Unmasking Faith at Church: Showing Up With Your Own Face
- Dan Holmes
- 14 hours ago
- 5 min read
An interview with Pastor Josh Davis based on an upcoming podcast on Just the Guys
By Dan Holmes
When we launched this “Just the Guys” episode, I expected a good conversation. What I didn’t expect was how practically our talk would reframe what it means to meet God without a mask—especially for those of us who are autistic or ADHD. Pastor Josh Davis (aka The Autistic Pastor) joined me to talk about unmasking, contemplative life, and what authentic connection with God can look like when the usual “quiet time formula” doesn’t fit.
Below is Josh’s story in brief, the themes that surfaced, and my biggest takeaways.
Josh’s Story in Brief
Josh grew up a pastor’s kid in Florida, then a missionary kid in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Music became his lane into ministry—he studied it in college and served as a worship leader and pastor for years. He loved people, studied how they “tick,” and tried to show up the way a good ministry leader “should.”
Six years ago, a spiritual director began meeting with him monthly—simply to notice God together. In that space, Josh sensed God inviting him to “show up with your own face.” Not a “be-more-like-Jesus” performance mask, but the real Josh. That invitation led him to notice lifelong sensitivities and differences, which eventually resulted in autism and ADHD diagnoses (his wife and three of their four kids received diagnoses later). He now hosts the Neurodivergent Faith podcast and walks with others who want to meet God as they truly are.
\My takeaway
A spiritual director didn’t “fix” Josh; they made space. Space to notice God, notice self, and tell the truth. Sometimes the holiest step is slowing down enough to hear the invitation.
The Cost of Masking—and What Happens When You Stop
Josh’s masking score was “off the charts.” He assumed everyone else was working just as hard to appear fine—never bothered, never angry, never needy. In reality, he was burning through his reserves to suppress sensitivity to sound, changes in plans, and social overload.
Unmasking didn’t turn him into a different person overnight. It simply returned energy and capacity to feel. He now takes long daily walks—two hours—where he can unmask, pray, and attend to his inner life. Joy returned, but so did grief. As Josh put it, you can’t open to joy without also opening to pain.
My takeaways
Masking robs the energy required for self-awareness and prayer.
Unmasking isn’t only relief; it’s also grief work—and that’s okay.
Making room for feelings dissolves shame; it doesn’t increase it.
Emotion: From “Contain and Perform” to “Feel and Share”
For decades, Josh looked expressive on stage (music, songwriting) but stayed quiet about his own emotions interpersonally. His wife had never seen him angry—not because he never felt anger, but because he buried it.
As he unmasked, tears became a teacher. He noticed he always cried during Undercover Boss when unseen people were finally seen. That pattern revealed what moves his heart—and, he sensed, God’s. He began letting tears guide him toward what matters in the Kingdom.
MY takeaways
Follow your tears; they often point to your calling and God’s priorities.
Creative outlets (music, journaling) can be authentic—and still coexist with masking. Keep the art, lose the mask.
Limits are good. Embracing them increases connection with people and with God.
Experiencing God Beyond Words
Josh comes from traditions that prized intellectual faith and distrusted emotions. He was taught to find God outside himself—sermons, texts, leaders. But as he unmasked, he began to experience his body as a temple—a meeting place with God that moves with him into kitchens, sidewalks, and new cities.
Because he processes auditorily and thinks in sensations more than images or words, typical “sit still in silence” practices were tough. Gentle movement and sound help him connect.
What works for Josh:
Walking prayer (gentle movement regulates and focuses)
Journaling (slows the mind; lets the heart speak before the filter kicks in)
Songwriting with Scripture (special interest + meditation = sustained attention)
Audio prayer guides (prompts to return when the mind wanders)
Info-dumping to God (share your special interest with the safest Listener)
My takeaways
Your nervous system is not the enemy of prayer. Work with it.
Movement and sound aren’t “cheats”—they’re on-ramps.
God delights in your special interests. Sometimes prayer is simply, “Isn’t this cool, God?”
Ministry Without the Performance
The biggest shift for Josh? Ministry now feels like being drawn, not driven. Instead of pushing himself to “be everywhere for everyone,” he invites people into quieter spaces where he can be fully present without performing. He leaves those conversations fueled, not depleted.
My takeaways
Authentic presence is sustainable presence.
Choose context: step into spaces (one-on-one, outdoors, side rooms) that fit your wiring.
Serving from your real self gives people you—and they meet God there.
Safety With God
Josh feared that showing up honestly—with frustration, limits, and imperfect emotions—would bring punishment or distance. His actual experience? Delight. God isn’t threatened by our extremes. God wants the real us and will transform us from there.
My takeaways
Honesty is welcome in prayer. God meets us, then shapes us.
Shame dissolves when you feel seen and safe—by God first, then by people.
Unmasking before God is often the first step to unmasking with people.
A Word to the Over-Masked and Overwhelmed
If the classic morning-chair-Bible-then-prayer formula has never fit you, you’re not broken. The disciples spent time with Jesus walking between towns—observing, asking, talking, eating. If you’re autistic or ADHD (or just human), you can walk with Jesus, too.
Try this:
Pick an on-ramp: walk, journal, hum a psalm, or listen to an audio guide.
Bring your delight: tell God about the thing you’re fascinated by.
Name one feeling you can locate today (even if it’s “numb” or “overwhelmed”).
Create a quiet(er) corner at church—arrive a little late, leave a little early, or step outside with a trusted friend for five minutes of real conversation.
Notice your tears this week. What do they say about your heart—and God’s?
Final Thoughts
What stayed with me after talking with Josh is simple and weighty at the same time: God wants your actual face. Not the ministry mask, not the social script, not the stoic version that never needs anything. The real you is the one God delights to meet—and from there, everything else can finally become honest, sustainable, and alive.
If this resonates, check out Josh’s Neurodivergent Faith podcast—especially his three-part series on connecting with God in neurodivergent ways. And if you’re a church leader, consider how your spaces can make room for unmasked presence: quieter corners, gentler transitions, and genuine invitations to bring our whole selves to God.
Resources: The interview with Josh airs on December 17th on Just the Guys.
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