Avoiding the Pitfalls of the Deconstruction Movement
By Sarah Mockler
My husband knows my history-loving self all too well. When my 35th birthday overlapped a business trip I had accompanied him on, he arranged (unbeknownst to me) for us to dine aboard the Queen Mary — one of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners of yesteryear that carried British royalty, historical figures, Hollywood stars, billboard crooners … and the likes of me.
It was an evening to remember. While I may have been celebrating the arrival of my mid-thirties, my imagination wasn’t a day over seven years old as we walked through the spacious corridors enjoying the Art Deco atmosphere and envisioning what it would have looked like in all its glory prior to being converted to a troopship during the Second World War. In short, I was transported.
Built in the 1930s, the Queen Mary retired off California’s shore after 30 seaworthy years. Standing on her palatial main deck and peering up at the immense funnels that command your attention from miles away, you can’t help but be reminded of the more popular, tragically fated ship, Titanic. Similar in appearance, although considerably shorter in length, the Titanic is where our minds go when we talk about ocean liners. Isn’t it ironic that we are more prone to remember the royal flops and failings than the successes and long-term faithfulness that flies under the radar of popularity?
In the 1980s, when the Titanic’s wreckage from her maiden voyage was discovered, the Queen Mary — who boasted over 1,000 successful transatlantic crossings — lay hidden, quietly docked for over 20 years. A nautical object lesson that faithfulness is not always noticed or applauded.
Doesn’t that seem like modern Christianity sometimes? In a day and age where it seems we hear of many a Christian leader, pastor, speaker, singer, etc., who has hopped on the “deconstruction” bandwagon, we just don’t hear about the resolute, steady “ocean liners” within Christendom who withstand the swirling sea of doubters and skeptics and remain unwavering in their faith.
Deconstruction is more than a buzzword, it’s a devastating reality that is touching the life of the Church and shaking it to its core. No longer are leaders, pastors, speakers, singers “out there” defecting from the faith; it’s hitting loser to home. Who do you know that is in the enemy’s clutches by doubting their faith, in turmoil over their soul, or taking apart the very truths they once held dear? For some it’s their pastor; for others it is a longtime friend, a loved one, or a spouse. Oftentimes we scratch our heads wondering why the person everyone thought would be “most likely to spiritually succeed” jumped ship after grappling with questions they could never sort out in the end.
The Titanic was deconstructed — or dismantled and taken apart — because of the effects of saltwater, tides, and time following a tragic encounter with an iceberg. But deconstruction within Christianity can seem more elusive and hard to pin down. New terms can confuse us as to what we are truly dealing with. Some define deconstruction as merely sorting out one’s current belief system. Others say it is a critical evaluation of their beliefs that often leads to the rejection of those core doctrines and the church in its entirety. This is why it’s so important for us to go to God’s Word for answers. When we do, we will see that there truly is nothing new under the sun.
Defining Deconstruction
Numerous times we are warned in Scripture that there will be a falling away (Matt. 24:10; 2 Thess. 2:3), that some will depart from the faith and turn away from the truth (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:3–4), that the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12), and some will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Cor. 11:3).
The study goes much deeper than what I have just summarized, but this small compilation proves that what we are seeing in our modern day is not new or novel. Our Bibles have foretold, warned, and (thankfully!) equipped truth-bearers on how to keep far from the bulldozer’s path of faith deconstruction.
Notice that in each of these warnings there is a direction of devotion — instead of drawing closer to Christ, there is a falling away, a backwards step, a retreat. Biblically speaking, deconstruction is just a new-fangled term for the old-fashioned phrase of “falling away.” That was a lightbulb moment for me. Once I understood that, everything shifted in how I was interacting with deconstruction — the term, those I knew who were wrapped up in it, and those who spoke out in support of it.
But the most gripping description for deconstruction we have within the Word of God is found when Paul is talking to Timothy about two individuals he knew personally who had left the faith. He employed a striking word picture, saying: “some have made shipwreck of their faith” (1 Tim. 1:19 ESV, emphasis added).
Shipwreck. Deconstruction is not an innocent sorting out of our beliefs. It is a deadly voyage of our soul that can dash our faith to pieces on the rocks of doubt, unanswered questions, and soul-shaking tragedy. So how do we keep from being caught in the current of the world’s tide? For the rest of our time together, I’d love to share how to bring sure footing to our faith when the ground beneath the culture’s feet is sinking sand and how to throw a lifeline of salvation to those who are being swept away in the undertow of destruction. Let’s dive in.
