I remember the first time I found out that a close friend of mine was deconstructing his faith.  We were close.  Very close.  He moved with his family away from New England to the underbelly of the Bible Belt – the South.  He, like me, had befriended Rob Bell literature in all of its glory, and as time went on, he began to really hold on to some of the main tenets of Rob Bell’s theology, which as his books rolled on and he left his church, became more and more loosely affiliated with Christ.

But through all of that reading and searching, as I still do, and as I still attempt to spiritually minimalize, I was always anchored to the gospel, not only by definition, but by every lifestyle choice I wanted to make.  yes.  I believe with everything I have that the crucified and risen Jesus, died for my sins and has been enthroned as the true Lord of the world.  So I’ve been called to salvation, not because of anything I’ve done, but because of the sheer grace of God, I’ve been lead to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the risen Lord.  And I can and should now share that good news with others who I spend time with.

One of the big problems we have with this conversation in general is our differing thoughts as to what “deconstruction” actually is, so I thought I’d attempt to answer that question based on Scripture, my own personal experiences, and the experiences of the countless numbers of friends I have who have or are going through what most of us would consider “deconstruction”.

This is where we are at in our culture.  We want to soak in all of the details between two famous actors – one seasoned, A-lister who’s been around a while & one young, vibrant blonde who’s younger and in 2022, much easier on the eyes.  And they’re defamation law suits about the way each of them have treated one another are now online, on YouTube, or just about anywhere else you can find them.  Our culture is absorbing every bit of the detailed fallout in their relationship.  And truthfully, I’ve found myself watching a few clips of Johnny’s testimony or Amber’s tearful reaction.

Recently I’ve noticed a disturbing trend on our more visual, open bedroom walls, otherwise known as our social media pages:  It would seem we have developed a taste for ‘heroes’ who divide us as Christians.  I certainly have.  I tend to enjoy the likes of Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, so I share their tweets and youtube videos.  I do this because I’m somewhat of an independent thinker and voter.

It is not unlike us to stand or sit around a crackling fire with a group of friends, smoke wafting up and down and through the nostrils of each individual, sometimes one or two people at a time.  And many times we are spending recreational currency with a group of people who may or may not care about Jesus or his death.  There are people who stand at our side, or sit next to us drinking a beer or cooking a s’more, who care little for the things of God.  In fact, it could and should be argued that as the church, our calling is not to sequester ourselves for the whole of our lives, inside of a group of people who all think and act the same – at least in public.

It is no problem to step outside of those guardrails and talk and be with the world.  THe Atheist, the critic, and the skeptic all have something in common with us – we are all made in God’s image and we all are loved by the same God who gave his life for us.