The Naked Journal
Thoughts, musings, and meanings behind NakedPastor Art.
The Naked Journal
The Correct Way to Grieve
One of the questions I've always thought about is this: Is there a right way to grieve? I don't think there is. Grief is one of the strangest experiences we go through. It's deeply personal, unpredictable, and rarely looks the way we expect it to. It doesn't fit neatly into stages or timelines. We don't even grieve every loss the same way. Grief Watercolour is available as a print. Losing a parent feels different from losing a marriage. Losing your faith feels different from losing your health, your community, or the life you imagined you'd have. Every loss has its own language. The strange thing is that grief often surprises us. Sometimes you expect to fall apart... and you don't. Sometimes you think you're doing okay... until something small brings everything rushing back. Sometimes you cry. Sometimes you feel nothing at all. And all of it is okay. But it’s important to be vulnerable. Grief is available as a digital cartoon. We put so much pressure on ourselves to grieve the "right" way. To be sad enough. Strong enough. To move on quickly enough. To cry at the right moments. To heal on someone else's timeline. But grief doesn't work like that. The only way to grieve... is your way. I'm also not convinced that grief simply gets easier with time. I think we become more familiar with carrying it. It changes shape. It becomes part of us. Some days it's loud. Other days it's quiet. But it has a way of reminding us of that loss. Miss You Print is available as a print. If you're grieving today, whether your loss happened last week or twenty years ago, please be gentle with yourself. There is no timeline. There is no standard. There is only your journey.
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The Grief No One Talks About in Deconstruction
Grief in losing community. When people think about deconstruction, they often think it's about losing faith or changing beliefs. But I think it's just as much about losing a sense of belonging. For me, I was terrified of leaving my religion and losing my friends and family in the process. The difficult thing is that questioning your beliefs rarely happens in isolation. Our beliefs are tangled up with our relationships, communities, and how we see ourselves. So questioning one can feel like risking the others. But questioning itself isn't something I think we should be afraid of. Jesus certainly wasn't. Jesus challenged almost every accepted idea of his day. He questioned who belonged, who was excluded, who was worthy of love, and what it really meant to follow God. In many ways, I think he embodied deconstruction. The Narrow Way is available as a print, a sticker and a t-shirt. My own journey has looked a little like that. It has been liberating and empowering. But it's also been lonely. In the beginning, it felt like I was losing my entire world. Deconstructing wasn't just theological. It was relational. It was vocational. I lost my community when I left the church. I lost my sense of identity, purpose, income, friendships, and community. The safe place I thought I'd always have suddenly disappeared. I found myself alone, isolated, and trying to rebuild my life from the ground up. It's Okay To Grieve When You Leave the Church is available as a digital cartoon. When the people who once knew you best suddenly feel like strangers, there's a grief that few people talk about. It was one of the hardest things I've ever experienced. It was also one of the most freeing. I couldn't go back, and today, I'm deeply grateful that I kept moving forward. You can buy We Will Not Go Back as a print. But before I could move forward, I had to grieve. I don't pretend to have all the answers. But I do know this: Grief asks to be acknowledged, not avoided. It’s okay to grieve when you leave the church. And from all that loss and grief, you get the beautiful privilege of finding yourself after leaving religion. So if you've lost a community, a church, friendships, or a sense of belonging, I hope my words and my art remind you that your grief is real.
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The Difference Between Deconstruction and Deconversion
I’ve been asked this many times. Usually by people who are deconstructing and are afraid it means they are going to lose their faith and deconvert from Christianity altogether. They are not the same. This, in my opinion, is the difference: Deconstruction vs Deconversion Deconstruction is an open-ended process of taking apart beliefs, structures, and belonging with no predetermined destination. You could end up anywhere on the belief/non-belief spectrum. I shouldn’t say “end up”, because I think deconstruction is a way of life that manifests itself in our perpetual evolution. While there are stages of deconstruction, there’s no fixed path through them, and no guarantee of where they’ll lead you. Deconversion is just one possible outcome of that process where you lose both the belief and the religious identity. To insist that this is the only logical goal of deconstruction is just the old demand for certainty in new clothes. But many people do end up here and are content to be here. And that’s fine. What Deconstruction Is Really About As I’ve said many times, “There’s only one way to deconstruct, and that’s your way!” I claim that deconstruction is a way of life. It’s not only a phase on the way to a more progressive theology. It’s not just a questioning of beliefs, but belief itself. Of course, because this is such a radical orientation, few assume it. Instead, many simply settle on a tweaked version of their previous belief system and miss out on the true benefit of deconstruction: liberation!
