Waking up: Leslie Nease’s Story

New Life’s 91.9’s “Family Friendly Morning Show” co-host on the peace of a truly changed life.

By: Erica J. Parkerson

Monroe--- Leslie Nease has long loved waking up to the voices of the birds outside. She never imagined that someday thousands of people would wake up to her voice every weekday morning on Charlotte’s New Life 91.9.
Whether Nease is bemoaning the calories in a pumpkin muffin or applying a Proverb to her tendency to over-commit, the co-host of WRCM’s “Family Friendly Morning Show” has been connecting with listeners since her April radio debut. Listeners find her willingness to be transparent and real about faith and family matters a breath of fresh air.
But the road to peace and joy hasn’t been easy. Nease traveled the road to her own cross for many years, carrying unspeakable burdens and often veering from the straight and narrow.
While only in the second grade, Nease experienced the unthinkable: the little girl was raped at her apartment complex. Throughout the ordeal, Nease said she escaped by looking at the sky, blue and bright, in order to cope. It might as well have been dark and ominous for the pain that entered her soul. She stopped looking up for help and began looking in.
At age ten, Nease knew she needed Jesus, but was not sure why. Terrified of going to hell, and hoping it would fix everything in her life, she made the “head decision” to invite Christ into her heart. “It didn’t fix a whole lot and I didn’t really grow spiritually,” she said.
Alcohol, like a tidal wave, drowned out much of her teenage years, then flowed into her marriage and in between four pregnancies. “I really struggled with alcohol and with my weight a lot in my twenties, after I had my first two babies,” said Nease. “I would think, ‘God wants me to be happy. Why would He make me like alcohol if He didn’t want me to drink it?’ I was so messed up in the head.”
Depression engulfed her. “I had always based my identity on my appearance and all of a sudden it was gone,” said Nease. “When you don’t have Christ in you and you base your identity on that, it’s a scary place to be.”
Nease turned to fitness for meaning, losing weight and getting into shape. “I thought that I found my identity in myself again,” she said. “I thought, now I’m somebody, but there’s still something missing… so maybe I’ll run for Mrs. North Carolina and see if that fixes it.”
She won the Mrs. North Carolina title in 2001, but continued to lose her battle for self-worth. “I still had that feeling that something wasn’t right,” said Nease. “I was going to church. I thought I was a Christian… but I still didn’t get it.”
Then, one February night in 2003, the words of Kelvin Smith, Pastor of Steele Creek Church of Charlotte, struck Nease’s heart. “All of a sudden it was made very clear to me that there is a changed life with salvation and I realized I didn’t have one,” she said. “I had not been repentant.”
Nease left the church that night determined to try harder, and in the process, discovered the heart of the Lamb of God. “The key wasn’t me trying, it was me dying,” she said.
When Nease was baptized one month later, she says she emerged from the water a different person. “I can’t explain it, but that was the day I surrendered my life to Christ,” Nease said.
Nease’s transformation, however, didn’t come all at once. Later that same week, the Neases attended a party, where their mutual enemy, alcohol, was also a guest. When morning dawned, Nease faced the sobering fact that she was living a double life.
That day, the Neases poured every single drop of alcohol in their home down the drain and haven’t looked back since.
Twenty years worth of truth bubbled up inside Nease. ““It was a miracle. All of a sudden everything I had learned in church made sense,” she said. “God took all that head knowledge and transferred it down into my heart - I went warp speed! I grew so much in such a short amount of time.”
Nease said her heart breaks for people living the lie she once believed. “If you don’t have a life change, a passion for Scripture, or a grievance over your sin, you need to re-evaluate your decision to follow Christ,” she said. “A lot of people are living in that false security. I have such a peace and such a security now. I see the fruit in my life.”
In the fall of 2003, God began waking Nease very early in the morning. She sensed a big year was ahead. “I felt the reason He was doing this was because I had a lot to learn and a lot to do for Him,” said Nease. “I would look so forward to my early mornings with God.”
When New Life 91.9 embarked on a nation-wide search for a morning show co-host, Nease’s friends, Derrick and Mary Kay Selby immediately thought of her.
Michael Gellman, producer of ABC’s “Regis and Kelly Show,” once told Nease she “really knew how to tell a story.” In 2002, she auditioned to be Regis Philbin’s co-host while Kelly Ripa was on maternity leave. With that in mind, the Selbys went on an email campaign, trying to convince Nease to audition for the radio position. Finally, she sent a resume and demo tapes.
Then, Nease began writing a book called “Body Builders.” It’s about building your body through physical, spiritual, mental and emotional fitness,” she said. The day before her book came out, New Life’s Production Director, Dwayne Harrison called Nease in for an audition.
Terrified, she cried all the way to the station. “I spent the entire drive just praying and giving my speech, my words and my day to the Lord,” Nease said, adding that she sold “a ton of books” that day.
One month and many callbacks later, staff and listener “votes” were in. The response was positive and Nease was crowned Gary Morland’s new co-host on April 30, 2004.
“Radio listeners are very smart; they can sense insincerity from a mile away. I was looking for someone real,” said program director Harrison. “Leslie is actually living the life of our listeners. With a husband and four kids, her world is a busy one. She can identify with and give encouragement to those who are struggling to provide the best home for their family.”
Co-host Gary Morland agrees. “Leslie has a huge passion for God and she throws that passion at everyday life and then is able to talk about it in a way that anyone can relate to,” he said.
Nease loves meeting her listeners. One lady at a concert stopped to take Nease’s hand and pray for her. “‘Bob and Sheri’ don’t get this!” she said. “They can’t touch somebody through something they say then follow it up with a song that drives it home. It’s so ordained by God and it feels so right.”
Living in a fish bowl is keeping her humble. “Every time someone recognizes me, I have my hair on top of my head, no make-up on and kids hanging off me!” Nease said.
Nease said she is still amazed at how God has transformed her life. “I was not a morning person,” she said. “He weaned me off of that. For 20 years, He protected me from sexually transmitted diseases and drinking and driving accidents. I give Him all the credit,” she said. “How I ever managed to survive those years of rebellion is such a miracle. I knew He had a plan for me.”
Nease used to wake up every morning, an alcoholic struggling with her identity. These days, she wakes up a child of God with a prayer on her lips. “What can I do? How can I serve You?” she prays. “Lord, just live through me today, speak through me, give me words, give me opportunities to show Your love.”
Now she’s making up for lost time.

Want to know more? Visit Rod and Leslie Nease’s Web site: www.potentialunlimited.us or www.newlife919.com.
(12/2/2004)

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