Lifeline #1
Handle “Hard” the Right Way
Having a biblical framework through which to view our own “hard” — our trials, tragedies, pain points, and encounters with rejection — is crucial. One author who has written on the deconstruction movement pointed out that behind every “Christian deconstructionist” is a person with a deep, triggering pain point.
Many times we do not know what to do with areas of secret pain, deep regret, and unaddressed grief that have not been healed. But this is a breeding ground for the enemy to come in and confuse us with his lies about our identity and worth. The first step towards healing is to interpret our experiences and find our identity through the lens of God’s Word — not the other way around.
In addition to God’s Word, we can also draw strength and comfort from the testimonies of the faithful cloud of witnesses who have gone before us — the “Queen Mary’s” of the faith who have weathered unfathomable storms and remained faithful. One of my favorites is Darlene Deibler.
Darlene was a newlywed, starry-eyed missionary who lost everything but her faith after suffering tremendously as a prisoner of war for eight years during World War II. Darlene was “one of those who God could trust with pain.” When her circumstances screamed a different reality, she didn’t jump ship and defect from the faith. She didn’t become embittered or remain mentally or emotionally crippled for the rest of her life. Miraculously, her faith in Jesus burned brighter.
She closes her biography by saying: “Had those eight years [of suffering] been revealed to me in one panoramic view that misty gray January morning in 1938, would I have had the courage to board the ship? I wonder. Through the intervening years, tempestuous winds of gale force have buffeted me. Waves of tidal proportions have threatened to carry me under or dash me upon the rocks. But knowing now what I did not know those many years ago, with C.H. Spurgeon, I can thank my God for every storm that has wrecked me upon the Rock, Christ Jesus!” We find in Darlene the secret of suffering well: by keeping the faith even when the evidence is not seen that God is with us in our current trial.
Let’s make it our aim to be among the faithful few whom God can entrust with pain, disappointment, or heartbreak; those who faithfully cling to the bright hope that God brings beauty from ashes and turns what the enemy meant for evil into great good! (See Isaiah 61:1–3, Genesis 50:20, and Romans 8:28.)
Lifeline #2
Handle Doubt the Right Way
We will all weather storms that make us wonder deep within our souls or even ponder aloud, “Why, Lord?”
Asking God “why” is not necessarily wrong, it’s the heart-motive that is behind the question that we must examine. I absolutely love what Elisabeth Elliot said about how to take our doubts and questions to the Lord: “There are those who insist that it is a very bad thing to question God. To them ‘why’ is a rude question. That depends, I believe, on whether it is an honest search, in faith, for His meaning, or whether it is a challenge of unbelief and rebellion.”
In all of life’s questions, we must prayerfully examine if our “why” is coming from a sincere desire to understand God’s heart or a doubt-filled demand that is rooted in anger or frustration.
It is vital that we bring our questions to the Word and not to the world for interpretation and answers. All Scripture is profitable — for us and for our individual circumstances! If you don’t know how to take yourself to the Word to find the answers your soul needs, prayerfully seek out wise counselors and teammates who are seasoned in the faith that can help you.
Lifeline #3
Handle Emotions the Right Way
The right place for our emotions is submitted to God’s Word. God’s thoughts are to be placed on a higher plane of authority than our own. It is not that our emotions do not matter or aren’t valid, but it is what we do with them that is important. As Elisabeth Elliot said, “The difficulty is to keep a tight reign on our emotions. They may remain, but it is not they who are to rule the action.”
Instead of dwelling on, “I feel” statements, we should be confessing, “I know…” and fill in our own blanks with God’s eternal truth about our individual situation. When trial or grief seeks to overwhelm us with loneliness and engulf us in a fog of depression, we have the choice to preach to our soul. Instead of capitulating and throwing our hands up in the air in defeat with a depressed, “I feel so alone,” we can choose to rally our faith with a strong, “I know God has promised to never leave me or forsake me.” The question is: Do we know the Word? Do we know it so well that when the voice of emotion increases to a high pitch, we can locate sturdy truth to stand on the moment we need it? Do we know it so thoroughly that when someone brings a railing accusation against the God of the Bible, we can bring a clear defense that silences the confusion? God’s Word — its position and its power — must be defended.
We live in a world of modern-day sirens — people who are deceived and have not only shipwrecked their own faith, but are intent on wrecking the faith of others. The key to keeping our feet clear of their dangerous path is found in Jesus’ parable about a wise man, a foolish man, and a deadly storm:
But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. Luke 6:46–49
We all know the song and the hand motions … but do we know why the wise man was wise in the first place? It wasn’t because he was the most intellectual or the most likely to spiritually succeed. Those who are truly wise are those who come to Jesus, hear His Word, and activate it in their lives. We will find that our emotions will fall in line as we stand on and obey God’s Word in faith.
