For the past six years as pastor at Keller Park Church in South Bend, Indiana, I’ve spent almost every Sunday preaching through the lectionary or a book of the Bible. We’ve done occasional, short topical series, but even those are rooted more in specific biblical texts than in broader theological themes. There’s a reason for that: I think that’s what preaching (as opposed to teaching) should do. But, as with everything, there’s a time and place for switching it up. So after a summer sabbatical, I returned with a new sermon series idea: preaching on questions from the congregation. The result is our current series, Revangelical: Proclaiming the Good News after Deconstruction.
When I told a local pastor friend my idea for an “ask me anything” series, he responded, “Oh, so you’re looking to get martyred!” But, despite my Anabaptist sympathies, martyrdom is not my goal so much as opening up a space to discuss questions that congregants are wrestling with but don’t typically feel comfortable raising.
My goal isn’t to say, Here’s what I believe and you should too, but rather to provide some background biblical, historical, and theological information so the congregation can discern the truth together, with each person bringing their own gifts, experiences, and background to the discussion. But one of my gifts is that I have been studying Scripture and theology academically for over two decades, so I figured it’s well past time to share those gifts with the congregation. Thus far, it’s gone great!
Here are the congregational questions we’ve tackled so far:
- Why is it so difficult not to toss out the baby with the bathwater when it comes to the deconstruction of an evangelical upbringing or faith?” and “What are some suggestions on how to improve the process of discernment and move forward minus the feelings of guilt or hypocrisy that often come regardless of the ultimate decision? (See my response, “Tossing the Baby Out with the Bathwater?“)
- Does scripture support literal fire and torture? If it isn’t literal fire and torture, then what is it? Is it an actual place or more of a metaphor? Would God send a person made in God’s image to hell? (See my response, “What the Hell?“)
- Where’s the line between Christianity, universalism, and other religions and worldviews as far as salvation and heaven and hell? (See my response, “Will All Things Be Restored?“)
- If not substitutionary atonement, then what? (See my response, “How Does Jesus Make Us At One with God?“)
- Within the evangelicalism of my childhood, there were a lot of taboos around “cussing.” As I’ve gone through my own deconstruction, most of those taboos have more or less fallen away, and I often find a well-placed swear word to be just what the doctor ordered in the right context. But I confess that I still have a taboo around “taking the Lord’s name in vain,” and so, despite my distance from evangelicalism, I still wince when I hear someone say “Oh my God!” or “Jesus Christ!” or “Goddammit!” What’s up with that? (See my friend Allan Rudy-Froese‘s response, “Is it OK to Swear?“)
Despite the phrase “after deconstruction” in the subtitle, this series isn’t your typical exvangelical piling on of all things bad within evangelicalism. Yes, we discuss some of the problematic messages we learned in our evangelical upbringing, but the purpose is to bring us back to the heart of the good news on the other side of those questions and criticisms.
If you have a question you’d like me to address, drop it in the comments. Priority goes to congregants, but I’d be happy to tackle other questions people have as I have time and energy. I’ll probably add some updates here as time goes on.
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