Holy Runaways: Book Release Party with Matthias Roberts

Join us as we celebrate the launch of Matthias Roberts’ new book, Holy Runaways. A graduate of the M.A. in Counseling Psychology and M.A. in Theology & Culture programs, Matthias will share more about why he wrote Holy Runaways along with insights into his writing process. The interview will be followed by a reception with the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Holy Runaways. 

The event is free to attend, but seating is limited, so please RSVP for your spot.

Special Preorder Offer! Earlier this year, Matthias joined the Allender Center’s Rachael Clinton Chen to teach a 2-hour seminar called “Healing from Spiritual Abuse.” Pre-order Holy Runaways by midnight on October 3 to receive free access to the recording to the Healing from Spiritual Abuse seminar (a $49 value!). Details here.

More about the book:

Holy Runaways speaks to people who are feeling ignored, oppressed, or rejected by their religious community and church, offering a path forward built on speaking truth, deep listening, and acting with compassion.

In the past decade, church attendance among US adults has decreased by more than 25 percent. Americans report leaving religious communities because of the institutions’ hypocrisy and resistance to change or because of trauma they have experienced in those spaces. Instead of safe havens for people of faith, many churches have become sites of harm–places people feel the need to escape at all costs.

In Holy Runaways, psychotherapist Matthias Roberts reaches out to those who, like him, want to understand the religion they’ve run from and erect a new faith on firmer foundations. He concludes that the best blueprint for a new spiritual home requires reimagining ourselves, God, and our very definition of faith.

Roberts blends deeply personal stories, new interpretations of familiar Christian parables, and recent scholarship about the dynamics of trauma to offer a way forward–and a warm, helpful companion–for readers on their own journeys. He calls out people who perpetuate systems of violence and oppression and suggests ways we can all contribute to a new system built on love–and a new home we can inhabit together.