Jesus is clear: There will be storms that shake the house of our faith, but not the foundation. Faith’s outcome is based on if we are a faithful doer of God’s Word or a forgetful hearer. (See James 1:22–25.)
Lifeline #4
Handle Knowledge the Right Way
Scripture commands us to, “add to your faith … knowledge” (2 Pet. 1:5). However there is an equal and opposite tension found within Scripture that warns us against the pursuit of mere intellectual knowledge about God. (See 1 Corinthians 8:1.) An improper handling of knowledge leads us away from pursuing relationship with Jesus into the black hole of trying to make an incomprehensible God completely understood; His ways, acts, and words boiled down into neat and tidy “–ologies” that try to explain away that which God doesn’t ask that we understand (as He remembers we are dust!), but that we trust. I have personally seen fellow believers walk away from the faith from over-intellectualizing their faith. Remember, Jesus never applauded great amounts of knowledge in Scripture; He applauded those who had great faith.
It is important to know what we believe and why we believe it, but it is also important to know God relationally, devotionally, and personally. This is what the Apostle Paul — a man with an impressive religious pedigree and religious education — meant when he said, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted as loss for Christ. Yet indeed I count all things as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ … that I may know Him…” (Phil. 3:7–8, 10).
The word for “know” means to know intimately and by experience. It is not a book, chapter, and verse knowledge. It is not a legalistic, all-letter/no-love knowledge. It is a personal knowledge of God that is in harmony with His Word.
All knowledge we attain should lead us closer in relationship to God … not farther. We must carefully weigh the intellectual inputs in our lives and prayerfully evaluate whether a particular voice or subject is leading us into deeper love with Jesus, His Word, His Church, His Spirit … or farther away from it. If the latter, we should be swift to remove that voice from filling our minds.
Lifeline #5
Handle Pride the Right Way
When pride creeps in, it puffs us up and tempts us to exalt ourselves higher than God’s Word or the spiritual authorities in our lives. God’s Word has some strong things to say about pride. Pride is an abomination to God. (See Proverbs 6:16–17.) God resists those who are proud. (See James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5.) And we read that pride was the chief sin of Satan who was once a ministering angel in God’s presence. It was when pride entered in that he began to covet a place and position that was not his own. The result was a great fall unlike anything the supernatural realm had ever seen. (See Isaiah 14:12–15.)
These are sobering realities and should inspire great humility before a Holy God. Scripture warns us against spiritual pride, saying, “Let every man take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Are we taking heed by embracing the mind of Christ — which is a mind of humility? As those who are in Christ, Jesus is to have the preeminence — or first place — in everything we do, say, think, and are. We must ask: Are we exalting ourselves against the knowledge of God or esteeming others as better than ourselves?
Helping Those Swept Out to Sea
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19–20
When a sheep begins to stray, there is always a search party that ensues. A good shepherd doesn’t allow his sheep to fall by the wayside. As part of the fold of God, we can partner with Him in strategic ways to “turn a sinner from the error of his way.” This, Scripture says, can “save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” When we are burdened with God’s heart to be a part of His rescue for hurting souls, we can often wonder what to say, where to begin, or what to do. While each situation is unique, I want to offer two simple pieces of advice.
Listen to Their Story — For the soul that is wrestling with their faith, ask them to share their story. As they unburden their heart, listen specifically for the pain point. Just what is turning them away from God: Is it bitterness or unforgiveness? Is it unanswered prayer? Is it a sinful lifestyle? Once you have identified the pain point, lovingly and gently bring truth to bear for their situation. Leave them with the hope and truth of Jesus. If you don’t feel ready to do this on your own, consider asking a trusted or mutual friend to accompany you. There is strength and spiritual safety for our impressionable hearts in numbers!
Earnestly Contend for the Faith — Jude wrote a slice of the Bible that offers practical advice for believers who are interacting with those caught up in deconstruction. In his epistle, he reminds us to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3). We contend for the faith as a whole by honing in on one person’s faith at a time — ourselves, our families, our loved ones, our friends, and the other souls in our path of influence. The best way to begin contending for the faith of those you are burdened for is through wrestling in prayer. Pray in faith for the faith of others and watch what God will do in your midst.
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In the ebb and flow of life, let us keep ever before our eyes the soul-tethering words of Jesus, who said, “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown” (Rev. 3:11). And that, dear reader, is my prayer for you. May you hold fast to what, or Who, you have — Jesus!
This article was originally published in Issue 51.
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