![]() ![]() I like to topple them over.”įor Hayward, it’s a matter of freedom for women and LGBTTQ+ “to be who they are, to have equal participation in the church, like everyone else.” These issues have become “sacred cows” for some churches, he said, adding “I guess I am iconoclastic. ![]() Issues that are close to his heart include the accepting love and mercy of Jesus being more inclusive and welcoming of LGBTTQ+ in the church and encouraging women to use their full gifts in ministry - topics reflected frequently in his cartoons, art and drawings. Unlike many churches, which “tend to be exclusive theologically,” believing “only they have the truth, that this way of believing is right, that is wrong,” he wants to be part of a group of people who are “going in the other direction.” It’s a community “where people are free to question, doubt, and grow,” he said, not one where they need to do whatever a preacher, guru or leader says they have to do and believe. Faced with a need to earn income, he decided to take a leap and make The Naked Pastor his full-time occupation - writing and selling books, cartoons, art, drawings and other assorted merchandise.Īt the same time, Hayward used it to explore a new calling to create and foster an online community for those who, like him, feel disconnected from organized Christianity - people with questions, doubts, or who don’t feel they are welcome in the church. ![]() He taught at a local university for a couple of years before that job ended. “All I had ever known was a life as a pastor.” The departure was amicable, but leaving the ministry was scary. “I felt it was in the best interest for me, and for the church, for me to go.” “I knew my time was up,” he said, and he offered his resignation. It was, however, very unsettling for his church, and for the Vineyard evangelical association to which it belonged.Īfter leadership in the association received notes of concern about his blog, they said in the future he should pass everything by them for review. That realization “was a profound experience for me,” he said. He also shared about his newfound conviction that all of humanity “is deeply united, that there is only one reality although many different interpretations and explanations of it.” In the blog he talked about his doubts and questions, along with his growing conviction the church should be more welcoming of LGBTTQ+ people. “I wanted to show what really goes on in the life of a pastor.” “I wanted to be open and honest and vulnerable,” he said of how he came to choose the name for the blog. It was a way, he said, to pull back the curtain on the life of a pastor - not just the positive aspects of ministry, but also the struggles and challenges. In 2005 he started a blog he called The Naked Pastor. Courtesy of The Naked Pastor (David Hayward) Hayward, 63, lives in Quispamis, New Brunswick, just outside Saint John.įor most of his career he was a pastor, including 14 years at the Rothesay Vineyard Church in Quispamis from 1996-2010. With a title of “The Naked Pastor,” I knew I had to find out more about David Hayward and his unique cartooning ministry. This article was published (821 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Free Press 101: How we practise journalism. ![]()
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