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Why I Support Trans People and Why You Should Too
Not because it’s trendy.Not because it’s easy.But because it’s right! 1. People deserve to live as themselves There’s a quiet kind of violence in being told your reality isn’t real. In fact, the violence against trans people isn't always quiet. Trans people push back against that every day, often at great cost, just to live honestly. Supporting them isn’t complicated. It’s about respecting someone’s truth, even if it challenges your assumptions. I Just Want to Live Trans Sheep is available for digital download. 2. Harm has too often been justified as “truth.” Too many have experienced rejection, exclusion, or even spiritual abuse in the name of certainty. But when this kind of so-called “truth” leaves people isolated, afraid, or erased, it’s worth asking what kind of truth that really is. Support means choosing compassion over control, people over rigid systems, love over dogma. I Love You As You Are is available for digital download. 3. Dignity shouldn’t be up for debate Trans people aren’t issues to argue about. They’re human beings to know, love, and stand with. Basic things like safety, healthcare, and belonging shouldn’t depend on whether others understand or agree. Supporting trans people means refusing to make their humanity or our care for them conditional. This original drawing, "Do Not Fear Trans," is available for purchase. I support trans people because I believe authenticity is sacred. Because I’ve seen what exclusion does. Because love, if it’s real, doesn’t draw lines around who gets to belong. And because everyone deserves the freedom to be fully, visibly, unapologetically alive.P.S. If you liked this blog and cartoons, I've put together 3 wholesome and affirming trans cartoons too.
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The Best Way to Celebrate Pride Is to Be Yourself
Some of my greatest inspiration to be true to myself, to be and embrace my most authentic self, come from LGBTQIA+ people. With incredible and admirable courage, they desire and endeavour to be who they are, and that motivates me to do the same. Pride doesn’t start at a parade. It starts in the quiet moment you decide not to hide. Pride is refusing to wear the mask society requires you to wear in order to fit in. What Do You Want? is available for digital download. Authenticity is an act of courage For many, being yourself hasn’t been safe. It comes with risk: rejection, misunderstanding, even loss. So choosing honesty, even in small ways, is no small thing. Pride lives in those decisions. Pride lives in every step away from pretending and toward truth. It's about embracing the beauty of authenticity in others and ourselves. There’s no one right way to belongNot everyone celebrates loudly. Not everyone waves a flag. Some people are still figuring things out. Some are healing. Some are just surviving. Pride makes room for all of it. There’s no checklist for being “out enough” or “proud enough.” Being yourself, wherever you are, is enough. Your existence challenges the lieThe lie says you should be different to be loved. The lie demands that you be a certain way in order to fit into the prescribed box of so-called "love" that is being offered. The lie says that you have to edit yourself to belong. But every time you show up as you are, you disrupt that narrative. You remind others, sometimes quietly, sometimes powerfully, that authenticity is not something to apologize for. You can buy a print of You Don't Gotta Do Nuthin! You don’t have to perform Pride.You don’t have to prove anything. The best way to celebrate Pride is to be yourself. Not someday. Not when it’s easier. But in whatever way you can, right now, because celebrating pride is so important!
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Why Are Pride Celebrations Important?
