Red Hills Stories
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On this episode, Lyell Walker sits down with one of Red Hills Pastoral Candidates Jonathan Albanese.
Jonathan is a Tallahassee lifer who has spent a life time following Jesus and serving the church. His story reminds us that while we may walk down many paths, even those that take us to mountain tops, ultimately God is in control and his faithfulness will see us through to the end.
On this episode of Red Hills Stories Lyell Walker sits down with Jocelyn Hayden to discuss church culture and the true meaning of the body of Christ.
Her story reminds us that obedience can mean action but can also be waiting on the Lord.
On this episode of Red Hills Stories, Lyell Walker sits down with Justin Hall.
Justin’s story reminds us that our true identity can only be found in Jesus and him alone. Whether our identity is in our job, ministry, social status, being a parent, or hobbies, if those things are not grounded in the cross of Jesus Christ, we open the door for the enemy to further lead us into sin. Justin’s story also reminds us that true repentance leads to eternal freedom.
Meet Justin Hall
Justin Hall has been a role model at Red Hills Church serving in children’s ministry and leading worship. But what you may not know, is that he was also an actual heart model for an ultrasound screening at Tallahassee Memorial Health.
Fun fact aside, read his testimony or listen to the Red Hills Stories podcast to see what God is doing in Justin’s heart.
Growing up
Justin grew up on a farm in Alabama with his parents and older sister. He saw firsthand the blood sweat and tears it took to operate a farm and how his family worked tirelessly from dusk to dawn to provide.
“I saw my parents in a light I feel a lot of kids don’t get to see. I’m blessed to be able to witness their manual labor,” he said.
In addition to farming, the family was steeped in a close-knit church community, and the church is where young Justin found a safe haven. From 11-18, he developed his theatrical talents, serving on the church drama team performing skits, puppetry, and singing. By age 12, he knew he wanted to be a youth pastor and delivered his first sermon when a junior in high school.
Yet there was a huge contrast between his church life and school life. In public school, he was bullied and had very few friends. At the end of his sophomore year, he transitioned to a Florida school, as they lived just five miles from the state border.
Justin said this was a great move for him and he experienced a lot of change that summer of his junior year. “I slimmed down, grew almost two feet, started anew. I gathered attention in a positive way—acting, singing, playing bass. My aim was to make as many people like me as possible.”
He hadn’t planned on college, but he received a few scholarships to attend a local community college. His love and talent for theater was strong, and as a freshman he was cast as second male lead for South Pacific. After his performance, a close friend from church openly shared that she was embarrassed for him for portraying a bad character. That revelation led him to reevaluate his direction and turn his focus back on ministry.
“To this day, I’m truly grateful for it. It caused me to pause, reevaluate, and make an active decision to think intentionally (about ministry).”
Life after school
Justin met Ashley and they fell “madly and quickly in love.” They married, moved to Tallahassee, and started going to a local church where he began doing ministry part time with the youth group. At 25, he accepted a full-time ministry position although he had no formal training in teaching the Bible. He said he soon realized he was not prepared for the job and became insecure of his abilities.
“Even though I was being paid and called to serve, I did not focus on my relationship with God and others. I began having anxiety attacks and would randomly cry sobbing cries. This was my dream job ever since I was 12. This was a huge thing wrapped around my identity and purpose.”
The church started taking over tasks, assigning elements to others, but never addressed a way to help equip him with the tools he needed to succeed. Justin said he became very bitter. The summer of 2014, just after 14 months in the job, he resigned and vowed never to work at a church again.
“I was very far away from God. I was not in his word. My point of brokenness was after I left the church. I realized my dream was not real. My heart for ministry was gone. I questioned every decision ever made from my choice of major, moving, marriage…”
Justin shared that in addition to bitterness, he also allowed other things to get a foothold in his life—habitual sin and addiction to pornography. He sought pornography to feel better and overcome his fits of rage and impatience.
But he began to move forward with acceptance and contentment as doors started to open for him. “Yet I never addressed the bitterness or the sin that had become a stronghold in my life.”
Steps to healing
About a month into the pandemic, Justin said he began to realize he had unresolved issues with four main things: 1) bitterness over how his life turned out, 2) anger toward leadership at previous church, 3) insecurity about his identity of youth pastor, and 4) his dependence on his secret sin pornography.
He said a major breaking point was when he and Ashley were working and renovating their kitchen and he snapped at his four-year-old son Stanley. “She said, ‘whatever you need to work on in your life as to how you’re treating us, you need to work it out, because I’m not going to put up with this any longer.’ I walked outside and asked God to open my eyes so I could see what was going on.”
A week later, on Memorial Day, the holy spirit gave him the gift of repentance on pornography—a sin he had carried for nine years. Justin repented to Ashley, and then to Marshall and Lyell. He sought out professional counseling as well.
“I had been in denial,” he said. “The issues did not start with that job. This time around, I knew there were roots to those symptoms, the issues of bitterness, insecurity, anger, dependence. I repented on those. Not just to change my behavior.”
Justin shared he’s attempted to overcome his dependence before but that previously he had focused on “wanting to reduce and minimize” not eliminate. “I had not repented wholeheartedly before. When there’s repentance there’s shame involved. The enemy uses weak spots and goes for them every time. Sin separates and isolates.”
Having felt the weight of God’s grace and mercy, Justin is proud to say he’s been 100 percent free of addiction for a year now. He is grateful to have the support of his Red Hills Church family and the men who help keep him accountable.
Justin, thank you for being open and vulnerable and sharing your heart. Your story reminds us that our identity can only be found in Jesus and him alone, and that true repentance leads to eternal freedom.
Kicking off Season 2 of Red Hills Stories, Pastor Lyell Walker sits down with the wonderful Brittany Seachrist. Her story is a beautiful reminder that our past does not define our future. That God uses our previous self to shape and mold us into the image of His perfect Son. Through life’s ups and downs, it is easy to forget that we are the clay and He is the potter.
In this episode of Red Hills Stories, Lyell Walker sits down with Sean Doughtie to reflect on the faithfulness and goodness of God throughout his entire life. Through anger as a teenager, marriage, starting a company, and everything else in-between, God was there every step of the way.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.“ James 4:8
In this episode of Red Hills Stories, Lyell Walker sits down with Felicia Dilbert.
Felicia is the founder of Beautiful Healing L.L.C., a faith-based business designed to curate content and gatherings with one mission in mind- equipping women with the tools necessary to unlearn unworthiness, unapologetically
Felicia’s story reminds us that God’s mercy extends through all seasons of life and that his healing power is for the mind, body, and soul.
Click HERE to get more information on Beautiful Healing.
All music written and produced by Ryan Johnson and Russ Forstall.
