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 theological shifts sparked by travel, loss, relationships with LGBTQ friends, and her years at a progressive post-evangelical church.
The episode also celebrates the recent re-release of "Testify to Love" — a collaboration between Melissa, Michael, and Ty Herndon — which has unexpectedly become a queer anthem and a message of radical, boundless love.
Woven throughout is a tender, raw moment as Melissa shares the grief of walking alongside a beloved family member through the final stages of a terminal illness, reflecting on how joy and sorrow coexist, and how the divine shows up not in miraculous intervention but in the simple, profound act of people showing up for one another.
Follow Melissa on Social Media:
Instagram
TikTok
Substack
Watch the Testify to Love re-release on YouTube!
Honoring the Journey is hosted, produced and edited by Leslie Nease.
Pick up Leslie's 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.
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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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