The first time I attended a Pride Parade was several years ago in Dallas, Texas. I went with a church I was a guest speaker at that weekend. I had no idea what to expect. But what I experienced was an incredible sense of courage, joy, and community. I realized then that Pride isn’t just a party. It’s a protest. It’s a demonstration of unity in diversity. It’s a bold statement of courage to be our authentic selves. It was a joyful glimpse into what’s possible in this world. That's the reason I've put together a few pride cartoons to demonstrate just that! It's Always Pride Cartoon is available for digital download. Pride celebrations are important because: 1. Silence was never neutral For generations, LGBTQ+ people were told to hide… by culture, by family, and by the church. Pride is what happens when people refuse to disappear. It’s visibility as resistance. It says: we were always here, and we’re not going anywhere. Deal with it! Pride's a Sin is available for digital download. 2. Shame loses its power in the light Many of us were taught that who we are is wrong. Not just what we believed or how we lived… but who we are! I’m straight, but even I knew that I had to hide my truest self. Pride flips that script. For everyone! It’s not about arrogance. It’s about reclaiming dignity. What was once whispered in fear is now celebrated in the open. Shame depends on secrecy. Pride breaks that cycle. When you support NakedPastor, you get colouring pages like this one. 3. Belonging should never be conditional Too often, love has come with fine print: you’re welcome, but only if you change. Pride rejects that deal. It imagines a world where people don’t have to earn their right to exist, love, or belong. It believes that at a deep and fundamental we are all a part of the Oneness. A world where authenticity isn’t punished, but honoured. Love over dogma. Love over verses. Love is greater than all of that because it transcends it and subsumes everything in this world. Love Over Verses is available as a print, mug, sticker, and t-shirt. Pride matters because people matter! Until everyone is safe, seen, and celebrated, Pride will still be necessary. I've listed 10 inspiring quotes to celebrate pride, if you need some extra encouragement! And if you're looking for Pride Month gifts to show your support for an LGBTQ+ loved one, I have some ideas too!
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How To Heal Your Inner Child Without Feeling Overwhelmed
Healing your inner child is one of the most incredible journeys you can take. It might sound trivial to some, but those who truly feel what I’m saying will know exactly what I mean. It’s hard living your adult life when the little version of yourself that still lives inside you is hurt or bruised. Those wounds can last a lifetime if we don’t try to make amends with who we were as children. I began this journey many years ago and realized just how many people feel the same. Artwork: Inner Child I didn’t intend to write about inner child healing but after commissioning this inner child artwork for Rebecca, so many people resonated with it. So, I created a gender-neutral version as a print. It is a reminder that the younger you did what they could. They survived. These are three things that have helped me in healing my inner child, and I’m sharing them in the hope that they might help you too. 1. Allow Yourself To Feel If your inner child is hurting, sometimes you don’t quite understand the small ache you carry around in your chest every day. It’s not until we notice it, feel it, and accept it that we can begin to heal. That’s why it’s important to be vulnerable. What it means to “feel” will look different for all of us. Maybe it’s crying on your bed. Maybe it’s journaling. Maybe it’s getting angry and sitting with that emotion. A moment or moments of solitude can help your emotional health; it is important. Often we are afraid of anger, so we hide from it. But let me be clear. I don’t mean hateful anger, violent anger, or cruelty. I mean allowing yourself to sit with the feeling. What I’ve learned about anger is that extreme hurt often hides underneath it. Anger can feel easier to deal with than pain, but anger itself rarely brings healing. When we allow ourselves to feel the hurt beneath it, that’s when real release happens and the inner child work begins. 2. Mourn The Childhood You Never Had I think one of the hardest things is actually allowing yourself to feel sad and truly mourn. It’s easy to resent, feel sorry for yourself, or get angry, but truly mourning the part of your childhood you never got takes real courage. There’s power in vulnerability for healing. Maybe you didn’t have the loving parent or parents you deserved. Maybe you didn’t experience a joyful, warm Christmas, or even have a truly happy birthday. These feelings are valid. The younger version of you deserved all of those things. So mourn, my friend. Cry and feel the sadness. And then, ultimately, let it go. Mourning is an important part of the process because it allows you to recognize what you missed out on. But what matters most is that, through mourning, you eventually say goodbye to those angry, hurtful feelings. It’s about reparenting your inner child. Mourning isn’t linear, and it’s far from easy. But when you give yourself permission to grieve and choose to let the hurt go, it will gradually begin to fade. 3. Speak Lovingly To Your Inner Child When you’ve been told you aren’t good enough for as long as you can remember, those critical and self-deprecating voices can become deeply ingrained. Even if you’ve learned to quiet them, the bruises may still remain. One practice that helped me was speaking lovingly to my inner child.. In a gentle voice, I imagined telling little David that I shared his pains, the abuse, the struggles, the confusion, and the hardships. All the difficult things he was going to experience. But I also comforted him. I told him that although those experiences would shape his life, they would not destroy him. He would survive them. And one day he would even look back with gratitude for the strength they helped him discover. When I finished, my heart felt bigger. I loved myself more. And because of that, I found I could love others more too. Be Gentle With Yourself Healing your inner child is by no means an easy process. Some days will feel harder than others. Some days your younger self will need more love and patience. But look at the person you are today. Look at how you’ve grown and how you continue to grow. I know I can’t fix everything your inner child went through, but I hope this helps guide you toward showing your younger self more grace and care. You may not have received the love you needed growing up. But you can give that love to yourself now. You are here now. You are safe. You can take it from here. You can carry them to safety.
