Holy Shift #21 - "I'm being paid to not change my mind" with Brian Recker
21 snips
Apr 23, 2025 
Brian Recker, writer and ex-pastor now author of Hellbent, shares his journey out of legalistic ministry and into a spirituality rooted in love. He talks about political awakening, the financial and emotional costs of leaving pastoral life, and how disappointment reshaped his identity. He also discusses finding new communities, creative work, and the tradeoffs of writing and family life.
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Get Financial Runway Before Quitting Ministry
- Build financial runway before leaving ministry so you can honestly reassess beliefs without immediate economic collapse.
- Brian credits his wife's side income from multi-level marketing for providing the safety net that let him quit in 2020.
From Seminary To Bartending To Project Management
- After separating from his wife, Brian dropped out of seminary, bartended, did recruiting, earned a Google project management certificate, then got a project management job.
- He reframed pastoral experience on his resume to land secular roles while rebuilding financially.
Loss Is Central To Leaving Ministry
- Leaving ministry produces several losses: identity, community, regular encouragement, imagined future, and sense of purpose.
- Brian describes feeling 'like getting the shit kicked out of me' but later finding deeper peace and authenticity.
