“How’s My Driving” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the sad reality this cartoon depicts. The church is hurting people at an ever-increasing rate. I help people who, for whatever reason, have left the church or at least have questions about it. But I also want to challenge the church to stop hurting people. It’s one thing to help people find their own validation, voice, and freedom. It’s another thing to challenge the system that created the victims in the first place.

I know the church can be good at taking care of people who enter it wounded. At least for a time. The church’s goal would be to eventually convert this person into an active member of the congregation.

But what about people who get wounded by the church? Why does the church fail to help these? We could talk about the normal reasons like not being able to accept responsibility for hurting people; or denial that wounding occurred at all; or embarrassment that the church actually did hurt someone; or the commitment admitting it is harmful may require.

But I think the number one reason why the church fails to help those it wounds is its obsession with usefulness. That is, the church is interested in how useful we are to its agenda. Generally, the church disdains neediness and loves usefulness. Pushed to its logical conclusion, the church punishes neediness and rewards usefulness. This is why, no matter how much we’re hurting, as long as we’re contributing… financially, volunteering, or otherwise… we will be rewarded. Otherwise, we will be left behind.

The number of victims the church has created and left in its wake is baffling. I suggest it is epidemic. But nobody cares because what’s to be gained by caring for them? They are like how many perceive rape victims: used goods, finished up, disposable, a shameful tragedy to be dismissed and forgotten. Who wants to keep victims around? They are a constant drag on the system, an expense, an irrecoverable loss, a sucking parasite, a write-off, dead wood, an extra-grace-required, a burden that prevents the church from achieving its goals.

Dragging people out of the river is important. But stopping who’s throwing them in upstream is even more urgent.

This, I feel, is the task before me.

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“Calculations” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

[Prints available HERE along with all my art!]

I do remember very significant points in my life, knowing the risks and costs, where I had to make the very specific decision to be true. They were always very scary times for me because I don’t like loss. I don’t like pain. I guess for me I was more afraid of the consequences of not being true than I was of the consequences of living a lie.

But I always recommend that people wait until they are ready to take this step. It shouldn’t be done without forethought, without making the calculations, because for some of us the risks and costs are too severe, sudden, and great.

By the way, The Lasting Supper is a great, private, and anonymous place where you can practice being yourself. Check us out!

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“Strategy for Surviving Abuse Accusations” by nakedpastor David Hayward

[PRINTS AVAILABLE!]

All of these seem very true these days.

I do believe M.L. King Jr. that the arc of the universe is towards justice. But it sure does seem to take a long time sometimes.

It is also very difficult to watch bullies and abusers continue on as if nothing happened, leaving victims in their wake.

Pressing on is all I can do, believing in the manifestation of this justice.

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“From Cross to Chains” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

[PRINTS AVAILABLE HERE]

Pretty self-explanatory.

If your church is not helping you walk into a greater liberty, if you are not exploring and experiencing what it means to be free, if you feel just as enslaved as you always have… then it’s time to walk away.

Liberty is already yours. You are already free. You are no longer a slave.

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“Means of Control” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

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I know one of the biggest reasons why churches control people. It’s because if you can’t control the parts, you can’t control the whole.

That is, if you can’t keep people in line, the security of the establishment is constantly compromised.

In order to secure the future of the church, you have to secure the people.

It’s business.

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“Runaway Radical” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

You can buy a print of this cartoon HERE.

7 REASONS WHY IT’S SO SCARY TO CHALLENGE CHRISTIAN LEADERS

My friend Jonathan Hollingsworth and his mother Amy Hollingsworth wrote a book together about his experiences with harmful Christian ministries and their destructive leaders. This is the review I gave of their book, Runaway Radical: A Young Man’s Reckless Journey to Save the World:

”I was gripped by this young man’s story; I recognized my story in his. Jonathan, along with his mother Amy, describes the stress put on our kids to be amazing superheroes before they are simply human beings. In Jonathan’s case, it was the pressure to be a radical follower of Jesus and sacrificial servant of the church, no matter what the cost.

As Jonathan says, ‘When spiritual growth is measured in intensity, the only direction you’re permitted to go is off the deep end. To question your belief system is to backslide, so you’re told that the only way to get better is to dive headfirst into those existing beliefs with more manic zeal than before.’

