About

Faith Shift: Healing and Hope for Spiritual Refugees, Church Burnouts, and Freedom Seekers with Kathy Escobar.

This blog is centered on the messy and beautiful work of a shifting faith and the realities that come with it; the loss of beliefs, systems, relationships, and often our identity is brutal. One of the hardest parts is the lack of safe spaces to talk about it with other people who understand and practical ways to keep moving forward toward greater freedom and hope. Faith Shift is a space to find healing, gather hope, and remember that you’re not crazy and you’re not alone.

Kathy Escobar pastors at The Refuge, a Christian community and mission center in North Denver and is the author of Faith Shift: Finding Your Way Forward When Everything You Believe is Coming Apart and several other books. A trained spiritual director, speaker, writer, and advocate, her passion is for those on the margins of life and faith and creating brave, safe spaces for healing and transformation in community. More at www.kathyescobar.com.

Here’s a good gauge to know if you’re in the right place.

Do any of these describe you?

• I haven’t picked up my Bible in a long time and don’t desire to.
• When I do try to read the Bible, my feelings range from ambivalence to anger.
• I have a strong negative reaction to words and phrases that used to bring me comfort and peace (like certain spiritual phrases, Bible passages, worship songs, etc.)
• I have experienced a significant shift in my theology or faith perspective and find myself feeling disoriented and unsure.
• I find myself swearing more than I have ever sworn in my life.
• I feel sad, angry, afraid, lost, and disoriented after a painful church experience.
• I have lost friends and significant relationships because of my shifting faith.
• I secretly worry that God is angry and disappointed with me.
• I feel angry, betrayed, or abandoned by God.
• I’m afraid I’m on the spiritual slippery slope and have no idea if I’ll survive the landing.
• Any passion I once had for my spiritual life now feels dead.
• I sometimes wonder if God exists at all.
• I have lost respect for my pastors and leaders and no longer trust their leadership or authority.
• I feel bored and tired every time I go to church and find myself only going through the motions.
• I stopped going to church all together because I couldn’t take it anymore.
• I still love Jesus but I’m not quite sure about Christianity.
• I feel scared that I share some of these doubts and concerns out loud, I will be judged, scripturized, or ostracized.
• I feel stifled, limited, and unvalued in my gifts and passions.
• I worry that if I disconnect from church my kids will miss out on developing their faith so I keep going for them.
• I keep going to church because I’m scared to leave.
• Since leaving church, I have felt so much better.

If some of these resonate, read on.