Drawing Lines of Inclusion, Not Exclusion: David Hayward

The cartoons of David Hayward, the artist behind @NakedPastor, have been described as “graffiti on the walls of the contemporary church.” He sketches the ridiculous, the appalling, and the damaging aspects of the church as we know it--as well as Jesus erasing lines, embracing the excluded, and standing outside the church's walls.

In a new collection of his work, called Flip It Like This, Hayward brings together some of his most beloved comics as well as never-before-seen cartoons. In the book we find more of the whimsy, impertinence, and tenderness that we didn't even know we needed.

These cartoons are for those who have been battered or infuriated by the church and who long to see it change. Upending notions of who's in and who's out, Hayward's comic vision overturns false pieties and harmful dogmas in one fell swoop.

David Hayward, who draws and writes as @NakedPastor, reaches wide audiences with fanciful and hard-hitting cartoons about spiritual abuse, the church's exclusion of LGBTQ] people, feminism, and faith and doubt. With degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and McGill University in Montreal, Hayward served as a pastor for most of his career, but in 2010 he left the professional paid clergy to pursue his passion for spirituality, community, and art. His cartoons and artwork have found their way all around the world. David and his wife live near Saint John, New Brunswick.