This weekend is your last chance to get in on the Born Again Church Tour 2008. Come join us in Denver and you will get the chance to meet an amazing missional pastor, artist and provocateur with a lovely smile - Kathy Escobar.

Elizabeth: What inspires you to participate in the Born Again Church Tour 2008?

[kathy escobar] jim roped me into it honestly, though, i am insanely passionate about the church because i believe the body of Christ is the fullest expression here on earth of Jesus’ heart and mission.  we are all quite aware that “the church” is in a state of huge transition. our reputation isn’t the greatest these days.  the world doesn’t trust us.  our neighbors don’t trust us.  heck, i don’t trust us.  and that makes me sad. and more than a little mad, too, because we, the church, were meant for something more than serving ourselves & shining the light in our own eyes & continually creating an “us-them” mentality that damages the spirit of Jesus’ love in a hurting world.   i am glad to be part of the born again church tour because i believe the church can and should and hopefully will continue to be born again, again and again so that we can continually transform more into Christ’s likeness. i am thankful for jim and off the map for creating conversations for people longing to live out more fully what it means to be a follower of Jesus in this changing world.

Elizabeth: Why do you care what outsiders think about Christianity, Christians, The Church?

[kathy escobar] what people see and think about us matters.  we can’t please everyone, i understand that, but whether we like it or not, we are being perceived by many as judgmental, hypocritical & unsafe.  we might say to ourselves “hey, we’re not like that, they’re wrong.” but i believe that is our pride and self-centeredness coming out; we must adopt a spirit of humility that says “hmm, i wonder why they think that about us? what could we be doing that perpetuates that misrepresentation?”  Jesus always cared about the outsider. that is who he went to; over and over again in the gospels we see Jesus connecting & ministering & caring about the outsider, the leper, the prostitute, the outcast, the untouchables.  he kept criticizing the religious system and leaders, calling them hypocrites and self-promoters.  i care about the outsiders because Jesus did.  i also believe that the one place that should be the most accepting, loving, caring, kind has become the least accepting, loving, caring, kind in the eyes of the outsider.  something has clearly gone awry.

Elizabeth: Tell me briefly about one significant relationship you have with someone who does not self-identify as a Christian?

[kathy escobar] i have a dear friend who definitely would say “nah, the christian thing, not for me.” we’ve been friends for years and she loves me and i love her.  she of course clearly knows where i am coming from & i understand where she’s coming from. it’s not like this hot topic we put on the table all the time. we are just long-haul friends who love and care about each other. she sends some money now and then to the refuge because she cares about the poor & marginalized and likes that we do, too.

Elizabeth: In what ways do you think people who are not Christ-followers care about the work you are doing?

[kathy escobar] interesting for me is that i initially received much more vocal & tangible support for being a woman pastor from my non-christian friends than from those “inside” the church.  they have been taking note, actually, because for a lot of my non-christian friends one of the things they hate about the church is the lack of equality.  it just doesn’t make sense to them.  because the work that we do is deeply entrenched in loving those on the margins, my non-christian friends again are huge supporters. there’s something very compelling to them about seeing Christ-in-action-not-just-words.

Elizabeth: Dan Kimball in They Like Jesus but Not the Church writes about life in the christian bubble, what are your thoughts on this concept and can you tell me about any experiences you have had with such a phenomena?

[kathy escobar] oh used to live in the bubble so i know exactly what it’s like in there!  christian music, christian magazines, christian movies, christian friends, christian groups.  pretty much everything we did had to have “christian” in it.   somehow it made us feel more comfortable.  because we were in the navy, there is quite a diversity there and we did know people who weren’t christians and spent time with them. we are all still friends, but the truth is that we looked at them, then, as “separate” from us, definitely not in the club.  that is so sad.  there’s a big and wonderful world outside of the christian bubble & my faith has grown in so many ways once we got over our fear.

Elizabeth: Please share some of your thoughts on diversity and tolerance in relation to Christianity, Christians, The Church?

[kathy escobar] diversity & tolerance are not our strong suits, in my opinion.  sure, there are some wonderful pockets where this is happening, but on the whole like-minded people stick with like-minded people, like-skinned people stick with like-skinned people, etc.  these walls keep everyone insulated from each other.  i believe Jesus was about knocking down these walls.  loving our neighbor doesn’t mean “love our neighbor who looks and thinks and acts and is exactly like us” it means loving our neighbor for who he or she is, period.  we have so much to learn from those of us who think and live differently from us.

Elizabeth: Gregory Boyd in The Myth of a Christian Nation thinks the quest for a Christian nation undermines the kingdom of God, what are your thoughts on this?

[kathy escobar] i agree.  this idea that we are better, that God blesses us specifically implies that somehow he’s not blessing others.  it is a really demeaning thought to the rest of the world.  God’s people are God’s people and they don’t all live in the USA.  the kingdom of God crosses everything that we humans put up as separators.

Elizabeth: Describe some of your hopes and dreams for the local expression of the body of Christ that you are connected with as well as the body of Christ in America and the world?

[kathy escobar] i am a dreamer.  i do believe something is rumbling in the hearts and minds and hands and feet of so many Christians right now to get out of their seats, out of their houses, and begin to more tangibly love people. i think it’s time to take away our preconceived notions of what makes something “church” so that people will recognize that church is more than just something with buildings & songs & specific times of the week.  it is when people are in relationship together as a community, loving, serving, connecting, being, stretching, growing, learning.  my hope is that in this next season Christians are more uncomfortable than ever, in a good way, tasting and seeing what can happen when we give up comfort and ease for a life of love and care and action.  i also hope that as part of this discomfort we get more honest with our prejudices & traditions and continually reckon with issues of equality, diversity, and power in our life, and in our communities.

Elizabeth: Is there anything else you’d like to say about The Born Again Church Tour 2008?

[kathy escobar] come!  hang out with some interesting people, make some new friends, participate in the conversation.  we need each other’s perspectives, experiences, and input to keep learning together.

Get your tickets today to The Born Again Church Tour 2008