What happens when questioning your faith could cost you your identity, your community, your relationships, and your livelihood? In this episode of Exvangelical Stories, Dr. Todd Phillips sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, and Great Men founder Shane Sams for the first full public telling of Shane’s deconstruction story. Shane grew up Southern Baptist in small-town Kentucky and eventually became a successful entrepreneur speaking to thousands on major evangelical stages about faith, business, and building the Kingdom of God. But privately, he was beginning to question biblical inerrancy, evangelical certainty, religious shame, and whether the system he had spent years defending was actually true. A turning point came after conversations with former Mormons in Utah. From there, Shane began reexamining Christianity, rewriting his talks, stepping away from evangelical speaking, and facing the financial, relational, and emotional cost of changing his beliefs. He also shares what helped him rebuild: therapy, ketamine and psychedelic experiences, learning to live with uncertainty, rethinking Jesus outside traditional evangelicalism, and finding community with others going through religious deconstruction. If you are questioning Christianity, leaving evangelicalism, deconstructing your faith, wrestling with biblical inerrancy, recovering from religious fear or shame, or wondering what life can look like after certainty, this conversation is for you. CONNECT WITH SHANE SAMS Great Men A community for driven men navigating midlife, relationships, health, purpose, business, identity, and the challenges they were never meant to carry alone. https://greatmen.org Shane Sams on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@shanesams Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shanesamscreates Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shanesamscreates CONNECT WITH DR. TODD PHILLIPS Decon/Recon Questioning Christianity can cost you the community you need most. Decon/Recon is a private, protected community for people who are done pretending, with honest conversation, live support, shared resources, and genuine connection without evangelizing, debating, pressure, or judgment. Join Decon/Recon: https://www.skool.com/deconrecon/about YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@drtoddphillips Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drtoddphillips/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Drtoddphillips/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@drtoddphillips Exvangelical Stories is produced in partnership with Mormon Stories and explores the real experiences of people whose lives were shaped by evangelical Christianity, what happened when they began questioning it, what deconstruction cost them, and how they are rebuilding afterward. ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117 #Deconstruction #Exvangelical #FaithDeconstruction #EvangelicalChristianity #SouthernBaptist #LeavingChristianity #ReligiousDeconstruction #ShaneSams #MormonStories #DrToddPhillips