Deconstruction

When I was in my third year at Western Baptist College, now Corban University, I had a minor crisis of faith. I began to wonder how much of what I believed about faith, God, and the church was what I had been told I should believe and how much of what I believed was what I truly believed. I spent my high school years very involved in my church youth group. I was highly committed to God and my church. I carried my Bible with me every day in school. Everyone I knew knew I was a believer. It was in high school I decided to go into full-time ministry. I was all in. By the time I reached my third year in college, I began to wonder how much of my commitment was me falling in line and following the expectations others had for me and how much I was fully committed to. I had great professors in college who were intelligent and faithful, but I often had questions about doctrine and how we practiced our brand of Christianity. I wondered, “Does the Bible say that, or is that just someone’s opinion?” I never questioned my belief in a God who loved me, died for me, and wanted a relationship with me. Those things are obvious in the Bible. But I did have questions, so I determined that I wanted to own my faith, not someone else’s. So, I decided to become a more critical thinker regarding what others told me I should believe.

In many ways I began to deconstruct my faith. I started re-evaluating and asking questions that ultimately strengthened my faith. Instead of defending theology, doctrine, and practices that I was told I should believe, I could firmly defend theology, doctrine, and practices that I was convinced in my heart and mind were right.

In Matthew 14, Jesus deals with Peter’s doubt. Jesus has just fed 5,000 men, plus all the women and children. As soon as everyone was fed, he sent the disciples in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, dismissed the crowd, and then went to a hill alone to pray.

Matt 14:24-31 (CSB) – Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea very early in the morning. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear. Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?

How many of you, when you read those words, hear Jesus chastising Peter for his doubt?

I wonder how much of our assumption that Jesus is chastising Peter is connected to thoughts of shame and insufficiency from our own moments of struggle and doubt. And I wonder if that is why, when we see others having doubts, we often issue thoughts and words of condemnation.

But what if Jesus’ words to Peter are not words of condemnation but an invitation to a deeper trust and faith in Him?

When I read Jesus’ words to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” I hear Jesus saying you’ve seen my power; I fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. Don’t doubt me; trust me. I have you. I’m with you. I’ll give you what you need.

When I hear Jesus’ words, I hear words of encouragement, not words of condemnation.

Like a parent from the sideline when their kid misses a pass or a shot at the goal, or when they start to fall behind in the 400m or throw a bad pitch. How often do you hear a parent yell to their kid, “It’s okay, shake it off, you can do this.”

Today, more than any other time in my lifetime, people are searching for spiritual answers to many questions about their lives. Millennials and younger people are looking closer at traditional Christianity and the traditional church. They ask hard questions about faith and church, but not all who ask those questions come out the other end in a healthy place. Many are deconstructing their faith to the point that they are left with very little that looks like the faith of the Bible.

That is why it is so important that we take our cues from Jesus as he dealt with the questions, doubts, brokenness of the people around him, even his own disciples.

Deconstruction

Deconstruction, sometimes called sometimes called evangelical deconstruction or faith deconstruction, carries a lot of meanings or implications depending on who is using the term.

Deconstruction can be a complete demolition of Christian belief, a critical re-appraisal of your faith and traditions, or simply an honest acknowledgment of your doubt and questions.

That is why we include this topic in our series Doubting God – Dealing with Doubts and Questions. We all have had some doubts about God at one time or another. Doubts, questions, and struggles in our faith are not wrong and are not necessarily signs of a weak faith.

How we deal with those questions and struggles determines whether or not we emerge with a stronger or compromised faith.

The strongest faith isn’t a faith that never struggles.
The strongest faith is a faith that grows through our struggles.

So, what is Christian deconstruction? Why are so many young people deconstructing faith? And how should we, the church, respond to Christian deconstruction?

Christian deconstruction is the process by which a Christian critically reevaluates the tenets and doctrines of traditional Christianity and emerges with a different perspective on their faith.

There is a continuum of results when it comes to deconstruction. Deconstruction can lead to a simple reevaluation of one’s faith (like my experience) or a complete abandonment of Christianity.

Not everyone who deconstructs ends up walking away from their faith completely and says, I no longer believe or want anything to do with Christianity.

But many who have walked away from their faith have probably deconstructed it.

