Emily Elizabeth Anderson is a Christian blogger and trauma recovery advocate for people who have experienced abuse within a Christian environment. After growing up in a fundamentalist cult for 23 years and experiencing childhood domestic violence, Emily began her journey to recovery in 2015 and eventually found Jesus to be her ultimate healer. She soon…
Daryl Carlson is a Certified Meta-Coach & NLP Master Practitioner who loves to help people free themselves from the deep indoctrination of Christianity. He knows that challenge all too well having been indoctrinated from birth, biblically trained at Moody Bible Institute, and worked for 15 years as a missionary in Alaska, Russia, and Ukraine. Daryl…
Talking with one of our best friends Jason Elam Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide Book: The Tea Shop Book: Apparent Faith Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com Email Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@karl4hand42
Amber started really evaluating her faith in her early 20s, and it’s continuing to grow through all difficulties from leaving a cult. After many years of deconstructing, she decided to start her social media presence to give voice to cult survivors and give a space for others to not feel alone. Fundie Freed Facebook *…
Justin is an ex-vangelical, certified hypnotist, and trauma-informed coach who is passionate about change work and psycho-spiritual healing. After realizing that the church and religion didn’t have the answers to his deep pain and sense of inadequacy, Justin began to search outside of the church and deconstruct his deeply held core beliefs. It was in…
https://www.facebook.com/Kylelb23 Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide Book: The Tea Shop Book: Apparent Faith Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com Email Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@karl4hand42 Advertisements
Jodi and Jesse were both raised in the Pentecostal church. Jesse’s family was heavily involved in their local Church of God. Jodi’s parents were evangelists; her aunt, uncles, and grandparents were pastors in the Assembly of God denomination. They met when Jodi’s parents stopped traveling and became pastors at the AG church Jesse’s family attended.…
Joshua Lawson is a former pastor who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies. He is the author of The Face of Addiction, which tells the story of twelve individuals whose lives were forever changed in the early days of the opioid crisis in central Appalachia. His latest book, Drugs & Jesus, is the…
This begins our series of stories from people who are moving forward in the Desert Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide Book: The Tea Shop Book: Apparent Faith Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com Email Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@karl4hand42
Dr. Mark Gregory Karris is a licensed marriage and family therapist in full-time private practice in San Diego, California. He specializes in religious trauma, men’s issues, and couples therapy. He is a husband, father, and recording artist. Mark is the author of the best-selling books Divine Echoes: Reconciling Prayer with the Un-controlling Love of God and Religious…
Vanessa R Brooks is a wife, mom, grandmother, and fur-baby mom. She is a Doctoral candidate, thought-leader, humanitarian, and entrepreneur. Vanessa served in the public sector in the social services industry, and pastor a church she founded for 14 years. She is the founder of Life After Church, a spiritual community where she provides spiritual…
Phil Drysdale is a public speaker, podcaster, researcher and coach specialising in the area of Deconstruction. For over a decade he’s helped people navigate the painful journey beyond their faith tradition. He does research into the Deconstruction community through The Deconstruction Network, runs a regular podcast about Deconstruction, provides free resources to help people on…
Elizabeth Urban is a professional psychic and natural Witch. She has been intuitive all her life and has loved metaphysics and the occult since childhood. Self taught from the age of 13, she learned all things centered around the Craft, astrology, Tarot, etc. She lives in coastal North Carolina with her husband and sons. Facebook *…
(In her own words) I am a native New Yorker who is now living in the UK from Newport Beach, CA, by way of Minneapolis and the South of France. I travel often to speak and teach, but also to discover new things, people and places. I love Instagram and cocktails. I learn as much…
To most who know her, Kiersten Hathcock is a former TV marketing exec and TEDx speaker turned Shark Tank-winning, self-taught carpenter & furniture designer who built an internationally-known kids’ furniture company out of her LA garage. Behind the scenes; however, Kiersten privately struggled to survive and heal from childhood sexual abuse and narcissistic abuse all while grappling with newfound mediumship…
Steve and Amy found themselves in a high-control religion that damaged the relationship with their daughter. This is their uncut story of pain and struggle as they attempt to move forward. Steve * Amy Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide Book: The Tea…
