who Jesus wants to lead the church

May 10, 2013 By 20 Comments
straight white men cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

Jesus didn't say this but by the way the church behaves you'd think he did. Actually, what inspired this cartoon is a BBC article I read this morning titled Cleveland abductions: Do white victims get more attention?. The writer, Tara McKelvey, claims that nearly half of those abducted in the USA are not white, but the news coverage certainly does not reflect it. She quotes McIlwain, a researcher, who says: "Our national ideal of who is vulnerable - and who holds victim status - are those who … [Read more...]

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does your God need a bigger bowl?

April 22, 2013 By 2 Comments
between us cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

Here's another one of my older devotional cartoons. So I'm going to speak here from a devotional Christian perspective. There are all kinds of intricate theologies created to explain why we feel distant from God. As a pastor, I've observed that this is one of the most prevalent problems Christians face. If they are willing. Some say God withdraws to discipline us. Or to test us. Or to punish us. Or it's just a mystery. I want to make a series of suggestions: I claim our ideas of God … [Read more...]

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when the bible interferes with the spirit of Jesus

April 21, 2013 By 10 Comments
jesus or the bible cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

You know you're in trouble when... the bible actually interferes with the spirit of Jesus... you get annoyed when what's real interferes with your devotion... you've lost sight of what Jesus is and means... you become rudely focused on your spirituality and miss the point. … [Read more...]

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Jesus Does the Breaking Up

April 14, 2013 By 16 Comments
jesus breaks up cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

Man do I ever remember the fear that I lived in wondering if Jesus was ever going to do this to me. I was never devoted enough. Never committed enough. I was always of being lukewarm and being spewed out of his mouth. What the heck's lukewarm exactly? I was always living in fear that Jesus was going to drop me like a hot potato. Fear is an awesome motivator. Powerfully effective. That's why it is the most popular weapon in the religious arsenal. It really works! … [Read more...]

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that Jesus loved flowers is an important doctrine

April 5, 2013 By 10 Comments
jesus in carnation cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

Sometimes a little frivolity is in order. I get nasty emails every day from people who lack a sense of humor. Or, they don't have the same sense of humor as I do. Which is the same thing. Isn't it? I'm still getting hate mail over my cartoon "Rob Bell Marries David Hayward". Anyway, this idea popped into my head and fell out of my hands. You're the victims of this terrible assault on your theology. … [Read more...]

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so Jesus and the Easter Bunny walk into a bar

March 31, 2013 By 14 Comments
jesus and the easter bunny walk into a bar cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

I appreciate Derrida's notion about a gift. He says it's one thing to give a gift expecting something in return. That's the lowest form of gift. A better form of a gift is when you give a gift expecting nothing in return. An even better form of a gift is when you give a gift and the recipient doesn't even know you gave it to them. But the highest form of a gift is when the giver doesn't even know it was given. That sounds like the best definition of grace, doesn't it? It sounds kind of like, … [Read more...]

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jesus and his rainbow robe

March 28, 2013 By 17 Comments
jesus rainbow robe cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

Of course this didn't happen. But I thought it made for an interesting story. Plus there's the guys playing games while something far more important is happening. It actually reminds me of a lot of the debate going on around the sexuality and gender issues. They sometimes seem like such silly word games when human freedom and equality are at stake. … [Read more...]

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a sheep’s attempted escape

March 23, 2013 By 7 Comments
a sheep's attempted escape cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

There's really no theological commentary to add to this one. Sheep don't intentionally try to escape and hide. At least I don't think so. However, just the other day someone asked me how it felt to be lost. I politely replied that I'm not lost, but escaped. And then I thought of this cartoon and realized that even though I have escaped, I keep getting dragged back into the fold, engaging in the conversation around theology and the church. So I guess some of us are like sheep in the desert, … [Read more...]

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the church and herding cats

March 22, 2013 By 9 Comments
the church and herding cats cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

This cartoon was inspired by a friend of mine, Richard, who commented on one of my sheep cartoons this week by saying that he was more like a cat. Bingo! Right now I have a dog. I have had cats in the past. You can control a dog. You can't control a cat. You relate to a dog on your terms. You relate to a cat on theirs. When I pastored a local church, this is often what it looked and felt like. Herding cats. Then one day I realized that's okay. People are allowed to be the way they are. On … [Read more...]

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i will give you ulcers

March 15, 2013 By 11 Comments
i will give you ulcers cartoon by nakedpastor david hayward

Doesn't it make you wonder why the church and Christianity can be so troublesome? Do you wonder if it's just because that's the nature of religion? Or is it possible that Christians believe life is to be full of trouble, so if there isn't any trouble then we have to make some? But then... our symbol is the cross. Not a lotus. Not a star. Not a candle holder. Not a circle of balance. A cross! A symbol of suffering. If we aren't suffering, something's wrong! We aren't being good … [Read more...]

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