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I spent the weekend in Denver\u2014the place of no humidity\u2014at the 2nd<\/sup> Evolving Faith conference<\/a>, and of which I hope countless others will follow. 2500 people attended and who knows how many were watching via live stream.<\/p>\n I spoke at last year\u2019s conference as well, and what has once again left a great impression on me is the raw pain that many, if not most, of the attendees live with.<\/p>\n That pain, to get right to the heart of it, was generated by their experiences in Evangelical and Fundamentalist spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n I am not suggesting that Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians<\/em> do little else but make the lives of others a living nightmare\u2014it\u2019s not so much individuals as it is the ecclesiastical systems<\/em> within which Evangelicals and Fundamentalists live out their faith.<\/p>\n These systems in particular offer the seductive promise of doctrinal certainty<\/a>, impervious to critique from outside and within. Questions that threaten these systems must remain unasked, or the repercussions are swift. Anyone who has experienced the wrath of these systems doesn\u2019t need me to elaborate. (If anyone thinks I am exaggerating or fabricating, you may be part of the problem.)<\/p>\n I spoke to a number of people who told me truly sad stories through choked back tears\u2014and others who didn\u2019t bother choking them back at all. The individual stories are diverse and not as important as what unites them\u2014a search for authenticity and a home in which to worship God in the wilderness.<\/p>\n For me, attending Evolving Faith is like going to church as it should be. The controlling nature of ecclesiastical systems was out of place, and instead pain, weariness, and anger were supported by Christian hope rather than ignored, judged, or fixed. <\/p>\n As one speaker mentioned (I forgot who, I should have taken notes), Evolving Faith exposes the lie that so-called progressive Christians (I really don\u2019t like the term but that\u2019s another blog post) are only too eager to leave Scripture and theology behind so they can run naked through the streets. That simply is not true. They are calling out the failings of systems that have too long simply equated themselves with Christianity undefiled and used Scripture as a weapon to make their case.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 2500+ pilgrims attending Evolving Faith are yearning<\/em> for God, for a spiritual life that bubbles up with hope for a renewed love of Scripture, even when Scripture also brings to mind difficult memories.\u00a0<\/p>\nAll were simply allowed to be as they are in God\u2019s presence. Imagine that.<\/h2>\n