Jim Palmer is an author, activist, speaker, spiritual director, professor, Chaplain with the American Humanist Association, and leading figure in the non-religious spirituality movement. Palmer received his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Divinity School in Chicago, where he served as a pastor at the mega-church, Willow Creek Community Church. He was later the founding…
SUSAN COTTRELL is an international speaker whose TEDx talk, for a crowd of 5,000 at TedxMileHigh in Denver, has 1.6 million online views. OutSmart magazine calls her “The Mother of All MamaBears.” The Advocate dubs her “our favorite affirming matriarch.” She is a prominent voice for the LGBTQ+ community & their faith parents; allies; and others who…
Will is a licensed clinical social worker who currently works as a therapist in the Detroit area. Will has been married to Heather for 16 years and they have 5 kids. Will has a lifelong disability called Moebius Syndrome and is passionate about advocating for those with disabilities. Will is also passionate about helping those…
Jeff is the founder and Director of Tansmuto, a nonprofit whose mission is to help people identify and overcome barriers to happiness, hope and wholeness.Jeff teaches and coaches individuals, couples, families and organizations to apply the wisdom of the Enneagram. His professional training in the Enneagram comes from The Narrative Enneagram (TNE). He hosts the…
Sister Marcia has ministered in various capacities over the years. She coordinated a Rome renewal program for eight summers, networking with English-speaking Benedictines world- wide. Currently, she is vocation director, provides spiritual direction, and is a staff member for Souljourners, the spiritual direction training program. When time permits, she enjoys making jelly for both the…
Dr. Mark M. McNear is a Licensed Clinical Social Work and maintains a private practice in New Jersey. With over thirty years of experience in clinical practice, Dr. McNear now focuses on helping those who have had trauma, abuse, and addictions in their lives, sharing the hope of healing that he has realized in his…
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…
Laci Bean is a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach who’s focus is Religious Trauma. Laci went from spending her teen years in a highly controlling religious cult to deconstructing herself all the way out of Christianity in her early 30’s. As she started her journey of deconstruction and healing, she began to share it on Tik…
Seth Showalter is a single gay man who is the proud father of a lively cat by the name of Lizzie. Seth works as a Therapist for a Certified Behavioral Health Organization in the Central Region of Missouri. Seth runs a mental health podcast solo called “Mental Health Uncovered” where he gives people the floor…
Dr. Paul Fitzgerald earned the Doctor of Ministry with research in internalized shame and trauma. For more than 25 years he and his wife, Susanna, have assisted people in wholehearted, authentic living through HeartConnexion Seminars. His professional training includes Inner Relationship Focusing and BioSpiritual Focusing. He is a member of the International Focusing Institute and…
Kicking off this month talking about church harm and mental health. Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide now! Book: Apparent Faith Website: https://karlforehand.com/ Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand
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…
Karen Shock’s love for writing began when she got her first diary as a young girl. The lock and key on it made it easy for her to tell the diary some honest, dramatic, truths about herself. Even though Karen is now a 53 year old grandma, she still loves to put pen to paper…
Got to have an unstructured conversation with The Secular Tourist. We talked about our book, Out Into the Desert, atheism and organized religion. Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide now! Book: Apparent Faith Website: https://karlforehand.com/ Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand Advertisements
Being buried alive is a reality for many. It can be the expectations of family, religion, culture, friends… many things can cause us to hide who we really are, because there is no other way to fill the niche we perceive to be ours. It can take a lifetime to unearth the beauty of our…
Jory Micah has an MA in Biblical Studies and Church History. She is passionate about helping people remember that they are children of God and worth far more than accepting systems responsible for oppression, inequities and injustices. Find her on social media @jorymicah. Facebook * Instagram * Twitter Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the DesertBook:…
Ashley Easter is a cult survivor turned survivor advocate. She is the founder of Courage 365, a non-profit for abuse survivors (especially those abused in faith contexts) and a television producer focused on highlighting stories of meaning and mission. She is also an intuition life coach specializing in helping women take back their power and…
Rachelle Mitchell is known as The Hillbilly Exvangelical on Tiktok. Her content centers around helping people to be free from spiritual abuse and the oppressive religious system. She describes herself as “taking a whip to evangelicalism” and wants to make it her mission to highlight the dangers of Christian Nationalism. She also has a Facebook…
