Deconstructing the Holidays Sometime during this Christmas season, I commented on a post from one of my old friends who is a pastor when he was bragging about his Christmas production. When I first knew him, his church in a different city, produced what could only be described as a Broadway production at Christmas time. It was complete with live animals and a triumphant procession through the sanctuary to a song that had little to do with Christmas. It was... Read more
The Intersection of Patriarchy and Abuse Ashley Easter is a trained victim advocate, an author, a founder of an internationally attended abuse survivor conference, CEO of Courage 365, a television producer, an ordained reverend, an international speaker, an empowerment coach, and Vice-President of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. I was lucky to create a Leaning Forward conference with all these women and their wisdom! Leaning Forward is the title of a book by Karl and Laura Forehand about moving... Read more
New Lenses – My Story – Karl Forehand The first time I remember understanding something about God was when my mom took me to a large Baptist church in the Oklahoma City area. I was beyond shy most of my life, but that day, I told my mom I wanted to walk the aisle because the preacher had convinced me that I was sinful enough that God did not want anything to do with me. My only option to avoid... Read more
As A Woman with Paula Stone Williams I was lucky to create a Leaning Forward conference with all these women and their wisdom! Leaning Forward is the title of a book by Karl and Laura Forehand about moving beyond the confines of organized religion. It is also the title of an online conference we have hosted for several years. This year, we decided to host a series of podcasts primarily to help us understand religious trauma and how to move forward.... Read more
Advocates for Healing and Change with Janyne McConnoughey I was lucky to create a Leaning Forward conference with all these women and their wisdom! Leaning Forward is the title of a book by Karl and Laura Forehand about moving beyond the confines of organized religion. It is also the title of an online conference we have hosted for several years. This year, we decided to host a series of podcasts primarily to help us understand religious trauma and how to move forward.... Read more
What I Learned from Women about Religious Trauma I was a pastor for almost 20 years, and one of my deepest regrets is that I didn’t listen to the intuition of my wife, Laura. For most of my life, I have longed to understand women, but many of the systems of the world are designed to do just the opposite, and they ignore women’s voices. This past weekend, the Desert Sanctuary hosted an online conference called Leaning Forward: What Women... Read more
Tending the Wounds of Religious Trauma I was lucky to create a conference called Leaning Forward with all these women and their wisdom! Leaning Forward is the title of a book by Karl and Laura Forehand about moving beyond the confines of organized religion. It is also the title of an online conference we have hosted for several years. This year, we decided to host a series of podcasts primarily to help us understand religious trauma and how to move forward.... Read more
The Alpha Male Grifters and What Women Want More About two years ago, I had a stroke. Since then, I have had plenty of time to do lots of self-reflection and evaluate what my future might look like. Some days, this is overwhelming because I am forced to think about everything I can and can’t do. It’s exciting to think about what I can accomplish, but sometimes, thinking of how many things aren’t an option is gut-wrenching. I have always... Read more
The 5-Why and Church Harm In the 1930s, the Japanese industrialist Sakichi Toyoda (the inventor of Toyota) developed “The Five Why System.” The method is remarkably simple: when a problem occurs, you drill down to its root cause by asking “Why?” five times. Then, when a countermeasure becomes apparent, you follow it through to prevent the issue from recurring.[1] The following chart, by Easy Retro, identifies how this process works:[2] When I experienced using this root cause determination process, the... Read more
Leaning Forward is the title of a book by Karl and Laura Forehand about moving beyond the confines of organized religion. It is also the title of an online conference we have hosted for several years. This year, we decided to host a series of podcasts primarily to help us understand religious trauma and how to move forward. We are also hosting an online conference with the understanding that amplifying women’s voices is probably the most important component. What Women Know... Read more
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