David Emch grew up homeschooled in conservative evangelical communities, went to Liberty University and was well on his way to being a youth pastor for a non-denominational Christian church. Seeing The Village (2004), the story of an insular community that uses fear to control its young people, led to some cracks in his worldview and accompanied many changes in his life.
David currently works in Thailand providing counseling services to the children of Christian missionaries helping them to navigate growing up in a situation many of them didn’t ask for. If you’d like to support David’s work click here: https://www.paraclete.net/emch
I briefly compared the titular Village to Rod Dreher’s dream of a “Benedict Option” where [socially conservative] Christians withdraw from broader society in an America where things like same-sex marriage are legal. For anyone looking for more context on Dreher’s Option (and nothing on The Village) I recommend The Magnificast Ep. 2: They’re In the Basement, Officer.
https://soundcloud.com/themagnificast/ep-2-theyre-in-the-basement-officer
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