This is what makes deconstruction a potentially slippery slope. It can spiral into cynicism, self-righteous judgment, a rejection of all religious and moral principles, and ultimately, someone walking away from their faith completely.

That is why we should understand deconstruction and know how to deal with it.

Why are people deconstructing their faith?

1) Trust in large institutions is declining.

People are, more and more, losing their faith in large institutions in this era of mass information, “fake news,” out-of-touch politicians, income inequality, public health crises, and ridiculous political theater.

This includes the church. People are increasingly seeing the church as “untrustworthy”.

According to Gallup’s annual honesty and ethics survey, Americans’ trust in pastors and clergy is at an all-time low.

51% of Americans 55 years or older have favorable views of church leaders,
Only 24% of 18- to 34-year-olds said pastors and clergy have “high honesty.”

That cynicism isn’t exactly without merit. Young people are growing up during an era of increased geopolitical, economic, and social instability exacerbated by institutional failures. Amid all that disruption, the church generally has not been a beacon of light.

According to a new study sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources, 10 percent of Protestant churchgoers under 35 have previously left a church because they felt sexual misconduct was not taken seriously.

The church, in general, hasn’t done a good job of holding itself accountable.

Younger generations appear far more eager to hold institutions accountable for their misdeeds and misconduct than the institutions themselves, especially regarding sexual abuse, sexism, racism, and financial irresponsibility.

Someone once asked me what I see as the greatest threat to the American Church. I said, Celebrity Pastors.

From “PreacherNSneakers” to a litany of high-profile sex abuse scandals and toxic leadership exposés, it’s no wonder that trust in the church is crumbling.

Of course, “the church” isn’t a singular institution but a multitude of worldwide denominations, movements, and traditions centered around Jesus’s life and teachings.

Even if it feels unfair to judge the global church by a handful of people’s actions, perception matters. And since the church claims to hold itself to a higher moral standard, when there are failures and distrust, they will always have an outward ripple effect.

2) High-Capacity Christians Are Simply Burning Out

Two sociologists, Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope, started researching why people “give up” on the church in 2015. While interviewing people for their project, they noticed some patterns: Many people who’d left the church were once considered some of the strongest and most active members.

Packwood and Hope wrote a book titled Church Refugees. In their book, they write about people who have deconstructed and left the church:

“They display an extreme level of dedication and devotion to God and religion, and they earnestly believe that the institutional church can be fixed and reclaimed. They believe it’s worth fighting for right up to the point where they don’t.”

They also noticed that many who had left the church were people who sought out volunteer opportunities and leadership positions and spent years investing in the life of the church. They were the “doers” of the congregation. They were high-capacity people.

There’s a reason so many deconstructing Christians were once some of the most active members of their churches.

For some, deconstruction is a result of spiritual exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed.

One reason so many of the young people who are deconstructing were once some of the most active members of their churches: burnout.

And it’s not just young people who are burning out. A study from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research showed that 53% of pastors considered leaving the ministry as of the Fall of 2023. While burning out of ministry isn’t necessarily the same as deconstructing one’s faith, the link between those two things shouldn’t be ignored. Often, when burnout happens, deconstruction will follow.

3) The Prioritization of Conformity Over Unity

For many young people, curiosity, and mystery are important parts of their faith journey. However, many churches and denominations have a narrow path of discipleship. They’ve narrowed discipleship to a rigid set of doctrinal stances that become a source of tribal identity and pride.

Here’s what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that sound doctrine is not important. I hope I’ve made that clear. That is why we did the Fundamental List series several months ago. Sound doctrine and understanding what the Bible says about key areas of belief are critically important.

But sometimes, without even realizing it, we become convinced that our tradition of Christianity is the one true Christian alternative to nonbelief; there are no other valid alternatives.

In other words, you can’t be a real believer if you don’t believe exactly like we believe and do like we do.

What a tragedy! When it comes to spiritual matters, questions and doubts will arise. Someone asking questions may find some of the answers they are looking for in a tradition that is a little different from yours.

But if a church or denomination thinks it is the only true Christian tradition, then questioning and skeptical Christians usually have two options: They can stay quiet because they are afraid of being labeled “divisive,” or they can leave and find community somewhere other than the church.

More than any other time in church history, young people are having complex conversations about the Bible, theology, and the Christian life. When those conversations result in doubts or questions, the church community shouldn’t shame those who have them. On the contrary, healthy communities create space for difficult conversations.

