M I N I S T RY | YO U T H
Questioning the Faith Three ways to help young people work through their doubts By TERRY PARKMAN
C
hristian teens and young adults are more confused about their faith than ever — and they’re looking for answers.” That statement at a recent event for NextGen leaders got my attention. As I reflected on this and talked with other ministers and young adults in attendance, it became apparent why so many are confused. It isn’t competing religious ideologies. Rather, as one person after another articulated, it is the disparity between the teaching of Scripture and the behavior of many church leaders. One young woman confided that it was difficult to talk about her doubts in church. She said leaders dismissed her questions as spiritually immature and shamed her for expressing her feelings. A lack of support in church may help explain why young people are increasingly turning to online communities that openly discuss doubt — and taking the first tentative steps toward deconstructing their faith. Talk of deconstruction is everywhere today, occupying digital spaces where many seek information about faith, church, and Christianity from people who refer to themselves as “exvangelicals.” Deconstruction is a process of questioning and reevaluating beliefs. It often begins with a disorienting crisis — such as the moral failure of a trusted minister. Suddenly, a lifetime of questions and doubts come calling, and there are no easy answers. Some who talk about deconstruction are ready to leave the faith. Others sincerely hope to work through their doubts and rediscover what it means to follow Christ.
“
94
Fall 2021
It is important that we as church leaders respond with grace when someone approaches us with questions, regardless of which camp we think he or she is in. Such moments are opportunities to reconcile people to Christ and His Church. Jesus did not condemn the spiritually conflicted
