this is the second part of a 3-part-conversation i had with my friend phyllis mathis, who is a therapist-life-coach-church-refugee. if you haven’t watched the first video, check it out here. i really appreciated the comments & especially loved this quote about the real church attributed to tullian tchividjian (thanks sam & doug): “if we’re the church then we’ll attract the same kinds of people that Jesus attracted.” most people i know didn’t leave church because it was attracting the desperate, marginalized, oppressed, sick, lonely, and outcast. most people i know left because it wasn’t.
when thinking about church refugees, i thought it was interesting that the definition of a refugee is: “one who flees in search of refuge, as in times of war, political oppression, or religious persecution.” church refugees are somehow displaced out of the system for all kinds of reasons–disillusionment with God, hurt by leadership/system, just-can’t-do-the-grind-anymore-and-long-for-something-different and a whole slew of other things. one of the problems, though, is there aren’t that many refugee camps–safe places–for church refugees. this video fleshes out a little bit more about “life outside the bubble” and the importance of respecting the wide range of emotions and fallout of making these shifts.
i’d love to hear some of your thoughts.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/13415992]
ps: coming up in a few days–church refugees, part 3: spiritual practices