If everyone in a church is expected to look, talk, think, and believe exactly like everyone else, that isn’t a welcoming church. Instead, it’s a church culture that sacrifices unity for conformity.

4) Political Divisiveness within the Church

I don’t think it is a coincidence that deconstruction became more “mainstream” during one of modern history’s most politically tumultuous eras.

“People of my generation aren’t leaving the Church because their devious atheist professors got to them but because they saw a church more interested in defending political power than in loving their neighbors.”
-Amy Peterson – Where Goodness Still Grows

Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be involved in politics or that the church shouldn’t influence public policy. But when we sacrifice relationships with people we disagree with politically just so we can be right, that is a problem.

The mission of the church is to love God and to love people. I understand that sometimes the loving thing to do is to tell the truth, but if telling the truth does not look like loving people the way Jesus loved people, then we need to re-evaluate our strategy.

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How Should We Respond to Deconstruction?

The biggest argument against deconstruction is that there is no limit to how far you can go. It is easy to emerge from the other side of deconstruction as a lonely and bitter person with no hope.

Deconstruction without reconstruction is a tragedy. If your path isn’t making you a more generous, compassionate, hopeful, and merciful person, in other words, more like Jesus, then the destination isn’t worth the journey.

There are things within Christian culture that need to be challenged and re-evaluated, but a Christ-honoring deconstruction focuses on truth and beauty, not cynicism and arrogance.

1) Hold on to what is true; let go of what is not.

This winter we had mice take over our garage. One of the ways I considered dealing with the problem is simply burning down the house. It’s the quickest and easiest way to deal with the problem. Instead of opting for that solution, we decided to get rid of the mice and keep the rest of the house. That seemed to me the better solution. We are getting rid of what doesn’t belong and we are keeping everything else.

When deconstructing, don’t burn down the whole house. Keep what is true; let go of what is not.

Matt 5:43-44 (CSB) – You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Five times in Matt 5, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said … But …
Jesus is saying what you thought was true isn’t true. Jesus was saying, let me help you re-evaluate what you believe.

We see Jesus doing this over and over.

In Matt 16, Jesus tells His disciples, “I have to go to Jerusalem, I must suffer and be killed. But I’ll be raised to life the third day.” Peter takes Jesus aside and says, no, never! Jesus responds to Peter and says, “you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Jesus begins deconstructing Peter’s wrong beliefs about why Jesus had come. Peter thought Jesus would be the Conquering King, but He was actually the Suffering Servant. Peter thought they would achieve victory through conquest, but it was actually going to happen through sacrifice.

Hold on to what is true; let go of what is not.

2) Focus on Jesus and the foundation of scripture.

For many who deconstruct, if they leave the foundation of scripture, there is little to keep them from burning down the whole house, and there is little hope for reconstruction.

Matt 7:24-27 (CSB) – “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

The foundation is the words of Jesus.

Look at Jesus, His life, and His character as recorded in scripture, and then evaluate what you believe from that foundation.

2 Tim 3:16-17 (CSB) – All Scripture is inspired by God, and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

3) Pay attention to your heart.

Church burnout is a real thing. Again, we need to take our cues from Jesus. When we look at His earthly life, we see Him taking time to be alone to pray and rest and recharge. This is just a word of caution to all who give so much to this ministry: Don’t sacrifice your mental and physical health for a church program.

Today’s culture has as all running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Most of us don’t do a good job of creating margin in our lives. Our tendency is to overcommit and underrest.

I understand the irony of my telling you this. A couple weeks ago Pastor Rich talked about serving in the church and now I’m telling you to not over commit. I guess the message I hope you will hear is this: we need balance. If that balance doesn’t include rest, then it is definitely not balance.

And finally, to the church at large, I would remind us …

4) God has called us to love, not be right.

More than any other place on the planet, the church should be a safe place to ask hard questions. It should be a place where the truth is taught and is uncompromising, but also a place that is welcoming to people who are struggling to know what the truth is or people who are re-evaluating what they had thought was the truth.

The church should be a place where we stand firm on the essentials of our faith but leave room for conversation about the non-essentials and even agree to disagree occasionally.

Jesus put it this way to his disciples:
Jn 13:34-35 (CSB) – “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”