Elemental Season 1 - Introduction

Deconstruction is a big word with a significant meaning when having to do with faith. You have probably encountered it in the last couple of years, as it has been a big topic in the world of belief. It is about discovering the fundamental and elemental things in your faith that truly matter. Through this process, we often have to tear down some things we have always assumed our faith is dependent on. This process is uncomfortable and often uncharted territory for us. We are supposed to be people of faith, meaning we don’t doubt. We take what has been given to us, and then we are encouraged to give it away ourselves. 

However, we all struggle with what is elemental to our faith; we seek to find those things that are natural and essential. And in this discovery process, we often tear down and even destroy some things that stand in the way of getting to those fundamental aspects of our faith. 

Having a crisis of faith and then trying to sort through what you are feeling, thinking, and believing is not only complex and challenging, it is dangerous. What happens if you do not believe in some of the things you have always believed? What if things change? What if what you thought was upended, never to be comfortable again? 

What if, what if, what if? 

But what if you don’t go on this journey, this migration, and this discovery? What happens when you allow your questions to sit unanswered and even undiscovered? What happens to our faith when it doesn’t fit but can’t change? If you have ever had a jacket that doesn’t fit correctly, then you know what happens. It chafes. 

And there is nothing good about chafing.  I won’t go into details, but you get it. Uncomfortable becomes unreasonable, and then we either take off the jacket and give it to someone else, or we let it sit in our closet, or we simply don’t move anymore to avoid the discomfort. Regardless of what happens, it becomes less than ideal, if not downright painful. 

Let us take a look at deconstruction head-on. I don’t think that God is afraid of it, and I don’t think we should be, either. I believe that we must develop a hermeneutic that is consistent, allows for change, and lets us approach these questions with the same awe and wonder with which we approach the throne of grace. We cannot assume that all we have learned is all there is to know, and we cannot think that our minds shouldn’t change. 

But I warn you, you will not be the same at the end of this series. So if you don’t want to change, close the book, take a sabbatical from church, and allow the quiet to take over. 

But we will do the hard work of asking a simple question: In what kind of God do you believe? And why?

Through this series, you will feel threatened and cornered in an uncomfortable conversation and feel like you are about to lose everything. I will be honest; it won’t be fun. 

But I want you to understand that I believe you will not disappoint God by making this journey. Instead, you will honor God by approaching these questions honestly. I don’t expect everyone to land in the same place. I don’t wish all of you to agree with me. What I do expect is honesty. You will get it from me, even when you don’t want it. And I know that each room where a Crosswalk congregation meets will experience this journey differently. That is okay; we must trust one another enough to walk through this. 

Thank you for your time. I’m excited about where God is leading this community!