My Tortured Conscience: A Story of Triumph Over Religious Trauma
I'll never forget that day in the library...
I was scanning the theology book section when a title caught my eye.
Actually, thats not entirely true. It didn't merely catch my eye.
It caught my entire being.
I felt a jolt of energy flow through my whole body when I read that title because it perfectly captured everything I had been secretly battling for the last 3 years.
I felt seen for the first time. I felt understood. I grabbed the book and finished it within a few days.
The title of the book was, "My Tortured Conscience"...
A perfect description of me at that very moment.
There I was, studying ministry, working to become a pastor, and struggling to survive each day; burdened, sometimes to the edge of a panic attack, by the heavy weights of bad theology and bad religion
Sinless perfection, Last Generation Theology, apocalyptic obsession... this is the stuff that nearly killed me and I didn't even know it.
Fast forward nearly 15 years, and I am so grateful for the healing work of Jesus. It's not finished of course, he's got more wounds to tend to. But I am super stoked that I can now use my story to inspire others in their healing journey.
And just last month, while Candice was working hard on her Masters of Psychotherapy assignment, I had a chance to sit down with the Adventist Peace Fellowship to share my story, talk about Religious Trauma and explore the journey of healing.
That interview has just been released.