I WILL BE NICE BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE I realized a few weeks ago that I play a different role than many people online. Some claim I still have a “pastor’s heart”. What that means is I can’t help caring for people, thinking about them for the long haul, and giving...
Steps to Making New Friends
Steps to Making New Friends As many of you know, one of the worst aspects of leaving the church is losing all or most of your friends, and the difficulty of making new ones. We may experience extreme loneliness after we leave the church, and some of us fall into the...
Ending Bad Relationships
Ending Bad Relationships Lisa and I have been talking a lot lately about relationships. I expressed to her today that it’s curious to me how she and I are in totally different places when it comes to ensuring our relationships are healthy. She ends a relationship if...
Do People Really Not Care?
I just came back from visiting my family. There is a few sad situations going on with issues like cancer, aging, and addictions. I was overwhelmed by the apparent lack of concern. As time passed I came to realize that this lack of concern is indeed “apparent”. Yes,...
All Things Are Gathered
“… to gather up all things in him…” (Ephesians 1:10) This verse has always meant a lot to me. I’ve always understood this to mean that absolutely everything is gathered up in what is true. Nothing left behind! Like wheat in the harvest, everything is gathered...
The Passing of Another Member
It’s with sadness I announce the passing of another TLS member, Sarah Courtney-Dean. Just a couple of months ago we lost Chris McGill. That was a serious blow to our community. So is the loss of Sarah. Let me quote Ruth Calder-Murphy, one of our founding members who...
How I’m Ending a Toxic Relationship
It was like a light came on. I suddenly realized I was in a toxic relationship. For years! Here’s how the light came on: I noticed my feelings. I was angry. I had just been disrespected and condescended to. I HAD JUST BEEN VIOLATED! The choice was immediate: continue...
Reactions to your Change
I had a strange conversation the other day that is like so many other conversations I’ve had since I left the ministry and the church in 2010. However, thinking back on it, being fiercely independent with an unquenchable curiosity for the truth, I’ve experienced these...
When to Push Back
WHEN TO PUSH BACK One of our members asked in our Facebook group something to the effect, “When do you finally speak up or push back?” I thought I would share with you what I do. I finally speak up: 1. When I feel I’m being seriously violated in some way… when my...
Goodbye Chris McGill
For those of you not keeping up with the news in our private Facebook group, I have an announcement you should hear. One of our founding members and facilitators, Chris McGill, passed away suddenly on Thursday. He was at work and was found in the bathroom. The autopsy...
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