Celebrating Living Authentically This Pride Month

  LIVING AUTHENTICALLY People talk a lot about living authentically (including myself). But living authentically is a lot easier for some than it is for others, especially for LGBTQ+ people living in less accepting spaces and places. Less safe space. Dangerous spaces. For some, when they hear the words “live authentically,” all they’re hearing is “prepare to be ridiculed, persecuted, and even rejected - just for being you.” (Want a "Love Over Verses" print? Click on the image and it will take you there!) No matter how great the rewards may seem, they often don’t outweigh the impending rejection. Because it's easier to protect ourselves from rejection than it is to embrace uncertainty. Living on your own terms is a difficult balancing act. Balancing the desire to live your most authentic life while you walk the tightrope of external pressures. But there’s so much beauty in being unashamedly yourself. It’s hard at first but the lessons you learn and the joy you find is priceless. I’m not saying you need to come out and embrace and express your authentic self today. I know that it’s challenging to be real in a world that wants us to fit in and please everybody. But I want you to give yourself permission to start. I’m proud of you every day and you should be too. (Want a print of Sophia "Cave". Click on the image!)   This is my drawing Sophia Cave and it is a reminder for you and me to be brave, even when it feels so hard.

Can Women Be Pastors?

Can women be pastors? Of course! Here's something else I think: If we really want something, we will figure out how to find a way to do it. Therefore, I KNOW that if men really wanted women to be pastors, they would either say: 1. Paul was wrong.2. Paul didn't mean it the way it sounds.3. Paul is dated, just like stoning for working on the Sabbath is. Or some other way. Instead, they dig their heels in and find anything that justifies, validates, and endorses their sexism and misogyny...  including Bible verses. Like I've always said... we all find a theology that suits our biases, and then that theology informs our biases, and then the biases informs our theology. That's how it always works. Period. This cartoon is titled Can Women Be Pastors. It's available as a digital download or you can purchase the original which comes with a letter of authenticity.

Jesus' Messiah Complex

If people keep telling you that you're the Messiah... what ya gonna do?

Jesus and The Politics of Love

I often get complaints when I address political issues. People want me to stick to the spiritual realm. Impossible. Because love is political. Because religion is political.  Because what is true must apply to all of life. Love is indiscriminate. Like the sun that shines on everyone, the rain that falls on all, and gravity that pulls everything. Everyone is included. All means all. But when people respond with anger and say that all doesn’t really mean all, that some must be excluded because of who they are or what they believe, I say, “See? Suddenly we’ve become political. You’ve voted on who can be a citizen of love and who can’t.” Love refuses to stay in a neat little corner of life called “spiritual.” What we believe about people always spills over into how we treat them. Every thought, when believed long enough, eventually trickles down into behavior, systems, and policy. In other words, if you believe some people are superior and others are inferior, even quietly, eventually that belief will show up in how people are treated. History proves this over and over again. The end result can be horrific, like genocide. But it never begins there. It begins with small divisions. With drawing lines between “us” and “them.” With deciding who belongs and who doesn’t. Like the proverbial gun at the beginning of a story: at some point it must be fired. Jesus understood this. He thought positively about the marginalized: women, sex workers, tax collectors, the poor, refugees, and people from other races and cultures. But this couldn’t remain a just lofty spiritual idea. So he acted. He ate with them. Drank with them. Talked with them. Sat beside them. He loved them. The message wasn’t just “I love you,” but  “I love you in the face of a society that rejects you and pushes you aside. You deserve a place at the table just as much as anyone else!” And the authorities hated that message. Because when love crosses the boundaries society has carefully built, it threatens power. It challenges privilege. It disrupts the systems that keep some people above others. Jesus’ message was, “This is how it should be!” And those in power responded, “No. We’ll keep things the way they are. And if necessary, we’ll eliminate you to make sure it stays that way.” Love IS political!  

Was Jesus a Straight White Evangelical Male?

Was Jesus a straight white evangelical male? The way Christianity has gone in the West you would think so.

Keep Christ in Christmas

Those who scream the loudest to keep Christ in Christmas also seem to scream the loudest that they don't mean exactly that.

Exploring Faith and LGBTQ+ Acceptance

This is based on the original cartoon, Jesus Eats with the Black Sheep. Someone asked if I could draw it with LGBTQ colors, so I did. 

Jesus and the Church Go for Counseling

Jesus and the Church Go for Counseling Cartoon by nakedpastor David Hayward Do they have anything in common anymore? I wonder if they'll work this out or if they'll go their separate ways.

What Do Jesus and the Church Have in Common?