About

Who am I?

I’m Celeste Irwin (she/her). I like ice cream. If the name and photo are surprising to you, yes, I’m a transgender woman, which you can read about more on my other blog, Wonderfully Made.

My wife (Paula, who now goes by Kat) and I started going to Blue Sky Church, in Bellevue, Washington, in early 2012. It’s part of a Network of more than 20 churches, that is led by Steve Morgan. This church is one that sends church plant teams of dozens of people, if not more than a hundred to plant new churches. As part of a 47-person plant team, we moved to San Luis Obispo, California in summer 2016 to help plant Vista Church. We also brought our two kids, now aged 12 and 10.

At the time, I was beyond excited to be “giving up everything for Jesus,” that others in San Luis Obispo would know him and give their lives to him.

I was not on staff, just a volunteer. I towed the church trailer, setup chairs, built moving carts, and more. Kat and I hosted regular barbecues and football watching parties, particularly trying to care for the younger people on the team who were living away from family for the first time. We built a life here, centered around the church. I ignored so many red flags, looking back, but I was deeply in love with this church.

I became a small group leader in early 2019. That’s when everything changed. I found that I was being domineered by my leaders (See 1 Peter 5:3, also known as spiritual abuse). Even worse was realizing that I was doing the same to my small group members, who I counted as friends. I tried to address it but failed, and we left in April 2021.

What is this site?

This site is dedicated to shining a light in dark places. 1 John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” I hold hope in that promise. Christ’s light will not be overcome. We who have Christ in us will never be defeated.

Many thanks to Kat for coming up with the name, also. Oh, and her countless hours helping me with this site and generally being there for me. She’s a blessing from Jesus.

I wrote my first public letter regarding Vista Church and the Network in December 2021, and have continued assessing the Network’s actions and practices since then.

Others Speaking Out

I’m nothing but thankful for the Leaving the Network website. We have discussed each other’s sites, though we don’t typically collaborate. We’re just using different lenses, and we both see that as a strength. I don’t try to duplicate their content, and I reference their content regularly.

I also engage regularly with the r/leavingthenetwork subreddit going forward. It’s not affiliated with Leaving the Network either, but it’s great that those who have left have created a community in which we can support each other, as well as answer questions for those who are still in the network.

I’m also aware of and support the efforts of Blake Hadley’s Theology & Me, as well as Unorthoprax, which has been authored anonymously.

Contact

Feel free to reach out! My twitter and instagram are in the top right corner of this page.

You can also reach out to me at not.overcome@outlook.com.

And you can engage on the r/leavingthenetwork subreddit - I’m currently there as u/celeste_not_overcome, and previously have written extensively there as both u/jeff_not_overcome and u/HopeOnGrace.