One of the best things I ever heard about Jesus came at the graduation ceremony for former drug addicts. After the ceremony, the director told me that you did not have to be a professing Christian to come into the program, but you had to meet daily in a small group for a discussion about Jesus from the gospels. He said the most common thing he's heard over the years is that many of these men and women are not sure whether Jesus is true, but they want Him to be!
It's interesting that in my experience, this exploration of deconstruction is missing a critical piece that I have found to be indicative of many going through this process: Many deconstructors are done with institutional church altogether, whether a church platforms Jesus and justice or not. This is important because so many people deconstructing their Evangelical and fundie faith aren't looking for a church at all, recognizing that it is deeply flawed in it's innate need for preservation, hierarchy, power, control, conformity, obligation, and performance. They're definitely interested in societal justice, and most are still interested in Jesus, but for many, even Jesus is not longer the primary focus of it all. But I digress. Seeking Jesus and justice through a church platform increasingly becomes a non-sequitur for most of us who are or have experienced deconstruction from Evangelicalism. People writing about deconstruction from outside the experience continually miss this important piece and it ends up framing the whole thing inaccurately and literally drives us further away from Christian influences.
Yes, but my point is that for so many people who are now reconstructing, church simply isn't a part of the equation anymore and likely never will be. Deconstruction has exposed any engagement of institutional church, no matter how justice or Jesus minded it may be, to be nothing short of rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic. So many people discussing deconstruction and reconstruction miss this fact and assume we are even looking for a church in order to engage justice and Jesus or that church is the only place they can be found. And while some are still looking for a better church to participate in justice and Jesus with, many are not. I think that needs to be understood and factored in. So many have learned that a new experience of faith and spirituality can be had that involves justice - at the right time - and the way of Jesus, without the need for institutional church. Period. And the moment reconstruction talk assumes that we are all interested in or looking for a church that is doing it in a way that is "worthy," you've misunderstood and mischaracterized a large portion of us and what we're experiencing, even if your characterization of how many of us value justice is largely accurate (I think it is). And that's not even addressing how many who are reconstructing view, understand, or experience Jesus. That's a whole other issue!
Dave, I don't doubt your points and I'm not assuming any numbers here. I'm writing about what it looks like for those who do reconstruct. Who in some sense purge the system. In this series I have briefly discussed those who remain liminal and those who walk away and the focus here is on those who are liberated and being to reconstruct. I have no idea what the numbers are, and I doubt anyone has good numbers on that. But I would read someone who has studied the numbers. Again, I don't doubt your points about those who don't want to reconstruct.
It's part of the sad reality that there is often a lack of faithful witnesses. In Revelation, churches are themselves corporate witnesses to the light of Christ, the "lampstands."
The question of what happens if no churches bear true embodied witness to Christ is similar to Paul's question "how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
In Paul's case, it's specifically about preaching, in the church case, it's about a collective lived witness.
One of the best things I ever heard about Jesus came at the graduation ceremony for former drug addicts. After the ceremony, the director told me that you did not have to be a professing Christian to come into the program, but you had to meet daily in a small group for a discussion about Jesus from the gospels. He said the most common thing he's heard over the years is that many of these men and women are not sure whether Jesus is true, but they want Him to be!
It's interesting that in my experience, this exploration of deconstruction is missing a critical piece that I have found to be indicative of many going through this process: Many deconstructors are done with institutional church altogether, whether a church platforms Jesus and justice or not. This is important because so many people deconstructing their Evangelical and fundie faith aren't looking for a church at all, recognizing that it is deeply flawed in it's innate need for preservation, hierarchy, power, control, conformity, obligation, and performance. They're definitely interested in societal justice, and most are still interested in Jesus, but for many, even Jesus is not longer the primary focus of it all. But I digress. Seeking Jesus and justice through a church platform increasingly becomes a non-sequitur for most of us who are or have experienced deconstruction from Evangelicalism. People writing about deconstruction from outside the experience continually miss this important piece and it ends up framing the whole thing inaccurately and literally drives us further away from Christian influences.
But David this is about beyond deconstruction into reconstruction.
Yes, but my point is that for so many people who are now reconstructing, church simply isn't a part of the equation anymore and likely never will be. Deconstruction has exposed any engagement of institutional church, no matter how justice or Jesus minded it may be, to be nothing short of rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic. So many people discussing deconstruction and reconstruction miss this fact and assume we are even looking for a church in order to engage justice and Jesus or that church is the only place they can be found. And while some are still looking for a better church to participate in justice and Jesus with, many are not. I think that needs to be understood and factored in. So many have learned that a new experience of faith and spirituality can be had that involves justice - at the right time - and the way of Jesus, without the need for institutional church. Period. And the moment reconstruction talk assumes that we are all interested in or looking for a church that is doing it in a way that is "worthy," you've misunderstood and mischaracterized a large portion of us and what we're experiencing, even if your characterization of how many of us value justice is largely accurate (I think it is). And that's not even addressing how many who are reconstructing view, understand, or experience Jesus. That's a whole other issue!
Dave, I don't doubt your points and I'm not assuming any numbers here. I'm writing about what it looks like for those who do reconstruct. Who in some sense purge the system. In this series I have briefly discussed those who remain liminal and those who walk away and the focus here is on those who are liberated and being to reconstruct. I have no idea what the numbers are, and I doubt anyone has good numbers on that. But I would read someone who has studied the numbers. Again, I don't doubt your points about those who don't want to reconstruct.
Question: what if a church isn’t “worthy” of reconstructing their faith?
It's part of the sad reality that there is often a lack of faithful witnesses. In Revelation, churches are themselves corporate witnesses to the light of Christ, the "lampstands."
The question of what happens if no churches bear true embodied witness to Christ is similar to Paul's question "how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"
In Paul's case, it's specifically about preaching, in the church case, it's about a collective lived witness.
That "what if" is a sobering thought.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Thanks for the reply! Not exactly answering my question though. 😊 I’m just wondering why the word “worthy” was used and what the implications are.