"What the Hell Did You Expect Me to Do": Honoring the Journey of Chris Kratzer

Podcast: Honoring the Journey · Leslie Nease

Opublikowano: 2026-05-25

Today, Leslie speaks with Chris Kratzer, a former Lutheran and Southern Baptist evangelical pastor who spent over 20 years in ministry before undergoing a profound faith deconstruction. Chris shares how ambition and ego initially drove him into the contemporary megachurch world, how a series of personal crises — including a near-suicide — forced him into radical honesty about his faith, and how he eventually became an affirming, progressive voice for those questioning religion. He and Leslie discuss the cult-like control mechanisms of evangelicalism, the cost of leaving (financially, relationally, and emotionally), and how stepping away ultimately felt like resurrection rather than...