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5 Cartoons About Smashing The Patriarchy
A few years ago, I started a deep dive into feminist literature. I started with bell hooks, and went from there. I think once you start down that road, there's no going back. That is, if you have a brain and a heart and a conscience. The church was my playground growing up, and when I became an adult I served the church in many capacities, including as pastor for about 30 years. I saw firsthand the patriarchal bias of the church, Christianity, and all religion. Even culture itself! In fact, after all my experiences, observations, and research, I've come to the conclusion that the patriarchy, particularly white male privilege, is the problematic root issue in our societies. So, I've drawn a bunch of cartoons illustrating and challenging the patriarchy. Enjoy! 1. The Weight of the Patriarchy Cartoon This one illustrates how one man's opinion can outweigh the opinions of many women. I've seen this in action. In fact, if a woman's opinion is considered a good one, a man will figure out a way to appropriate it and claim it as his own. 2. The Patriarchy Never Hurt Me Cartoon Many men don't think the patriarchy exists, and if it did, it's not a bad thing, because they've always only benefited from it and never felt it inflict any harm on them. That's called the anecdotal fallacy... the belief that something doesn't exist because you've never experienced it. 3. Down With The Patriarchy Cartoon This one is another illustration of men dismissing the concept of the patriarchy, and instead blaming the woman who is protesting it for rocking the boat and upsetting the status quo. Victim-blaming at its worst! 4. The Patriarchy Cartoon This cartoon illustrates how men benefit from the patriarchy and up til now women must serve it in order to survive. But I'm seeing that change. And that's a good thing. It won't go down without a struggle. 5. Protective Bear Cartoon For those who don’t get the reference to this cartoon, women were asked if they were alone in the woods, would they rather meet a man or a bear. The vast majority chose the bear. I wish this cartoon didn't make sense to so many people.
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6 Of The Best Anti-ICE Cartoons
I'm often challenged to stick to religion and not get political. But one verse that has always stuck with me is "true religion is caring for orphans and widows" (James 1:27). Sounds like social justice issues to me: children, the poor, and the marginalized. So, when these people are persecuted instead of cared for, shouldn't that be a time for religion to speak out? I think so. In the wake of the terror ICE is inflicting on the public, I've drawn a few cartoons to challenge it. 1. I'm Not Mad At You This cartoon was done in honour of Renée Good. These were among her last words. I immediately thought of Jesus and his unjust execution as well. 2. FAFO This was the cruel response of many to the executions of innocent civilians. FAFO is usually used for people who do stupid or bad things and pay for it... like karma. It was never meant for people who do good things and are executed for it. 3. Pepper Spray Jesus It pained me to see innocent protestors exercising their rights being punished with point-blank pepper spray to the face. It's like it's the cruelty that counts, not our rights. Jesus said... whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did to me. That's why I draw cartoons like this one. 4. No ICE In all the chaos in the world today,there shouldn’t even be an option for cruelty. No ICE! No hate! No thank you! 5. Fleeing the Country ICE’s terror is rampant. Not even he escaped it! When leaders have the power to control so much… I’ve made a whole cartoon series on Trump. 6. ICE Daily Affirmations Daily affirmations can be powerful and dangerous. Some aren’t good for you or anyone! Keep Going! I want to be among those persecuted for doing good, not punished for doing bad. We must believe small acts of kindness and little gestures of love eventually win. We must continually speak out against injustice because we believe justice will prevail in the long run. If you like my more political cartoons, I think you’d appreciate my best anti-Trump cartoons. Take a look!
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