This book provides poignant and powerful insights into the pressures on our youth to sacrifice their lives for ideals that aren’t always ideal.”

He is young, and yet he chose to take on these leaders and expose their destructiveness through sharing his experiences. He is always in my thoughts because I know how much of a long-term struggle such a project can be. I’ve been there and done that, so I know exactly what it’s like. Just sharing your experiences and observations about bad leaders is risky and scary business.

Here’s why: (I’ve started them all with ‘sssssss’ because they are like snakes!)

1. smear: Even though you might criticize something they said or did, they will criticize your personality and make you out to be a terrible person, crazy, ambitious, a liar, abusive, or anything else to make you seem sick and on a crazy mission.
2. spent: They will do things that will require you to lose or spend money. Litigation, withholding pay, getting assistance, therapy, etc. They know the power of money over peoples’ lives and will suck you dry knowing that when the money runs out so will your voice.
3. spin: They will turn it around to make you look like you are the bad guy and that they’re the victims. They will gather sympathizers who take pity on them for being a Christian leader persecuted for their beliefs and ministries.
4. shame: They will claim that you are hurting the Bride of Christ, or causing trouble in the body, or that your intentions are harmful to the church, or that you are wrecking peoples’ lives. They will try to make you second guess yourself because they understand that any measure of self-doubt is a chink in your armor.
5. sticky: Bad leaders are like a very nasty virus It takes a lot of effort, work, and time, for them to change or stop. They’re sticky and are resistant to normal treatment. They are intransigent. You often have to be in it for the long haul to see any change. This quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., has helped me: “The arch of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Let’s hope so!
6. support: Those with power seem to have unlimited support, both relationally and financially, to maintain a strong campaign against your efforts to expose and publish their abuses. They have tons of connections with power. You might be able to raise some support, but they are mostly powerless. It not only takes a certain amount of courage, but perseverance, to keep up the good fight.
7. silence: Every attempt will be made to silence you. All the above tactics will be employed to shut you up permanently. They want to continue unexposed, unhindered, and untouchable. If your voice in any way compromises or interferes with them, they will do whatever it takes to silence it.

I know there are more, but these are the seven that come to my mind right now. Perhaps you could add to the list.

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“R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

You can get a print of this cartoon HERE.

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“Bible’s Gender” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

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Instead of drawing I photoshopped.

Not shocking at all really. We all already knew this.

Have you been thinking about joining The Lasting Supper but are nervous about it? Just email me and ask me anything. We can even Skype for a few minutes if you want.

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“Pastors and their Dogs” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

You can get a print of this cartoon HERE.

If you’re a pastor, minister, priest, rabbi, imam or other spiritual leader… which one are you?

Or if you are a part of a religious community, which one is your leader?

Maybe you could think of another breed?

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“Calvinist Theology” cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward

Get a print of this cartoon HERE!

I love Calvin. I love Reformed theology. Karl Barth is my favorite theologian hands down.

It doesn’t mean we have to take it hook, line, and sinker.

I love Barth not only for his honesty, depth, and focus, but also because he let us watch him develop his theology until the end of his life to the point where many theologians then and to this day consider him a major contributor to the idea of universalism.

But some Calvinists would like us to believe that there is not one good thing within us and that, essentially, we are riddled with sin rooted in a completely sinful heart. I do believe that at the core of our being there is a fissure, a disintegration, a brokenness. Self-observation alone suggests this. But does this mean that we are evil to the core?

How about a puzzle. Let’s look at that for an analogy. There’s the 1,000 piece puzzle in a box, unopened. There’s the puzzle spread out over the table top. There’s the puzzle being assembled. There’s the puzzle complete and displaying a beautiful picture. At no point is the puzzle any less a puzzle. At no point is the puzzle totally depraved. Just because a puzzle isn’t assembled doesn’t make it imperfect. It is a perfect puzzle in the box and completed on the table.

Some might argue that we are puzzles with pieces missing or damaged which would indeed make us imperfect, irreparable and incomplete. But I don’t think this is so. I think we all have all the pieces within that make us essentially perfect. Every one of us is a different puzzle. Broken? Yes. Imperfect? No. Some of us are more assembled than others. Some less. Does this make us a better puzzle than the other one? No. We are all perfect at different stages of our assembly. This analogy works for me.

It is our life’s work to assemble ourselves.

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