Matt Chandler, a pastor from Flower Mound, Texas, and the pastor of City on a Hill Village Church recently gave a sermon where he mentioned the deconstruction movement. As I expected, he derided us, saying that it was "sexy" to be an exvangelical, to walk away from the faith:
“You and I are in an age where deconstruction and the turning away from and leaving the faith has become some sort of sexy thing to do. I contend that if you ever experience the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ actually, that that’s really impossible to deconstruct from.”
I remember watching this for the first time. I wasn't surprised. For a while now, evangelicals have called us apostates and told their congregations that this was the great falling away attested in the Bible. What I was, was frustrated. Once again, another evangelical Christian totally misses the point. It's not about Jesus. It's about them.
Matt, it is doubtful you will ever read my blog or hear of it, but I will address you anyway. There is something you need to realize. Exvangelical and deconstruction do not equal leaving the faith. There are many people, who are still Christians, that are deconstructing their faith but have no intention of leaving. They aren't leaving God. They're leaving you. They're leaving their pro-Trump churches that believe LGBT individuals are abominations. They're leaving years of abuse at the hands of clergy, suffering in silence because so many churches protect abusers. It isn't "sexy": it's our lives. It's losing friends because you dared speak out against what your church was doing. It's having family disown you. It's turning your entire life upside down because you could no longer stay silent. It's not leaving the faith. It's leaving an church that was never there for them to begin with.
That is what is hard to deconstruct from. Anyone who knows and follows the words of Jesus will find that it is hard to stay in an institution that does not follow his teachings.
I hope one day that you can understand, that this is a movement of people who want to change things. Not give up. Not walk away. Yes, it's true that some of us have left the faith altogether; but the word deconstruction is not synonymous with apostasy. Rather, it is the name of a movement that wants to create change in the world, in their hometowns, and in their churches. Let people question things. Let them challenge ideas. Let them speak out against injustice. If you want your flock to stay, it's up to you to also create a healthy, safe environment that is free from abuse. Otherwise, why wouldn't we go elsewhere?
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