We made it through Thanksgiving. So, we sat down to talk about stroke recovery and navigating the holidays. Grab your favorite drink and join us. Desert Sanctuary Resources Book: Out Into the Desert Book: The Hotel Book: Being Book: The Being Journey companion guide now! Book: Apparent Faith Website: https://karlforehand.com/ Email: Karl at karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand
Jason Elam is a former local church pastor, radio broadcaster, and professional wrestler. Today, Jason helps formerly incarcerated individuals find stability in life and co-hosts The Messy Spirituality Podcast. Jason and his incredible wife, Brandi, live a life they don’t need a vacation from on Florida’s Emerald Coast with their four amazing kids. Jason and…
Part 1 of this story is Episode 203 In part 2, Kathy begins to describe what it was like when she married into a cult-like experience where fear and control caused her to enter survivor mode. She needed to get small as she tried to navigate raising 6 children with the wrong kind of support.…
Brad Jersak is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, BC. He currently serves as the Dean of Theology & Culture at St. Stephen’s University (SSU.ca/graduate) in New Brunswick and teaches peace studies courses with IRPJ.org and is a regular speaker with the Open Table Conference crew. He writes regularly for the Clarion Journal and CWR magazine. Through his books and seminars,…
Aaron and I talk about taboos: religion and politics. 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@gmail.com Twitter: @karl4hand
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…
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.…
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.…
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…
Tracy King activates potential. For more than 20 years she has dedicated her career to designing transformational experiences. She is a master learning designer, professional development consultant, bestselling author, and owns an instructional design agency. Her work synthesizing how brains learn into a model for crafting transformational experiences has been featured on NBC, ABC, FOX,…
Dominique and Megan have survived spiritual abuse in a variety of institutional settings including a religious cult, a charismatic nondenominational church, and a Southern Baptist church. Together they founded Baptist Accountability, an online database that tracks abuse within Baptist churches. Megan works tirelessly to educate others about spiritual and sexual abuse within churches and religious…
Rev. Dr. Sheri Pallas is an author, ally, and activist. She hosts a weekly live stream, Fireside Creators, with experts and the experienced, tackling tough topics. Sheri was raised between two extremes of judgment and hate. Her father, a drug dealing ex-con once nominated to be a Grand Dragon in the KKK. Her mom was…
Emily Loggins is a religious deconstruction advocate and the creator of Feral Pastor’s Wife, a rapidly growing TikTok community of over 30,000 people. Emily uses humor and critical analysis to question high-demand religion, while creating a soft landing place for those who were brave enough to leave. Instagram * @feral_pastors_wife on Tik Tok
Kyle Butler, Aaron Tomlinson and Laura and I took some time to talk about walking a more authentic path. Can we succeed at deconstructing / evolving, even if it is extremely difficult some days
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…
Kathy is a mom of many. A high school teacher. Former social worker, A homeschooling mom, marriage, and church – drop out. An ex-evangelical and alcoholic in recovery, in equal parts. A connoisseur of history, theology, and useless trivia. Fueled by a deep desire to validate the voices and experiences of people who, habitually, have…
Wren Margaret Grace is a neurodivergent adoptee, mother of 6, Domestic Violence survivor, chronic illness warrior, and passionate about moving Humanity through our existential crisis with the hopes of a better future for all of us, especially the future generations. Wren was raised as Independent Fundamental Baptist, graduated from a strict Bible college, and after…
Everyone doesn’t agree with you, and you cant bully the rest of us into agreeing with you. Religion and politics are ripe with bulling, and it’s not always the guy stealing your lunch money. Order The Hotel Order Being or the The Being Journey companion guide now! Website: https://karlforehand.com/ Message us at any time if you have questions: karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64 Find…
Rebecca Trotter is a mom, writer, thinker, talker, teacher, Christian and odd duck. She writes about God’s upside down kingdom, Christian spirituality and enjoying life when it’s hard. We talked about trauma, church and thriving outside organized religion. She also talked about her mission to advocate and use her unique voice to speak loud for…
