The Harvest Sarasota: Sermons for Deconstructing and Challenging Traditional Faith with Pastor Dan Minor

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Why should kindness be remarkable?

Why should anyone be shocked to find a church that treats them with dignity, makes room for their family, or loves them without first demanding that they believe the right things?

In this message, Pastor Dan Minor asks a harder question: why isn’t this already normal?

Drawing from Romans 12, James 2, the prodigal son, Peter and Cornelius, and the story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath, Dan challenges the church to move beyond simply saying “all are welcome.”

Real hospitality is not waiting behind an open door.

It is pursuing people.
Making room.
Crossing lines.
Protecting dignity.
And refusing to let rules, theology, or tradition become more sacred than the person standing in front of us.

Because the goal is not to become known as the unusually kind church.

The goal is to keep loving, welcoming, and widening the circle until none of this feels unusual anymore.

Until this is normal.

And at the end of the episode, Anna Rodriguez closes with a powerful performance of Andra Day’s “Rise Up.”

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Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

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Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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What if doubt isn't the opposite of faith?

What if it's where faith actually begins?

In Mark 9, a desperate father looks at Jesus and says one of the most honest things ever recorded in Scripture: “I believe; help my unbelief.”

He isn't certain. He doesn't have his theology figured out. He's scared, exhausted, and standing in the middle of chaos.

And Jesus doesn't reject him.

In this message, Pastor Dan Minor challenges the version of Christianity that confuses certainty with faith. The mountaintop may give us beautiful experiences, but Jesus keeps leading us back down the mountain, into the mess, the questions, the suffering, and the lives of people who need healing more than they need another theological argument.

Because faith isn't about having every answer.

It's about what we do when the answers stop working.

And when religion becomes more interested in winning arguments than helping hurting people, we've missed Jesus entirely.

Maybe the question was never, “Who's right?”

Maybe Jesus keeps asking us, “Who's hurting?”

#HarvestSarasota #DanMinor #FaithAndDoubt #ProgressiveChristianity #FaithDeconstruction #ProgressiveTheology #Mark9 #IBelieveHelpMyUnbelief #FaithReimagined #ChurchHurt #InclusiveChurch #Jesus #ChristianPodcast #Deconstruction #SpiritualJourney

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Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

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Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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What happens when the faith you were certain about starts falling apart?

Guest speaker Stan Mitchell shares a deeply personal and moving allegory of his spiritual journey, from growing up believing his religious tradition had reached the top of the “mountain of truth,” to discovering that the mountain was far bigger and more mysterious than he had ever imagined.

Stan talks honestly about certainty, deconstruction, religious trauma, grief, losing faith, trying desperately to rebuild it, and eventually discovering something better on the other side.

At the bottom of the mountain, certainty gives way to humility. Conviction makes room for curiosity. Comfort is replaced by courage. Doctrine opens into wonder.

And instead of spending his life trying to conquer the mountain, Stan discovers what it means to build a humble cottage in the valley and explore the mystery of God without needing to own it.

This is a message for anyone who has questioned what they were taught, lost the faith they once knew, or wondered whether there is still something beautiful waiting on the other side of certainty.

Maybe losing the mountaintop isn't the end of faith.

Maybe it's where a different kind of faith begins.

#HarvestSarasota #StanMitchell #FaithDeconstruction #ProgressiveChristianity #Deconstruction #FaithReimagined #ChurchHurt #ReligiousTrauma #InclusiveChurch #Christianity #SpiritualJourney #FaithAndDoubt #ProgressiveTheology #Jesus #ChristianPodcast

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“If my theology costs me nothing but costs my neighbor everything, I ought to examine it very carefully.”

In The Bible Says. Now What?, Dan Minor tackles one of the hardest questions in modern faith: what do we do when a biblical interpretation seems to produce harm instead of love?

Dan explores the humanity behind Scripture, the layers of culture, language, history, translation, and bias that shape how the Bible has been written and understood, and the way Jesus repeatedly reframed what people had “heard it said” by pointing them back to the heart of God.

The message is not an invitation to throw the Bible away. It is an invitation to read it through the clearest lens we have: Jesus.

Because having a Bible verse does not automatically mean we have the heart of God. And if our theology produces less dignity, less belonging, less freedom, less safety, or less humanity for someone else, maybe the question is not, “Can I defend this verse?”

Maybe the question is, “Does this look like Jesus?”

This is a message about Scripture, interpretation, harm, humility, and the radical idea that love is not a loophole. Love is the commandment.

#HarvestSarasota #HarvestSarasotaPodcast #DanMinor #TheBibleSaysNowWhat #LoveIsNotALoophole #FaithReimagined #ProgressiveChristianity #InclusiveChurch #BiblicalInterpretation #JesusIsTheLens #LoveGodLoveNeighbor #ChurchHurt #Deconstruction #FaithAfterDeconstruction #Theology #Scripture #BibleStudy #JesusAndJustice #ChristianPodcast #SermonPodcast #SpiritualFormation #FaithAndDoubt #ReligiousTrauma #LoveLikeJesus #Sarasota

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Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
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TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“What if Jesus never told us to be flawless, but to become fully ourselves?”

In this honest, funny, and deeply human message, Dr. Essence Deming-Rivers unpacks the difference between perfection and purpose. Starting with her own reluctance to step into the calling in front of her, she reflects on Matthew 5, the pressure to “get it right,” and the ways religion can turn love into rules, performance, and policing.

But what if “be perfect” was never about never making mistakes?

Dr. Essence reframes perfection through the word teleios: becoming whole, fully developed, and aligned with your intended purpose. Through the life of Jesus, she reminds us that purpose is not discovered by performing flawlessly, but by stepping away, listening deeply, being tested, finding community, missing the mark, adjusting, and trying again.

