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2 days ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Is God a Good Father?
“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”
– Francis Bacon
The Scriptures (particularly those in the New Testament) were written by people who often portrayed God as a parent using the term Father. If God is Father and if He is love, then His love for His children must at least be better than the love I have for my children.
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6 days ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Finding Regulating and Somatic Healing
“The body always leads us home . . .
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1 week ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Learn to be Who You Are (Authenticity)
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
–Oscar Wilde
If you are walking away from religion or a high-control family, you will experience PTSD because, for most of your life, someone has told you who you should be, what you should do, or how you should believe.
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1 week ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Get Into Your Body
“Your real self may be hiding somewhere, look for it within,
when you find yourself,
you can freely be what you want to be.”
– Michael Bassey Johnson
Many religions suggest that our bodies are inherently flawed, leading to suspicion of their signals. This perspective is both misguided and harmful.
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2 weeks ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Get Some New Friends
“Old friends pass away, new friends appear.
It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives.
The important thing is to make it meaningful:
a meaningful friend – or a meaningful day.”
– Dalai Lama
I vaguely remember my grade school friends. In second grade, my two friends were a freckle-faced, short person like me and an African American.
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2 weeks ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Learn to be Where You Are (Presence)
“The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future.”
– Eckhart Tolle
Ms. Beaty was one of my favorite teachers.
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3 weeks ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Excerpt from the book Campfires in the Desert: A Deconstruction Travel GuideCopyright © 2025 by Karl Forehand
Get Away from Your Trauma
“Trauma is a fact of life.
It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.”
– Peter A. Levine
When I first stepped away from the pulpit and my role as a pastor, my immediate reaction was to seek solace in a larger church. I soon began searching for ways to reconnect with ministry experiences.
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1 month ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
Are you serious about deconstruction and asking bigger questions?
If that’s the case, this book was created for you. As a former pastor, I made the mistake of deconstructing a bit and then trying to start something new, as I was trained to do. The problem with that approach is that I wasn’t ready to begin something new.
I hadn’t delved deeply enough or asked enough questions.
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2 months ago | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand
After spending several years in the deconstruction world, I benefited from the wisdom of those who traversed it and eventually realized what I shouldn’t do. As in many instances before, pastors and ministry workers demonstrated the lesson of what NOT to do. I am part of this indictment because I was also a former pastor. Perhaps I will share the mistakes I made that led me to write this book and provide insights on the proper way to proceed.
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Mar 25, 2025 | 
patheos.com | Karl J. Forehand |Progressive Christian
A Course Correction for Deconstructing Evangelicals“You are not lazy or unmotivated or stuck. After years of living your life in survival mode, you feel exhausted. There’s a difference.” – Nakia HomerAfter leaving religion, I quickly realized that I had unresolved traumas I didn’t know how to face. For 20 years, we operated at full throttle, striving to do “God’s work” as if Jesus were returning tomorrow. We acknowledged our issues while also recognizing the efforts we needed to make.
