by David Tensen | 11 Jun, 2021 | All, Inner Healing
by David Tensen | 10 Jun, 2021 | All
My heart has been heavy the last 24 hours after hearing the news of Steve Austin passing away. Like so many around the world would say, we never met in person, but his character and kindness made me feel like we lived nearby. Steve was many things including a...
by David Tensen | 25 May, 2021 | All, Poetry
25 years ago I was born again into a tradition where speaking in other tongues was taught in a hyper-personal context. Reading Acts Chapter 2 again this year over Pentecost, I came to see a different picture – one that meets me in my current season and stage of...
by David Tensen | 24 May, 2021 | All, Audio
I chat with poet David Tensen about his inspirations, broken times, when trite faith answers don’t add up and wounded heroes. We speak about recovery from burnout, the need to be a rescuer and how his faith grew through deconstructing and reconstructing,...
by David Tensen | 18 May, 2021 | All, Poetry
by David Tensen | 14 May, 2021 | All, Audio
I loved spending time with @jasonclarkis and @pastorderekt on their Rethinking God with Tacos Podcast last week. LISTEN HERE Extract from their webpage:Trauma, pain, empathy like Jesus, and healing for the oppressed, misunderstood, lost, or broken; in this podcast...
by David Tensen | 19 Apr, 2021 | All, Poetry
Do you have an upcoming personal occasion or commercial event* you’d like to make extra special with something unique and beautiful? Have best-selling poet David Tensen write you a poem. David will write a one page poem (250-300 words) for occasions like...
by David Tensen | 9 Apr, 2021 | All
My latest book contains a couple of poems around the topic of sexuality. I wrote them for those who messaged me with tragic stories of sexual abuse by church workers and community ostracisation due to same sex attraction. As an avid researcher, I looked through the...
by David Tensen | 23 Mar, 2021 | All, Poetry
This poetry collection is truly unique. Written over 21 days combining anonymous stories from over 60 people who wrote to David on Instagram in January 2021. Available worldwide in softcover and eBook. Release date April 2021. I want to pre-order this! David...
by David Tensen | 15 Feb, 2021 | All, Resource, Shame, Transformation
The deconstruction of a person’s faith seems to have gained popularity over the past few years. From my view, increasingly more podcasts, books, courses and articles seem to be made and released every year. Heck, I’ve mentioned it a few times....
by David Tensen | 4 Feb, 2021 | All, Church -
I thought it was normal. But it wasn’t. That afternoon, when the organiser called to thank me for speaking at a breakfast for the 20 local pastors, he confirmed that robust rebuttal and tearful confession after a guest speaks doesn’t usually happen. When the...
by David Tensen | 2 Feb, 2021 | All, Poetry
Background: 3 weeks ago I put a call out on Instagram for followers to send me any stories they would like me to put into poetry. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Within days, my inbox was filling up with heart-wrenching stories including clergy suicide attempts, messy...
by David Tensen | 29 Jan, 2021 | All, Poetry
You said I doand you didn’tintend for it to endthe way that it did. God knows. And God knows how much it takesto hold beautiful and brokenpeople together.More than you know. And more than you know stood at the altarwith hope and dreamsof...
by David Tensen | 26 Jan, 2021 | All, Poetry, poetry tiles to share
It’s a four letter wordand it’s not kindor love, or hope.The word that best describesgrowing up withan alcoholic parentis shit. And it lingers for years.Stalking you into adulthood.Smearing itself on the edgeof broken promisesmaking reality hard to...
by David Tensen | 23 Jan, 2021 | All, Poetry
I had a blast getting to know Jonathan Puddle during this interview. We spoke for a couple of hours and he cut the chat into this lovely 50min podcast. We chatted all things upbringing, inner healing, breakdown, church and, of course, poetry. Find it here or look for...
by David Tensen | 11 Jan, 2021 | All, Poetry
Last week I put out a call out on Instagram that if anyone had a story they’d like turned into poetry, I’d try write one. A good number of stories came through. Most of them were from people looking for words to wrap around loss and...
by David Tensen | 24 Dec, 2020 | All, Poetry
His face pressed against her breast. So this is what he looks like. The one the prophets spoke of. The one the angel offered. Her eyes catch Joseph’s gaze. Mary whispers, ‘He looks like us!’ ‘YHWH looks like us.’ His turned-up nose now hunting for milk. With trembling...
by David Tensen | 16 Dec, 2020 | All, Church -
“Confess your sins one to another, pray that no one discloses your concern, and you will keep your title.” James 5:16 MDCV (Modern Dysfunctional Church Version) OK, that is a bit of a stretch from the original scripture in James which encourages us to ‘confess...
by David Tensen | 11 Dec, 2020 | All, Church -
Did you know that a majority of licensed counsellors and psychologists must have regular, mandatory supervision to remain in active practice? In other words, your psych must regularly see a specially trained and experienced psych for their troubles and concerns. More...
by David Tensen | 1 Dec, 2020 | All, Poetry
It’s not every day you sail into the sunset. In fact, it may be that you’ve never sailed – in which case you could find a place at dusk facing the horizon and just as the sun’s gentle fingers brush against the evening’s curve you could close your...
