Warning: Deconstruction Ahead (Part 2)

Last week we started a short devotional series on deconstructing, defined as “the breaking down of a philosophy, theology, or thought construct.

The opening premise was simple: deconstructing is already happening all around us, and God can handle it. He deeply loves you, and nothing (no question, doubt, or deconstruction) can change that.

However, the question for us last week was, “Can you handle deconstruction?” Can you handle it in your own life, or in someone else’s? And secondary to that, “If deconstruction is happening whether we like it or not, how can the church help people through the process of deconstruction so that they land in a place where they can rebuild faith rather than walk away from faith?”

That’s what I want to write about today. We’ll look at one important element with this email, and next week wrap up the rest.

Safe to Question?

In our church community in Steveston, we have a saying that we want church to be a place of welcome for followers of Jesus, questioners of Jesus, and questioning followers.

In my experience as a pastor, I have observed the evangelical church as a whole tends to have grace for followers of Jesus (at least, those that think and act like us most of the time), and explorers of Jesus (as long as they end up thinking and acting like us), but has a harder time with questioning followers.

We say things like, “Go ahead and question / struggle with church beliefs / deconstruct, as long as you end up back where you started.” We have a hard time allowing those questioning followers to land somewhere else on the faith continuum.

So the first thing that we as followers of Jesus need to understand in order to become the kind of church community for healthy deconstruction and reconstruction is the wideness of Christian faith.

There are primary and secondary theological beliefs in the Christian church. Primary ones are those essential for salvation. Secondary are those that are not.

Historically, the most important primary theological belief is the knowledge that I, in and of myself, am completely spiritually bankrupt and have nothing to offer for my own salvation, but God has already done everything needed for my and the world’s salvation through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is nothing more for me to do but rest in the joy of and grow in trust of the fact it is already done.

This is what historic Christian doctrine would affirm, no matter where it falls on the faith continuum.

Almost everything else is secondary. How God created the world, how we are supposed to baptize followers of Jesus, what the return of Jesus will look like, inclusivity and exclusivity in church families, and many other of our dear theological affirmations are secondary to the centrality of the Cross in history and in our own lives.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying we should not have deep and articulate theological statements. Nor am I saying all those other theological beliefs are not important. There are truths such as loving God and loving others that are foundational to the Christian faith.

What I am saying is, although important, they are secondary to the primary affirmation that God has accomplished the salvation and restoration of all creation through Jesus Christ. In other words, if I struggle with selfishness and am not good at loving others, that does not mean I am "not saved." I can still trust in the work Jesus has done on my behalf and the fact that he is in me, empowering me to listen to and obey his Spirit, even if I struggle.

I am also saying that although we may hold these secondary things dearly, we must also hold them with humility, understanding that the Christian faith may not be as neatly packaged as we have made it.

Is Our Faith a House of Cards?

The problem we face is that many of us have given secondary theological statements primary importance, and as such have attached them to salvation. So when someone pulls at the thread of Creation, or the return of Jesus, or even more controversial topics like gay clergy and biblical interpretation, it feels like they are pulling down our entire faith. So we fight tooth and nail to keep these things preeminent, because it makes us uncomfortable to hear someone questioning them.

This makes us unsafe for questioning or deconstructing followers of Jesus. When Christians with good questions keep hitting a wall of belligerent and ungracious church theology, they leave the church in droves. Some stay attached to Jesus as they detach from church, and others walk away from both.

To overcome the fear of deconstruction, let us understand that evangelicalism is but one lane on the road of orthodoxy. It may be your lane, but it’s not everyones. The question is not, “Are they evangelical and keeping evangelical beliefs,” because that is not primary. The better question is, “Are they still on the road of relationship with Jesus,” because that is primary.

Deconstruction forces us to decide what is essential and what is not.

PAUSE and REFLECT: are you hesitant to ask hard questions about your own faith, because you fear your whole faith construct may collapse like a house of cards? Are you hesitant to engage another questioning person because you fear for their faith?

Go back to what is of primary importance. Whatever was necessary for you to encounter God in Jesus Christ and experience salvation today has already happened. It may have happened like you think it did, or maybe slightly differently. It may be lived out today as you think it should, or maybe slightly differently. But whatever was needed, God has already done it.

If you are on the verge of or in the process of deconstructing, you can trust Jesus.

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.”

~ Jesus, in John 10:28-29

You can also trust Jesus for someone else’s journey. As mentioned last week, God invites our questions and doubts and theological struggles. Going through these with him can actually lead to a deeper relationship and a more content faith.

So when someone comes to us with questions, as we’ll see next week, our job is to be safe, gracious, and welcoming. For that is the way the Father is with us.

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Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash