We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in U.S. history. Greater than the First and Second Great Awakenings—and every revival combined—but in the opposite direction.

The Great Dechurching

Dechurching simply means stopping church attendance.

Deconstruction

Deconstruction is something more internal. It is the process of pulling apart the architecture of your faith: questioning doctrines you were handed, examining foundations you were never allowed to examine, asking whether what you were taught is actually true.

For some people, "faith deconstruction" means that they have come to see the historic teachings and doctrines of the church as crafted to make us pawns and suppress our personhood. They are walking away from both the church and traditional Christian faith altogether.

For them, deconstruction—a dismantling—is the end-point of the process.

— Tim Keller, "Reconstructing Faith," Gospel in Life (2022)

The Cave (1 Kings 19)

1 Kings 19:1–3 NIV

1 Kings 19:4 NIV

1 Kings 19:5–7 NIV

1 Kings 19:9–10 NIV

1 Kings 19:11–12 NIV

Part Four: Why It Happens (And What the Church Must Own)

1. Suffering and injustice
2. Disillusionment with Christian leaders
3. Conflating primary and secondary beliefs
4. Faith that was never truly owned

What We Are Called to Do - Go Into Caves

Hebrews 10:24–25 NIV

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Teach People to Doubt Their Doubts

Christians in our cultural moment will have to rethink their faith, but at the same time they must learn to "doubt their doubts." They must deconstruct not only their tacit, mistaken beliefs, but also just as importantly, the cultural narratives that are offered as the alternatives to Christian faith.

— Tim Keller, "Reconstructing Faith," Gospel in Life (2022)

The Prophetic Word

There is a generation right now, in Spokane, in our city that is deconstructing quietly, drifting painfully, sitting in caves. They need to encounter a community that will come in after them. Not to lecture them back into church. To bring them bread. To sit with them. To ask: what are you doing here? And to stay long enough to hear the answer.

Jeremiah 17:7–8 NIV