This is a message for anyone who has been afraid to move forward because they might mess it up. The point is not perfection. The point is becoming.

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“What if you’ve spent your whole life living inside a biography someone else wrote about you?”

In this powerful message, Dr. Jekeyma Robinson asks one of the most honest questions of faith: Who are we becoming when we stop conforming and start being transformed?

Drawing from his own story of church hurt, rejection, and finding his way back to his calling as his authentic self, Dr. Robinson challenges the labels we’ve inherited, the identities others have placed on us, and the religious systems that confused sameness with unity.

Through the stories of Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman, Peter, and the radical love of Jesus, this message reminds us that transformation does not begin with conformity. It begins with being seen, loved, and invited closer.

This is a message about rewriting the story, dropping the labels, loving better, and becoming people who see others the way Jesus sees them.

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“We do not build community with marginalized people because they need the church. We build community with marginalized people because the church needs them.”

In Part 2 of What Are We Becoming?, Dan Minor continues the conversation about the kind of church Harvest Sarasota is becoming, one shaped not by rescue, pity, or religious scorekeeping, but by proximity, humility, and mutual transformation.

This message challenges the idea that the church exists to “fix” people from a distance. Instead, Dan invites us to move closer, listen better, and recognize that every person carries the image of God, including those society and religion have too often labeled, excluded, or discarded.

Through Philippians 2, 1 Corinthians 12, Luke 4, and the radical mission of Jesus, this message reminds us that the people often treated as weak, unseen, or outside are not optional to the body of Christ. They are indispensable.

This is a message about belonging, dignity, justice, and becoming a community that doesn’t just make room for people, but understands we cannot become who Jesus dreamed we would be without them.

#HarvestSarasota #HarvestSarasotaPodcast #WhatAreWeBecoming #DanMinor #InclusiveChurch #ProgressiveChristianity #FaithReimagined #Belonging #Dignity #ProximityChangesUs #ChurchForAll #JesusAndJustice #MarginalizedVoices #Indispensable #ImageOfGod #FaithInAction #SpiritualFormation #CommunityCare #HarvestHouse #Sarasota #LoveLikeJesus

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“Jesus didn’t center marginalized people because they lacked value. He centered them because the world refused to recognize it.”

In Part 1 of What Are We Becoming?, Dan Minor invites Harvest Sarasota into a deeper conversation about the kind of people, church, and community we are becoming.

Moving beyond the old religious scoreboards of attendance, giving, volunteering, and performance, this message asks a better question: not what are we doing for God? but what is love making of us?

Through the life of Jesus and the work of Harvest Sarasota and Harvest House, Dan challenges us to reimagine inclusion, belonging, service, and dignity. Because true belonging is not just letting people into a space that still belongs to us. True belonging means allowing their presence to change what the space becomes.

This is a message about moving closer, listening better, recognizing the value society has tried to strip away, and becoming a community where love forms us into people who look more like Jesus.

#HarvestSarasota #HarvestSarasotaPodcast #WhatAreWeBecoming #DanMinor #InclusiveChurch #ProgressiveChristianity #FaithReimagined #Belonging #Dignity #MarginalizedVoices #JesusAndJustice #LoveLikeJesus #SpiritualFormation #FaithInAction #HarvestHouse #Sarasota #ChurchForAll #CommunityCare #SocialJustice #EveryoneBelongs

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“What if God is not waiting at the end of our deconstruction with a test, but with a lantern?”

In this honest and hopeful message, Dan Minor speaks directly to the complicated journey of faith deconstruction, church hurt, and what it means to find something worth keeping in the ruins.

Rather than framing deconstruction as destruction or abandonment, Dan invites us to consider a deeper possibility: redemption. Through the stories of Adam and Eve, Jacob, and Jesus cleansing the temple, this message explores how our theology, spirituality, and sacred community can be reimagined through a healthier lens.

Not everything from our past needs to be rebuilt. Not everything needs to be thrown away. Some things need to be redeemed.

Listen in for a message about shame, pursuit, spiritual searching, religious harm, and the God who meets us in the ruins with light.

#HarvestSarasota #HarvestSarasotaPodcast #DanMinor #FaithDeconstruction #Deconstruction #FaithAfterDeconstruction #ChurchHurt #ReligiousTrauma #SpiritualHealing #ProgressiveChristianity #InclusiveChurch #FaithJourney #Redemption #Theology #Spirituality #SacredCommunity #ChurchRenewal #JesusAndJustice #HealingAndHope #GodInTheRuins

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative

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“Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is moving into what the Spirit is trying to do right now.”

In this bold and deeply moving message, Rev. Dr. Erin Edwards brings humor, honesty, and holy fire to a conversation about Pride, humility, justice, and what it really means to follow Jesus.

Preaching during Pride Month, Rev. Dr. Edwards challenges the idea that humility means shrinking, hiding, or becoming less than who God created us to be. Instead, she calls us into a deeper kind of courage: knowing we are beloved, walking humbly with God, serving without needing recognition, and becoming a church where healing, restoration, and transformation are actually possible.

With stories from her own life, her family, and Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, this message asks a powerful question: What could happen if we were proud of who we are, but humble enough to let God keep changing us?

Listen in for a message about belovedness, service, Pride Month, and the kind of humility that can change a church, a community, and a life.

Support the show

Harvest is a fully affirming, inclusive (including the LGBTQ+ community) progressive Christian church located in Sarasota, Florida.

Follow us on Social Media:
Instagram - Instagram.com/harvestsarasota
Facebook - Facebook.com/harvestsarasota
TikTok CLICK HERE

DONATE to support our podcast HERE

Recorded live at Harvest Church in Sarasota by Michael Thomas Regina and Stephen Lehman of Boardtown Creative