Jaxon Phoenix joins me from Maryland, buried under snow, and we get into something I think about a lot: the difference between deconstruction as an identity and deconstruction as a season you move through and out of. Jaxon grew up in a Black Christian household, an AME Zion church back home, then leaned into the smoke machines and rock bands of evangelical church later on. He loved the music, the community, the belonging. He also learned early not to ask questions. So he didn't, until college, when he started reading the text for himself instead of just complying with what he'd been handed. What follows is a conversation about writing your way into your own faith rather than out of it. Jaxon talks about the guides who met him along the way, Rob Bell, Richard Rohr, the Bible Project, Alan Watts, and how none of them told him what to think so much as gave him permission to keep asking. We land for a while on the prodigal son, and the brother nobody wants to admit they are. We talk about what it looks like to talk to God like He's standing right next to you instead of on some far off line. We also talk about his debut book, Only Us. Jaxon is a poet, content creator, and handpan musician, and this book is the start of an ongoing conversation he's having about faith, freedom, and inner healing. It's not a manifesto. It's a mirror. Written with real vulnerability, it uses allegory and personal reflection to help readers see past the literal and feel what's underneath it, without demanding anyone land on the same answers he has. If you've ever felt out of place in the tradition you grew up in but still hungry for something true, this one's for you. Jaxon's becoming a father this spring, and you can hear it moving through him already, this sense that the more honest he gets, the more creative he becomes. We close on courage, the kind it takes to send a DM to a stranger because you have a hunch you might vibe, and what happens when you stop waiting for validation and just put the work out into the world. Follow Jaxon Instagram: @jaxonphoenix88 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jaxonclips26 Podcast: Safe Space Get his book “Only Us” HERE Subscribe to Tyler's Substack: tylerhill.net/monday Instagram: @thuhTYLER Website: tylerhill.net
