I know the metaphor doesn’t make much sense, but I wanted to get your attention and ask for your help. Recently, our new book, Out Into the Desert reached best seller status. Help us ride the wave by sharing this amazing news with people you know. Good News! The Kindle version is $2.99 for a…
I’m not an expert at mental health issues, but I do know that anger is a very normal emotion. I know that it can be excessive and know that it can lead to other things, but it is also necessary sometimes when we see injustice and abuse in the world. I often use the illustration…
Several years ago when I started questioning my beliefs, I began to feel lonely because everyone in my circle of friends thought much the same way I did. When I continued to change, it felt like I was wandering out into the Desert. Eventually, I resigned from the church that I was pastoring, and started…
People have always been drawn towards things like religion to try to explain the things we could explain. The ceremonies and communities we built around our understanding and misunderstanding helped us shape some meaning into the world. I believe we can honor those traditions and, sometimes, even memorialize them while boldly and consciously moving into…
In my best evaluation, people have always been drawn towards things like religion to try to explain the things we could explain. The ceremonies and communities we built around our understanding and misunderstanding helped us shape some meaning into the world. I believe we can honor those traditions and, sometimes, even memorialize them while boldly…
Recently I listened to a discussion about a book I’m involved with called Parenting Deconstructed. It’s a great book for people that are making changes in their spiritual life and exploring different options, commonly known as deconstruction. A couple of the authors that I love talked about making space for their children. What they meant…
I know the metaphor doesn’t make much sense, but I wanted to get your attention and ask for your help. Recently, our new book, Out Into the Desert reached best seller status. Help us ride the wave by sharing this amazing news with people you know. Good News! The Kindle version is 99 cents for…
by Karl Forehand (Adapted from my blog on Patheos) Before we even get started, let me just say this. I know that many of you might have had good experiences with your church. It’s better than a fundamentalist, evangelical church that you know of and you are more accepting, affirming, and generally more progressive. I…
That is where we are with organized religion. It is systemically broken. There’s a big problem and everybody in the room knows that it’s broken. We try to ignore it. We blame ourselves and we blame others, but every time we try to talk about it, we get defensive. This is a discussion we need…
In 20 years of ministry, I have never had anyone refuse to take communion from me. But this guy quietly told me he was not going to accept what we called The Lord’s Supper. I said, “okay” suspiciously, to which he replied, “I’ll talk to you later about it.” Sure enough, we had supper later…
We decided to release our next book as an e-book and offer it for free! Over a year ago, we stopped attending church. After our deconstruction, we immediately started attending a large church. It was a good church, but after about 2 years, we made a conscious decision to step away. There were too many…
I was a pastor for 20 years, but I never really considered myself a theologian. When something puzzled me or interested me, I would do some research and try to find understanding. Often, I was more interested in what made people work than proving a religious point of contention. But, over the past few years…
“Religion is the opiate of the masses.” Karl Marx Recently, we interviewed Cindy Wang Brandt on our podcast, The Desert Sanctuary. Don’t blame her for anything I say, but her suggestion inspired this thought process. She stressed that everyone should take a “gap year off” from church. Although I agree with this now, I couldn’t…
I’ve been making the rounds trying to promote my book, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me about the Father’s Heart. The book just came out on Audio book last week on Audible.com and Amazon. I hope you have had a chance to read the book and go on the journey with me. I have been…
My book is gaining acceptance. The people who have read it seem to be touched by it. But, let’s face it, some people would rather watch or listen than sit down and read. That’s why I’ve created a video course, comprised of ten separate videos and blackboard questions to help us understand the ideas in…
One of the musical groups I have come to love over the past few years is the Avett Brothers. The initial song that drew me to them is a song entitled No Hard Feelings. It speaks of the end of a life and a desire to resolve all outstanding issues. It makes suppositions about the afterlife, but…
Earlier this year, I began working at a hardware store. I had been off work for about 2 months and I needed to start earning some regular income. I also did not want to move across the country to continue in my previous profession. Our grandchildren are both nearby and I just built a deck…
It’s finally here! My new book, Apparent Faith, releases today!!!! Please consider securing your copy today! This is the sacred story of my journey out of fundamentalism toward a more beautiful gospel. It’s a story that involves some pain, but has a beautiful ending. Come along in the journey with me!! Check out the video:…
Check out the landing page for my book. http://www.quoir.com/apparent-faith.html Put it on your Amazon wish list. Order July 1st.
