A native Delawarean, residing on the ceded lands of the Nanticoke and Lenape tribes, Joanne McAfee – Maldonado lives in Delaware with her husband, Carlos, and two adult children. She’s served in roles such as youth pastor, assistant pastor, Bible Study teacher, and healing ministry facilitator, but left traditional church in 2019 to follow a…
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…
Laura and I sat down to have a conversation about spiritual life and how deep and simple our practices are now. This a list of 10 things but not in any way a prescription. Let’s keep evolving and having these discussions. Check out our new book, Out into the Desert to help do the evaluation.…
Very much of how we navigate this life could be attributed to the culture of our homeland, the religion of our parents, and the friends we hang out with. If we were born in a different place, we might be exposed to different religious influences, and had different friends, we would most likely believe and…
Lola is a cosmetologist from Birmingham, AL who left the Church of Christ cult in 2019. After a devastating divorce, she deconstructed her faith and began exploring new paths to grow closer to spirit. She is a co-host for The Messy Spirituality Podcast. She is currently pursuing a spiritual path filled with witchery and enlightenment.…
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…
by Karl Forehand While it’s true that many millions of people are deconstructing their faith, some of them will be convinced to stop short of total deconstruction. I don’t want to judge or criticize them for this. Deconstruction is hard. But for many of us, it was necessary to continue on the journey that we…
Sherri has been in leadership positions and ministry in Independent Baptist Churches from the time she was saved at the age of 11. her and her husband planted a church after leaving the Independent Fundamental Baptist denomination due to waking up to the spiritual abuse we both suffered from the-pulpit-to-the-pew all our lives. They desired…
Topics: Brad Jersak’s new book, Deconstructing Isn’t Easy, Important things to keep. Discussion with us and Kyle Butler Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide now! Book: Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart Website: https://karlforehand.com/ Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64 Twitter: @karl4hand
Hailey Dixon is a writer, songstress and a woman with a bone to pick with the American evangelical church. Growing up queer and with a severe mental disability, Hailey often felt rejected not only by the god she grew up with, but by the church as a whole. She escaped a cult only to be…
The Desert Sanctuary 