Is there any hope for recovery after dismantling the scaffolding of your faith? Can you find a spiritual community after the painful challenges of walking away from a church culture in which you have been deeply enmeshed?
Cody and Craig had a fun and thoughtful conversation with musician, go-kart czar, and pizza delivery guy Forrest Clay, who faced all of this himself over the last decade plus.
At one time, Clay was deeply involved in worship music leadership and was even part of a touring Christian band, on the precipice of releasing albums and discussing record deals.
And then he wasn’t.
Clay discusses the cognitive dissonance of evangelical messaging, Northern Ohio politics, and his own journey of deconstruction and finding a new path forward. His current perspective gives him some unique insight to share “warning signs” with churches and ministers about the lure of power, influence, and celebrity.
He shares about his most recent EP, Recover, a four-year musical journal of sorts. The record gives voice to the pain and challenges Clay faced while deciding to walk away from the church community and culture in which he was deeply rooted. The separation was hard, and yet he found hope in a deeper and more expansive vision of the “image of God” that he paints in his music.
Other tidbits:
There is such a thing as go-kart culture
Delivering pizza can be a liberating experience
It IS possible to find a spiritual community after deconstruction
We listen to Forrest Clay’s song “Recover”