I’m looking for clear direction from this thing we call Christianity, but I’m just not seeing it. Are you? I am a product of the religious deconstructionist movement … and proud of it, I guess. Indeed, having been raised in the strong, right-wing, evangelical, legalistic environment, today I feel so much freedom from that world. I could go on and on about the indoctrination and persuasion that took place in my life for many years, but I think you probably either know the same story, or it happened to you.
And I’m incredibly indebted to folks who’ve helped me gain freedom, i.e. the Brian McLaren’s and Rob Bell’s of our day who’ve pushed envelopes, challenged our thinking, etc. So many “thanks” to give out.
I guess what I’m asking with this post is this … what is the church looking like as we move forward? What does church look like 5 years from now? Beyond the candles, dark services, edgier music, frumpy dress, etc. I mean, I love the deconstruction … challenging everything we know and believe, yada yada yada … if I’m not careful, though, that’s pretty much all I’ll read about.
The problem with that kind of one-track thinking is that it acts like fuel to my frustration and anger towards my past and its inherently flawed system. So really this is a question for me (and you): Where do we go from here?
I suspect that we’re a bit scared to get firm and clear about our beliefs because we could end up back in another cold and impersonal “system.”
I’ll throw out just ONE statement to close this and get the discussion started: I believe that children are being overlooked in this whole deconstructionist movement of the last 10 years. My experience (maybe not yours), is a whole bunch of adults wrestling with looking at the Bible in fresh ways, but the children are back in the “Sunday School” lessons hearing the some of the same frustrating teaching I grew up with … thus perpetuating this system. Ugh … who is writing for children?
Fresh curriculum for children … I’m not seeing it … am I blind?
