nakedpastor naysayers

I’m always amazed when people naysay nakedpastor for pointing out the abuse that goes on in the church. Many people believe that I obsessively focus on the rare cases of abuse, manipulation, control and silliness, thereby magnifying it beyond its minuscule dimensions. They believe that it is rare and that nakedpastor appeals to a very small band who’ve experienced it. They grow impatient with my constant critique of religious institution and spiritual organization, as well as what they consider the incessant whining of the walking wounded who’ve had these unusual and infrequent negative experiences. They, in the deluded spirit of misery-loves-company, insist that my critique draws the critical and forms a sob-story society who can’t let things go.

In my opinion the naysayers have their head in the sand or up their ass. What I am doing on nakedpastor is drawing attention to a pandemic. What I hope to do is in the spirit of what the gospels say Jesus did. He had compassion for the thousands of people who were lost and wandering like sheep without a shepherd. Their were religious institutions and spiritual organizations available to them, but they obviously weren’t interested in subjecting themselves to their oversight. For obvious reasons.

Sure, some have left for a variety of other reasons. But so many people have left the church because of their dissatisfaction with it. It has failed. Not by negation, but by perpetration. Many people will no longer put up with nonsense or abuse or manipulation or control of a group just because they are supposed to be a member of it. There is no more “supposed to”. So, more and more, we will see people extricate themselves from a codependent or toxic relationship for the sake of their own health. This does not always mean leaving THE church, but it may mean leaving A church or at least renegotiating their relationship to it.

I want to see people set themselves free. And I want to help them do it.