Elemental Season 1 - Day 32

Now, it can’t all be bad can it? Everything that we learned, everything that we lived. When we deconstruct our faith, are we just standing in the rubble asking to have it all thrown out the window? Or are there things that might be good for us to use in order to build out faith and faith communities back in a way that not only honors God, but also allows others to be invited into the kingdom of God? 

Of course there are some great things that you were taught and that you believe that are incredibly important to the life of a Christian, to spiritual growth, and to building a community of belonging that creates meaning, fellowship, and joy in people’s lives. 

The first thing that we should agree upon is the knowledge of scripture that you gained throughout your life. It is beautiful, and it is important. It has set a foundation of understanding of who God is and what God can be in your life. Those stories and narratives are the way we first meet God and it sets us on a trajectory that might be beautiful, but also might have some bumps along the way. But I think it is safe to say that some of the learning you had is wonderful. 

Another thing that you can probably take joy in is the communities in which you grew up. Not every community is great, of course, but chances are you have some great memories of the communities that you called home growing up. Big church, small church, pathfinders, christian schools, and more, they all helped form you and helped form your understanding of what a community should or even shouldn’t look like. 

I believe that most of us grew up in communities that thought about eschatology, or the end of time, or the second coming a great deal. This is a little bit of a two-edged sword. An emphasis on the second coming of Jesus is incredibly important, and should be a part of everyones theological understanding of scripture, but when it has been emphasized so much that it is all we talk about, then perhaps it looms too large on our theological landscape, and can overshadow the kingdom work that God has called us to be a part of. While I would never deny or diminish the second coming, I would be uncomfortable forgetting abou what we are called to do today. This is a great thing to recognize and believe in, it is also a thing to hope for and live toward. 

1. What are the great things you can think of from your growing up that you would love to use to rebuild your house of faith? 
2. What were the difficult things? 
3. How can you take what was great and begin to build with it?