Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 15 Guest: Joseph "Zé" Soza

What happens when the faith you were raised in no longer fits and you find yourself building something new from the pieces?

Joseph "Zé" Soza (he/him/el) grew up in a deeply Pentecostal household in Ohio, shaped by long Sundays filled with ecstatic worship, speaking in tongues, and teary altar calls. His father is a theologian, Bible scholar, and pastor; his mother a devoted pastor's wife and public servant. Faith wasn't just part of Zé's upbringing, it was the air he breathed. And yet, after years of being torturously closeted, Zé came out as a gay Queer man in his early 20s and began a journey of self-actualization that eventually led him away from Christianity and toward Buddhism, though he'd be the first to tell you it's more complicated than that.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Zé to explore his journey from Pentecostal pastor's kid to Buddhist practitioner and yoga teacher and his deeply thoughtful approach to spirituality, not adopting a tradition wholesale, but using the tools and practices of multiple faiths to build a life of meaning and authenticity.

Honest, searching, and beautifully human.

• 📲 Follow Zé on Instagram: @zesoza8
• 🧘 Find Zé at Modo Yoga Columbus: modoyoga.com/columbus
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast on Instagram: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Note - Since this episode was recorded the date of "Over the Rainbow: A Symposium on LGBTQIA+ Death and Dying" has changed to August 22, 2026. For more information visit https://www.loveboldly.org/overtherainbow.

What if you could tell your whole story in just six words?

Tyler Chernesky is a storyteller, writer, placemaker, and strategist with a resume that defies easy categorization: pastor, art gallery co-director, mixed-media collage artist, Six-Word Memoirs resource developer, and currently Executive Director of Community Happens Here, a neighborhood-focused nonprofit dedicated to connecting neighbors across difference in Cincinnati, Ohio. He's also an openly queer leader whose journey from evangelical Christianity to full affirmation has shaped everything about how he shows up in the world.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and the Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Tyler to explore his path from evangelical church kid to fully affirming, openly queer pastor and community leader. They dig into his neighborhood work with Community Happens Here and the ways that connecting people across difference is itself a deeply theological act. And they have a little fun with Six-Word Memoirs, the deceptively simple practice of distilling a life, a moment, or a story into exactly six words.

Creative, grounded, and quietly revolutionary.

• 🌐 Visit Tyler's website: tylerchernesky.com
• 🏘️ Learn about Community Happens Here: communityhappenshere.org
• 🎙️ Follow the podcast: @comingoutchristian_podcast
• 🌈 Follow LOVEboldly: @loveboldly

Coming Out Christian | Season 3, Episode 13 Guest: Rev. Charles Unique

What does it look like when ministry and justice aren't two separate callings — but one?

Rev. Charles Unique is a gender anarchist, organizer, and ordained clergy whose life work centers the dismantling of oppressive systems and the liberation of marginalized communities. With over a decade of community-rooted experience, Charles serves as Legal Empowerment Organizer at Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis and is the founder of Flower Boi STL, a peer-led space for masculine people of color to dismantle toxic masculinity and build alternative modes of expression. They are also a co-founder and board member of THISTL, supporting trans housing access across St. Louis, and a Master of Divinity student at Eden Theological Seminary. Their organizing, writing, and movement work have been featured in STL Magazine, KSDK News, and NPR, among others.

In this episode, hosts Siobhan Boyd-Nelson and Rev. Dr. Ben Huelskamp sit down with Charles to explore their experiences as a Black trans man of faith, their path toward ordination, and their tireless work at the intersection of housing justice, food sovereignty, gender freedom, and Black trans liberation. It's a conversation that refuses to separate the spiritual from the political — because for Charles, they never have been.

Fierce, tender, and utterly necessary.