The Curious Storyteller: How a Former Pastor Lost Certainty and Found a Faith That Felt Real

When Doubt Doesn’t Break Faith, but Makes It More Honest

What happens when the beliefs you inherited no longer fit, but your faith doesn’t disappear? In this episode, I sit down with Brent Johnson to talk about what comes after certainty starts to crack.

We talk about growing up in a strict Christian world, how hard it can feel to question what you were taught, and why doubt isn’t always the enemy people make it out to be. Brent shares how years in ministry pushed him to ask harder questions about church, identity, leadership, and what faith looks like when performance falls away.

If you’ve ever wrestled with religious doubt, spiritual pressure, or the fear of asking honest questions, this conversation may stay with you. I’m also sharing what surprised me most in our discussion about community, belonging, and why some people leave systems while still holding onto God.

About my guest: Brent Johnson is a former pastor, author of Broken Before God: When Faith and Calamity Collide, and host of the More to Church podcast. He speaks openly about faith deconstruction, church culture, and finding a more grounded belief on the other side.

Key Timestamps

0:02 - Why this conversation about doubt, certainty, and faith matters1:20 - Brent’s upbringing in a strict Christian home5:28 - The slow moment when inherited beliefs started to crack10:22 - Ministry, church culture, and the questions that wouldn’t go away14:52 - Why deconstruction didn’t lead Brent away from faith22:49 - When church identity starts replacing personal identity25:36 - What felt more real after letting go of old assumptions38:42 - The fear that comes with rethinking childhood beliefs49:06 - Being a pastor, identity, and life outside official roles56:13 - What parts of Christianity remained after everything was questioned73:41 - What Brent wants people with doubts to know80:01 - What a healthy Christian community could look like now

Brandt's Links:

Instagram: @bcj5_10TikTok: TicTok: brandtjohnson2Email: somethingmorepod@gmail.com

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If this episode speaks to something you’ve been carrying, listen all the way through and share it with someone who’s asking quiet questions of their own.