In recent years, there have been many reports of people “deconstructing” their faith. 40,000,000 Americans have stopped calling themselves Christian. It really accelerated since 2016. But why? Not surprisingly, there’s a teaching of Jesus helps us understand.
Deconstruction is a term I first heard in seminary. It meant taking a hard, critical look at what was once accepted as true and decide from a new perspective if you still believe it to be true, and if not, to boldly declare “no, I don’t believe that anymore.”
It’s not all bad. Some deconstruction should happen with maturity, as we grow, as our faith becomes our own. For example, I discarded a few simplistic “Sunday school” answers. I once felt that the heroes of the Old Testament always did the good, noble, and right thing. That’s what I picked up in Sunday School. But then I read the Bible. Clearly, it showed that God was good but people were a mess. God did great things through them in spite of who they were. God was the hero, not Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon, etc. Another example, I have a friend who grew up in a Christian tradition that taught that if you weren’t baptized in a particular way, you weren’t really a Christian. But as grew in his faith, and as he met people who were not baptized his way who were plainly faithful Christians, he deconstructed that part of his faith. He started showing a lot more grace. These things are good. I don’t think either of us thought we were “deconstructing our faith”. It was more like what comes with spiritual growth. Wouldn’t every Christian do that?
Well, no. Many people have deconstructed their faith and decided when they encountered difficulty. Someone teaches them that science and religious faith conflict. They learn disappointing things about Christians when they look at world history. They get hurt by people in the church. News comes out about Christian leaders and celebrities who’ve given up their faith. Cultural influencers argue convincingly that religious people are ignorant, bigoted, and superstitious. And the list could go on. It’s happened to people I love. Deconstruction results.
Why?
In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, Jesus tells the crowd about a sower who goes out to sow seed. In verse 5 and 6, Jesus says “Some seed falls on rocky soil…” The plants spring up. But when the sun comes out they wither because they have no root. No root means no endurance in the hot sun.
Later, Jesus takes his disciples aside and explains this parable to them. The seed, he explains, is the word of God’s kingdom. The one who received the seed that fell on the rocky soil is a person who hears the word, receives it with joy, but has no root. No depth of character. Their faith springs up like a green shoot. But if the hot sun comes out, if they face trouble or persecution because of the word, they fall away because they have no root.
Trouble. The Greek is also translated “tribulation”. The original word has to do with coming under pressure. You feel that pressure any time believing the Word of the Kingdom of God has a personal cost. These days, that cost is likley to include time, money, and status. Your reputation can suffer. As much as any time in our country’s history, being a Chrisitan can create trouble in relationships.
The second thing Jesus talked about was persecution. Persecution is on a spectrum. American Christians have historically not faced much persecution. If they did face persecution, it was as likely as not to be social and come from within the church. But increasingly, it’s showing up in the culture at large. It used to be you weren’t cool if were “too religious”. Now, if you are a Christian, people will call you a bigot, cancel you, cut you off, unfriend you, socially isolate you, refuse to hire you, and try to get you fired. You can find enemies without trying.
So why do people deconstruct their faith? Why do people stop believing? According to Jesus, they encountered forms of pressure or persecution – and lacked the depth of character, the spiritual maturity, to hold onto faith. If you want to keep your faith you need to create room for your roots to grow deep. You need good roots. Just to be clear, only God can grow those roots. But we can cooperate by making the space for the roots to grow.
But what about those who’ve walked away from the faith? Can faith, once lost, be revived? Of course. Personal faith waxes and wains. But every season, at the right time, the sower comes around. Beautiful faith, new life, can grow up again.
So, you got any “rocks” in the “soil” of your heart? The rocks aren’t trouble and persecution. The rocks are what keeps the root from growing deeper. Roots grow deep when they have room to grow and when rocks aren’t in the way.
Let me identify three common rocks that need to be addressed.
- Remove passivity and replace it with intentionality. It’s one thing to call yourself a Christian. But you gotta want to grow and be intentional about it or you simply won’t. Resolve to intentionally practice your faith.
- Remove isolation or superficial community and replace it with authentic, intentional, Christian community. Our faith is not meant to be a solo sport. Get with people who will help you grow. I’ve been in church groups that were mainly social, and even resistant to any demonstration of spirituality. (One dear man told me, “Save that stuff for Sunday morning, pastor. I don’t want it in our group”). You and I need people who will read the Bible with us, pray with us, and encourage us to represent Jesus wherever we go. To do this, you’ve got to be intentional.
- Develop a sustainable rhythm of life that helps you practice your faith. Develop daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rhythms that allow you blocks of time to be alone with God, with his people, in worship, and on mission. There was a time when the way our culture moved naturally encouraged people to be connected to churches. Not anymore. For most people, life is filled with “good and worthwhile activities” 24-7. Most of us have to say no to some things we think are good in order to develop a rhythm of life that makes room for the roots to grow deep. It takes intentionality. And it helps to have the insights and encouragement of a good community if we want to find and develop a sustainable rhythm that works.
It’s hard but it is so worth it! Because, when the trouble comes, your faith won’t wither.
