Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that smells better than it looks.
Some of you recently joined the email list because you heard about last week’s article Personal Prophesies, Bitterness, and Dismay which struck a chord with many. You can read it by pressing the title.
In the 131st episode of the Christ is All podcast, I listed the reasons that ex-Christian leaders employ when they explain why they decided to stop following Jesus.
And I responded to each one.
My answers were surprising to many, and I received some push back from some (what’s new?).
You can hear the episode on any podcast app or on our YouTube channel. It’s called When Christian Teachers and Musicians Deny the Faith.
Well, there’s another point to this topic that I want to address today.
It’s summed up in the phrase “Deconversion from Christianity.”
Recently, I saw someone on social media write, “On this week’s podcast, I will be interviewing Joey Gagootza about his deconversion from Christianity.” (Yea, I changed the dude’s name.)
Ah, his deconversion from Christianity.
Hmmm.
In those very words lies much of the problem.
If a person is converted to CHRISTANITY then I’m not surprised when they DECONVERT from it.
Why?
Because “Christianity” is a non-living entity. It’s a religion, a philosophy, a set of ideas, concepts, moral values, and teachings.
Christianity is an IT.
It’s a THING.
It’s like joining Sam’s club. You can join it, get your membership card, then cancel or let it expire at any time.
In the same way, people convert to Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Unitarianism, etc. every day. And many deconvert from these religions every day.
Strikingly, if you open up your New Testament and read it from cover to cover, you’ll NEVER find anyone “converting to Christianity.”
Instead, you will find them converting to someone named Jesus of Nazareth, who the New Testament argues is the promised Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ and Lord of the world.
In other words, you find people converting to a living Person.
They were NOT converted to a thing or an it. They weren’t recruited into a religion, a philosophy, or a movement.
And therein lies the issue.
Converting to Jesus Christ is profoundly, radically, completely different from converting to “Christianity.”
Oh Frank. Chill out, man. This is just semantics.
Is it?
I don’t think so. Our words betray our hearts.
I met Christ when I was 16. Since that time, the words “converted to Christianity” never rolled off my tongue.
The same is true for most of the people I know who genuinely met the Lord.
Jesus is not the equivalent of “Christianity.”
I have zero interest in converting anyone to Christianity.
Encountering Jesus, this world’s true Lord, is my interest.
And the two aren’t the same.
In short, the Insurgence isn’t about making converts — or even disciples — to Christianity.
It’s about bringing the kingdom of heaven on earth in visible form. And that only happens when people have a head-on encounter with Christ and begin to follow Him in the here-and-now.
Perhaps those who are “deconverting from Christianity” today will someday find Jesus Christ tomorrow.
And God willing, they too will join the Insurgence.
WANT TO GO DEEPER?
Join us on the Insurgence podcast where my conversation partners and I are currently riffing on every reference to the kingdom of God in the Gospels in order.
P.S. If someone wanted to change your life and zealously forced this blog post on you, you can appease them and subscribe here. It’s gratis and comes with a dozen Super Fire Hot Wings … the kind you can only eat after you sign a set of release forms. (No lemon suckers please. They won’t understand the humor.)
Personal Prophesies, Bitterness, and Dismay
I love this article!
Outstanding!
Yup and amen!
Hit the nail on the head again. Hopefully, many will shed the Christian tribe they converted to and support Christ instead.
The other day I sensed the Lord saying He wants to take our gathering (but, I think it was for all followers of Christ) far beyond this thing we call Christianity. After the initial questioning and some research, and now this confirming word, I see what He means. What an exciting adventure this is going to be. Hallelujah!
What I love about reading your blogs and books is there is such balance. When that happens it just magnifies the extreme of LIVING BY THE ENDWELLING LORD. I appreciate it very much.
I have heard the word deconstructing more than deconversion. My questions would be, do you view them the same? I am thinking deconstruction would be more along the lines that you write such as rethinking.
By the way I am in the middle of the new book and it is fantastic.
Thank you brother for all that you do.
The word “deconstruction” is a philosophical term that relates to language and meaning. In it’s popular use it means something quite different. Many use it today as a fancy progressive term to explain the process of abandoning foundational beliefs they once held.
Often, “deconstruction” when used in context of Jesus Christ is the equivalent of the biblical term “apostasy.” But one has to see the context used to determine that. Deconstructive without construction is nothing more than nihilism.
Deconversion is the opposite of conversion. Conversion is a biblical term to refer to converting to Jesus, not a religion or philosophy.
My point in this article is that no man says, “I became a member of the marriage institution last week.”
No, he says, “I married Brittany last week.”
That’s the difference between converting to Christianity and converting to Jesus Christ.
One is a thing, the other is a person.
Amen! ❤️
The P.S. at the end, the “Super Fire Hot Wings” made me chuckle…thanks for that too Frank, and keep up the Kingdom work brother.
brotherly,
Bud
This is so awesome! Thanks for consistently sharing things I’ve never thought about. Love these Thursday articles. We’re loving your new book too. It’s life changing!
A YUGE amen!
This is so good!!!
LOVE THIS! So so true!