenominational church, and some of their church services would go all day long. All of this made church a very foundational part of Elle's childhood. Along with the good side of closely-knit church communities also brought the bad, including lot of unwanted touch.
 
Elle got married during the same week she graduated high school and turned 18. After two failed marriages, she learned to stand up for herself. As she started to pull away from the faith, many church people would report back to her family. She set boundaries to protect herself and hasn't looked back since.
 
Chuck and Elle share experiences of being People of Color, and in the finale segment, Brady and Elle discuss parenting after religion.
 
Elle is the Chief Organizer of the St. Louis Chapter of Black Nonbelievers, a friendly, informative secular community connecting People of Color (and allies). Learn more on their website, blacknonbelievers.com.
 
 
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Counselor ("counsellor" for the Canucks) Janice Selbie joins Chuck and Brady for a insightful, practical conversation on grieving God.
Janice came from a ultra-Fundamentalism background that became hyper-charged after marrying her now ex-husband. While working at a bookstore, she befriended a group of Mennonite (Anabaptist) women and began wearing head coverings like they did out of a obedience to the Bible.
Around the time of her divorce, Janice encountered traumas that shook her from her cognitive dissonance, and she left the faith. Next, she pursued a counselor degree, met Dr. Marlene Winell, and now specializes in freeing people from the mental grips of Fundamentalism.
 
In this episode, Janice shares practical ways to recover from religion healthily, the importance of rituals to symbolize the end of one's Fundamentalism, and how cognitive behavioral therapy can be very useful.
Janice is organizing the first-of-its-kind Conference on Religious Trauma in Vancouver from April 24-26, 2020.
Visit CORT2020.com to learn more! Learn about Janice's online workshop, Divorcing Religion at divorcingreligion.com.
 
Bookended with music by Nightlightr (CDBaby, iTunes, and Spotify) | Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Nightlightr (Leighton Pustejovsky, rap artist)​ cuts loose with Chuck and Brady about leaving Christian Fundamentalism after decades of repressing his homosexuality. The three discuss how they had reframed their sexualities to fit within the faith and how discussions on the "unchanging" characteristics of God didn't fit their experiences.
 
Leighton masterfully wrote (and produced) a rap album that nails deconstruction and living honestly as gay.
 
Find Unloose by Nightlightr now on CDBaby, iTunes and Spotify.
 
CW: Description of sexual assault (non-violent)
 
 
 
Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter

Some people don't fit into the boxes. Katelyn Boyles (she/them/he) joins Chuck and Brady to tell their story of self-discovery after living in a home plagued by rigid Fundamentalism. Now married and practicing ethical polyamory, Katelyn encapsulates the importance of living with authenticity.
 
Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter

Katie and Joe Bauer, married and newly-deconstructing, join Chuck and Brady to discuss campus ministries, speaking in tongues, questioning the faith, critically examining if they were brainwashed, not wanting to lose their faith, doubling down on doubt with service, the complex feelings of realizing Fundamentalism isn't real, and how deconstruction has touched their marriage.
 
Here is a link to the Reddit Post mentioned in the show: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueAtheism/comments/2v36v9/in_response_to_the_pastor_looking_for_honest/
 
Find Katie and Joe's podcast, Born Again Again, where they discuss their deconversion as it's happening here: linktr.ee/bornagainagain
 
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Cindy Wang Brandt, author of Parenting Forward, joins the show to discuss how deconstructing parents can pass values to their children without relying on fear and indoctrination.
Find out more about Cindy's work, including her book and podcast, on her website, cindywangbrandt.com.
 
Connect with the Life After Podcast & Community here: linktr.ee/thelifeafter
 
Special Show Note: 
We apologize to our friend, Chrissy Stroop, for using the incorrect pronouns in the last episode. Since we had recorded the episode in May, Chrissy has begun transitioning and prefers she/her pronouns. At the time of the recording, they/them were preferred.
We fully support and affirm Chrissy. Read more about her inspiring journey here:
http://ow.ly/ar3350vj4ug
 
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Cass Midgley, former pastor and a host of Everyone's Agnostic Podcast, joins Chuck and Brady to discuss his faith deconstruction, how he found his co-host, blind spots developed from being brought up in Patriarchy, turning from Presbyterian to Baptist, the slippery slopes of allowing yourself to examine doubts, and rebuilding of community."Mark Driscoll is the Dane Cook of the Evangelicalism."CW: Brady sings the AWANA theme. And lots of F-bombs.
 
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Doug Demick joins Chuck and Brady to discuss his past with Wycliffe Bible Translators, not wanting to preach the Gospel as a Christian, rapture anxiety, marriage while deconstructing, his brush with missions, being more free to love people post-fundamentalism, and how seeking the Holy Spirit and FreeCell Solitaire led to his exit from Fundamentalism.
 
Episode begins with Brady explaining why Heaven and Hell would be an absolute administrative nightmare.
 
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg
 

Fan-favorite Jamie Lee Finch returns to the show! She joins Chuck and Brady to discuss her new book on Religious Trauma Syndrome from Christian Evangelicalism, "You are Your Own." They discuss her experience writing, the unresolved trauma held by our bodies, instilled fear of hell, needs they had as Evangelical children, generational responses to Fundamentalism, cycles that keep people locked in the faith, wanting to die for a cause (thanks, Jesus Freaks!), healing through storytelling, and how trauma responses manifested recently in the post-evangelical online community. 
Visit Jamie's website to buy "You Are Your Own" as an ebook or audiobook: https://jamieleefinch.com
 
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg

Guest Nikki Mayeux joins Chuck and Brady to dish on reality house dramas🔥, childhood religious OCD and anxiety😟, intrusive thoughts😵, contact evangelism🏈, inner voice♾️, faith deconstructing while married👫, and intentional communities 🗑️ (Crust Punks for Jesus?)!
 
Episode begins with a timely message to women from Chuck.
 
Find links for The Life After Community (our secret Facebook group), subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing on iTunes here: linkin.bio/thelifeafterorg