Is Deconstruction a Normal Part of the Journey of Faith?

If life is a journey, then where’s my map?

Maybe you’ve had that thought or something similar. Or you might live with a vague sense of drifting, hoping the waves are pushing you in the right direction. Or perhaps you’ve got a bucket list, a ten-year plan, five-year goals, and the outline for how you’ll get there.

Okay, good for you. But I’m not talking about a career or life goals. I’m talking about a deeper journey–the one your soul takes as you follow Christ. Because at the outset, I don’t think very many of us are forewarned that it’s not all steady spiritual growth into Christlikeness. The ups, the downs, the twists and turns, the all-out hurricanes, they hit us. 

And, whether we realize it or not, our spirit is being formed by it all.

FORWARD PROGRESS AND GROWTH

I’ve shared before about the 6 stages of the journey of faith, and that post has more views than probably anything else I’ve written, including my book. Which tells me we’re tired of wandering and wondering if we’re pointed in the right direction. We want to make progress, avoid getting stuck.

I think it’s safe to say that most things that grow do so in a predictable pattern. Seed to sprout to plant to fruit. Baby to toddler to child to adolescent to adult. Tiny snuggly puppy to adorable squirmy puppy to small bouncy puppy to terrorize-the-world-but-I-remember-when-you-were-cute-so-I-love-you-anyway huge puppy.

See? Growth patterns.

Only, in the life of a Christ-follower it takes a bit more than just puppy-chow to move forward. There is definitely some intentionality involved (you might think of spiritual practices here).

TWO MODELS FOR THE STAGES OF FAITH

The stages I outlined before for the journey of faith were:

1. Belief: finding new life in Christ
2. Discipleship: learning to follow God
3. Service: the productive life
4. The Wall: facing frustrations and pain
5. Rebuilding: the journey inward to know self and God more deeply
6. Love: Living an upward and outward life of love through the Spirit

These stages are based on the work of Hagberg and Guelich and are, I think, an incredibly helpful tool for understanding the possible growth of a believer in Christ.

Another way to view these stages is outlined in a book by Bill and Kristi Gaultiere called Journey of the Soul, which I read recently and would absolutely recommend. They use a framework proposed by Dallas Willard and outline spiritual growth stages as:

1. Confidence in Christ
2. Help in discipleship
3. Responsibilities in ministry
4. Inner journey
5. Spirit-led ministry
6. Transforming union

These stages are quite similar to the six above, but they say that “the wall” isn’t a stage, rather it’s commonly a part of the responsibilities in ministry stage that, if navigated well, spurs us into the inner journey.

They also split the “love” stage into two parts–probably a more accurate representation–of growing in spirit-led ministry until total transforming union with Christ (do we ever reach this last stage before the resurrection?). 

My favorite difference, however, is that they use the first letter of each of their stages to spell CHRIST. Clever, right?

Here’s my Frankenstein of the two.

What I want to focus on today is the rebuilding/inner journey phase. It seems to come only after we face serious questions and doubts. It’s frighteningly similar to the widespread fad of deconstruction that we see sweeping through our culture today. So, we need to ask, is deconstruction an expected part of the journey of faith? If so, how do we come through it without abandoning the church? How do we help others navigate this slippery season of uncertainty?

WHAT IS DECONSTRUCTION?

First, a definition. For our purposes, I’m talking about an extended season of reevaluation. It’s not so much about tearing down the house as it is about rearranging the room (more on that to come next month). As Alisa Childers states, “As Christians, the process of evaluating our beliefs, traditions, and church culture in light of Scripture, and rejecting any unbiblical beliefs with the goal of living more authentically as Christians should be a daily reality. But this isn’t deconstruction. It might be rightly called ‘reformation’ or ‘restoration’ or even ‘healing.’ ” 

I wholeheartedly agree. In the life of faith, we need daily restoration to become more like Jesus and we will face a specific stage of restoration where we can use the hurt and challenges and questions to push us into, rather than away from, the Father’s heart. This is that stage of rebuilding that I do believe most of us will face before being able to plunge deeper into intimacy with Jesus and an authentically Spirit-led life.

COURAGE TO BE RESTORED

Have you ever resurfaced a wooden floor or table? Before it can be restored, it needs to be stripped. The cracking, old finish isn’t working anymore, and it needs to be scraped away. It’s an abrasive process.

Or, for a biblical analogy, you might think of Peter, first resisting Jesus’ attempt to wash his feet, then all but jumping into the basin as he cries out, “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!” And Jesus replies, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe.” (John 13:9-10 MSG) It’s a humbling process.

The exterior gets weathered and worn. Cracked by the heat. Mottled by the moisture. The feet get coated and blackened. Encrusted by the feces. Smeared by the mud. 

We need a good, hard scrubbing. Not a new set of table legs, not a whole bath, mind you. Just a clean-up to bring out more of our true beauty–that is, Christ in us, the hope of glory.

This whole process takes courage and humility. We have to ask the hard questions, lament the hurt, find new ways of connecting with God, reevaluate our effectiveness, and really, truly, learn to rest. 

HEALING EMPATHY

If you’ve already navigated this painfully glorious stage in your life with Christ, you can probably think back to at least one person who helped guide you through the dark wilderness of it all. And, chances are, this person did more listening than talking. They asked more questions than they gave answers. They were a hand to hold in the darkness, and they didn’t run away when you said those weird, scary things. They prayed with you–for you when you had no words.

And they always, always, challenged you to bring all of your anger and doubt and tears to God, knowing that discovering His empathy was the key to growing in relationship with Him.

Can you be that person for someone else today?

YOU ARE HERE

Where do you find yourself on this map of the spiritual journey? Just growing in your understanding of what it means to live for Christ? Excitedly discovering your calling and serving him? Struggling with the cost of discipleship or an apparent lack of effectiveness? Meeting Jesus in new and deeply personal ways? Walking hand in hand with the Spirit in both the being and the doing moments of life?

Or maybe there’s a bit of several of these stages going on in your life right now. That’s okay. This trail has a lot of switchbacks. Sometimes you might take a shortcut. Sometimes you’ll circle back to where you were a few years ago, finding more solid footing this time around. 

But one thing you can be sure of: your guide is a wise and gentle shepherd, and He’s traveled this road before. You will never walk it alone.