Deconstruction is trending. And many are simply struggling to make sense of it all.

But what if the existing structures and culture of the American Church at large share some of the blame for this rise in deconstruction amongst the younger generation?

Many young people have come up through churches that were swept up in the “seeker sensitive/Church growth” movement in the 90s/early 2000s. For the sake of attracting unbelievers and the unchurched, the teaching in some of these churches was very shallow, pragmatic, unintelligent, and never addressed the hard topics of scripture.

When the young people from these churches went off to college and encountered people who started poking holes in their faith, they had no answers because they’d never been equipped. They were woefully unprepared to deal with the big and difficult issues surrounding their faith. Shallow teaching produces shallow, unequipped, and ill prepared Christians that don’t know how to properly wrestle with their doubts because they don’t know the Bible.

It's not just that the Word of God has not been faithfully taught- poor leadership, sin, abuse, financial embezzlement, misaligned priorities, and sexual scandals have created untold levels of emotional and spiritual harm on an entire generation of Americans. Many are now wondering, “if I can’t trust the church, can I trust any message the church proclaims?”

Could it be that the American church needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror? Is the rampant deconstruction we’re not seeing a symptom of the decades of dysfunction, disobedience, and unfaithfulness of the American Church?