What is it about organized religion that is dangerous? Jason Elam and Karl and Laura discuss their experience with hurt in their ministry experience. Order Being or the The Being Journey companion guide now!Website: https://karlforehand.com/ https://ratethispodcast.com/thedesertsanctuary· Message us at any time if you have questions: karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com· Find me on Twitter· See our new Facebook Page: The Desert Sanctuary· Book, Apparent Faith: What…
Aaron Tomlinson joins us to talk about issues with the church and how we handle trauma. Order Being or the The Being Journey companion guide now!Website: https://karlforehand.com/ https://ratethispodcast.com/thedesertsanctuary· Message us at any time if you have questions: karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com· Find me on Twitter· See our new Facebook Page: The Desert Sanctuary· Book, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s HeartBook: The…
So grateful for Kyle being willing to talk to us once a month. His wisdom and insight is powerful at times. Once again, we go inside and talk about real healing Order Being or the The Being Journey companion guide now!Website: https://karlforehand.com/· https://ratethispodcast.com/thedesertsanctuary· Message us at any time if you have questions: karl4hand@gmail.com or Laura at lauraforehand64@gmail.com· Find…
No matter what we call our journey, it is necessary to face our woundedness. We talk with Aaron again about how that happens. This is all things shadow and inner child. The time went quickly and we probably just scratched the surface, but enjoy! Remember, we are taking off the month of December. Look for…
So, Karl why don’t you just leave religion alone and pursue what you want to pursue? Because religion is part of my roots and religion affects people. I know that people involved in organized religion don’t have evil intentions, but the system is systemically inadequate to deal with the trauma that it often creates. Please…
Glenn and I have a friendship that is a great example of how two people don’t have to agree on everything to get along. We have several things in common, one major focus we share – helping others find healing. Glenn is a coach and a lover of people. His podcast was coming to a…
Photo by Rafael Polendo October 16th – Online – Free – Reserve a Spot Aaron Tomlinson * Dr. Paul Fitzgerald * Dr. Amanda McKinney Alana Levandoski * Karl Forehand “Addressing Religious Trauma”“Transforming Negative Reactions into Thoughtful Responses”“The Planet, the Animals and our Health”“The Way of the Mystic”“A Journey Toward Presence & Authenticity” ________________________________________________________________ “The…
This is a very important conversation about being fully human. Aaron is a therapist and ex-pastor. You would probably expect us to talk about deconstruction, but we actually talked about moving forward. Aaron recognizes the need for transformation and healing and he loved my book, Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity, because it impacted…
This is a new feature on the Desert Sanctuary. Once a month Jason Elam will join us to co-host The Desert Sanctuary! Jason has a smooth announcers voice, but he also has keen insight and he and Brandi Elam are two of our best friends! Jason is also host of The Messy Spirituality podcast. This…
These are a few of the people that are very dear to us online. I haven’t known Aaron all that long, but his insight is impeccable. The rest of them I have have grown to love over time. They are all ex-pastors and have unique input into going through a deconstruction as a pastor. We…
This may be one of the most important things I have ever shared with the general population. Focusing has changed the course of my life and helped me deal with the trauma that was stored in my body. This shadow work is what helps me be present and authentic. Be where you are, be who…
As we continue on with our series on mystics, I talked with Christina Choy, a mother of 5 and life coach. Her story is about wanting to be a nun, then becoming acquainted with sufferring, and nature and finding the Divine closer than she thought. We talked about neuroplasticity and PTSD and truly learning to…
In this episode, Dr. Paul walks us through his HCS Focussing course. He explains the 5 step process that is also available in the free course. I gave him permission to talk about my most recent focussing session. I consider a significant even in my recent past. This episode will help if you have question…
(from the HeartConnexion Focussing page) There really is a path to find your sense of peace in the middle of all the circumstances that confront you. While none of us can control all the outside situations, you can learn a process to find the deep wisdom to make confident choices in the face of your reality.…
Got together with some mental health professionals and talked about the current crisis and how it is unique in it’s characteristics. How is this crisis unique? How can we cope effectively with the crisis. What is common to all of this? What did the participants hope for our near future? Join our guests: Dr. Mary…
Over the past few years, I have had the privileged of having some great guides lead me on a journey of healing. Most often, the wounds in our life were inflicted by people that genuinely cared for us and by our own stubborn strategies that didn’t work and only made it worse. In a addition…
The Desert Sanctuary 