Walking Away: Part 1
Exploring the Dilemma
It’s not difficult to see that there is something terribly wrong in our world. Sin, brokenness. division. The result of the fall is evident when you look at our current state. Creation is groaning under the weight of sin.Hidden amongst the more obvious corruption, there is another issue leering in the background. This is an issue that often gets more attention from mainstream media than it does from the body of Christ….an astonishing number of believers are facing a slow deconstruction of their faith and are eventually renouncing the God they once claimed to serve.
Ready for a reality check?
Jonathan Steingard, lead singer of Hawk Nelson – “After growing up in a Christian home, being a pastor’s kid, playing and singing in a Christian band, and having the word ‘Christian’ in front of most of the things in my life – I am now finding that I no longer believer in God.”
Josh Harris, pastor and Christian author – “I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is ‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the measures that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.”
Marty Sampson, Hillsong songwriter and worship leader – “To the Church of Jesus Christ, I forgive you, and I love you. I’ve got tears running down my face because it’s so true. I adore Christians. I love you so much. That’s all. It was amazing being one of you, but I’m not anymore.”
Ouch. Stories like these hurt my heart to the core. Yet, they are becoming more prevalent in our world each year. Mainstream Christian artists and well-known pastors are publicly renouncing their faith.
Personally, I have many friends who have faced a deconstruction of their beliefs. For years, they have felt judged for doubting or for asking hard questions. They have been left unequipped to explore God’s Word and to truly engage Biblically Christianity over cultural Christianity. Sadly, scrolling through my news feed, I am constantly faced with the reality that quite a few of my friends, friends I went to Bible college with, have walked away from Jesus.
Student ministry leaders, I pray that we all feel the weight of this realty. These believers, who were once in someone’s student ministry….who led worship…and even led others to Christ….have walked away from the Savior.
The Dilemma and Student Ministry
According to Lifeway, 66% of our students will stop attending church for at least one year between the ages of 18 and 22.
The following graphic explains the various reasons that students stopped attending church:
While considering these statistics, take a mental note of the students within your ministry. Now, imagine that six out of ten of those students will stop attending church when they graduate from high school. Yes, some of those students will return at a later point in life. However, considering the current state of deconstruction within the Christian faith, we know that even among those who come back (or even among those who stay in the first place) there will still be some that walk away.
The reality of Jonathan Steingard, Josh Harris, and Marty Sampson tells us something. In this age were everything is being deconstructed, Christianity is not exempt. Our students have questions about their faith.
The world is telling them that Christianity has bound them to a set of beliefs which they need to break free from. Students are doubting, but they are staying isolated in their doubt. Bonhoeffer hits the nail on the head when he said, “sin demands to have a man by himself.” Satan desires that our students take their doubt and use it to pull apart their faith. However, God wants us to sow our doubts into our pursuit of Him, where we will reap a harvest of knowing Him deeper.
Scripture to Consider
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” – Mark 9:24
“He is a bear lying in wait for me, a lion in hiding; he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces! He has made me desolate….But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” –Lamentations 3:10-11, 22-23
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”- 1 John 2:19
Scripture is clear that some will walk away from the faith, because they never were truly a regenerate follower of Christ. But, what can we do to close the gap on those who walk away? How can we encourage our students to stay close to the Body after graduation? How can we encourage them to sow their doubts into a deeper pursuit of Christ.
Over the next few articles, we are going to get practical. Join the conversation as we seek to walk with our students through this age of deconstruction.