I paused a few days ago to contemplate the universe. I know, I know and I hear you saying, “that is either going to irritate your tummy or make your head hurt.” It’s certainly no small endeavor, but like all things I tend to gather in some information — whatever I can endure at the…
New Landing Page: http://www.quoir.com/apparent-faith.html Several years ago I began to question whether I could be certain any longer about some of the things I was sure of. By reflecting on being a father, I was able to re-evaluate Father God and what I believed. It resulted in a more loving, less retributive view of God…
Men cannot say, “Look, here it is,” or “there it is,” for the kingdom of God is inside you Luke 17:21 (PHILLIPS) We like to grow our own sprouts. Sprouts are know to be anti-inflamatory, anti-aging and possibly, anti-cancer. They are relatively easy to grow in a mason jar in…
I grew up in a large family where it was never quiet. Nothing was ever totally still and there was never complete darkness. There always seemed to be a light on somewhere and, when I was young, I could fall asleep anywhere except in the dark. My children, too, could never sleep in total darkness.…
“This is My Son, My Chosen One, listen to Him!” ― God “Whatever He says to you, do it.” — Mary Often our theology can be tangled up in a lot of stuff. For twenty-first century Americans, I think it is a dual problem. Most evangelical faiths tend to lean…
Rejection has been a recurring theme in my life. I have had thick glasses since I was about five years old. When you have glasses like I wear, it’s easy to get to be classified as really smart or a little crazy. I was also relatively short. I’m not sure why most societies honor the…
My boss used to tell people I was his spiritual adviser. I always reminded him that if I was his spiritual adviser, he should probably listen to me every once in a while. We had a pretty good relationship but he probably didn’t like it when I went to work somewhere else. In the area…
As I write this, my youngest child will be twenty-two tomorrow. It’s hard to believe, I remember when she was three years old and for the first time used a big girl word in a sentence. A couple of months ago, she gave birth to her son Jackson. He was born 8 weeks premature by c-section…
If you have ever been to an evangelical church, you have probably heard the following phrase belted out at some random time. Usually, it happens when the pastor is strolling up to the stage. On those occasions, you might hear this little back-and-forth exchange in churches all over the world. Pastor: “God…
In the previous blog, I started to talk about the fact that taking the Bible too literally could lead to problems in our interpretation. I explained that examining how I feel about my children helps me understand how God must feel about His children. I am certainly not God and I don’t tell Him how…
As a young adult, I dreamed about all the things I would teach my children. I vaguely remember preparing so that I could answer their questions and tell them that thing would make them look at me with wonder and amazement. I thought, “all they have to say is ‘thanks dad, you’re the smartest dad…
by Laura Forehand The 4th of July. America’s birthday. All my life I have been taught to respect this country in which I live. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that… necessarily. Yesterday, as I was perusing through my Facebook feed, I happened upon the above saying. My heart immediately sank. It sank…
by Laura Forehand I think we can all agree that if you believe in God, you also believe He is a pretty big deal. Truly. I mean all you really have to do is go to church on any given Sunday or open a bible to one of the many stories of the miraculous things…
When I was a kid, I used to burn ants with a magnifying glass. Actually, it was my glasses, but the effect was the same. Later, as a teenager, I would shoot sparrows out of the tree next to the church with my friend Jeff and his pellet gun. It was fun to me and…
Vision has always been an issue for me. For as long as I can remember, I have had strong glasses and issues with my physical sight. My parents first had me tested when I was sitting inches away from the television. I remember wearing prisms on my glasses because I had a “lazy” eye; but…
by Laura Forehand I must admit, since seeing the trailer for “A Wrinkle in Time”, I have wanted to go see it. I really don’t know why. I never read the book. Maybe it was all the special effects and beautiful lights I saw in the trailer. Maybe it had something to do with time…
I have always loved the Sermon on the Mount. At the urging of a friend, I slowed down and bit…this is what I found in the first Beatitude….
I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart. I love the fact that I can buy almost everything at a reasonable price. Their mission is, “Saving people money so they can live better.” That might be a stretch, but they certainly have most everything I need at the very good prices. I can buy things in…
Where I grew up there were lots of guns. Most of us guys even had a gun rack in the back window of our trucks — this usually carried a shotgun and some type of rabbit gun or deer rifle. I never had a lot of money for a gun and I was probably more…
My image of God has probably changed over the years. They say, our image of God is shaped by the conception we have of our father. We project his face onto the face of what we perceive about God. Often our misconception is also rooted in our understanding and interpretation of Scripture. Depending on our…
A little over 20 years ago, I began my second major journey in my life. I told my pastor I thought God wanted me to be a pastor. My very first assignment – he said, “You need to know what you believe.” He asked me to take a look at the impeccability of Christ. Basically,…
Every year, around Halloween, you can expect a certain amount of chatter around the subject of fear. There is the fear that the dark forces are using this holiday to get to our children. The warnings promote a fear that we will be duped or desensitized into believing that the Halloween is harmless. There is…
The Desert Sanctuary 