What About This "Deconstruction" Thing?
If you consider yourself part of the faith community, chances are you’ve come across the concept of “deconstruction.” In fact, for the last several years, it has been steadily arising in the Christian community—to where now, one doesn’t have to look very hard to find it.
But if you’re like me, you may be asking: What exactly is deconstruction? Where did it come from? Is it just a popular buzzword that’ll eventually leave as quick as it came?
Before I answer the first and second question, allow me to give my thoughts on the last. First of all, even though it seems to be a fairly new concept, the term deconstruction has been around for quite a while. First coined by the late French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004), the term actually derived from the late German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), who referred to it as a process of exploring the categories and concepts that tradition has imposed on a word, and the history behind them. From then on, it began to be identified as critique and analyzation in textual reading and study. Webster has gone on to define deconstruction as “the analytic examination of something (such as a theory) often in order to reveal its inadequacy.”
When we look at the original concept of deconstruction (as ‘exploring the categories and concepts that tradition has imposed on a word, and the history behind them’), we soon realize it’s not just something to be applied to faith or theology or doctrine—it exists in every facet of life. For this reason, deconstruction is an integral and important part of life. Just think about the way we are constantly evolving in technology, medicine, art and diet (just to name a few). The continual growth requires that we honestly analyze and critique how things are going. This is why most successful companies will have an R&D (research and development) department, for they know that a large part of staying fresh is to constantly be testing current product—all in hopes of moving into greater innovation. However, this requires they remain open and willing to test what they’ve previously known.
Please note: My intention for this blog is to point out the positive aspects of deconstruction (and re-construction)—simply because the concept, for many justifiable reasons, has gotten a bad wrap. I mean, just think about it: the prefix ‘de’ itself carries negative connotation (depress, denounce, depart, etc.). However, my intention is not to defend deconstruction for the sake of preserving some new “fad” (as some have labeled the “deconstruction movement”), but to highlight the importance of being open and willing to test what we’ve always known to be true about God and ourselves—which is an age-old concept (as it should be). This is why I say:
Deconstruction is just a word, but the concept it’s attempting to communicate—WELL, that’s an ancient one.
For those who have struggled and are struggling to process this said deconstruction, please know that I will do my best to approach with humility and gentleness. However, I believe this needs to be addressed. Aside from the fact that I’ve had several friends and family ask my thoughts on it (which are beyond this single blog), I also know this generation is not only asking; they're experiencing it. Deconstruction is happening right before our very eyes! And I believe we need to be aware of that.
For the sake of remaining positive and in line with biblical language, I’ll be using the terms “uprooting and planting” interchangeably as we move forward. Feel free to use any term(s) that helps you identify with the concept of honest and faithful critique.
JESUS DECONSTRUCTS AND RE-CONSTRUCTS
When I think of deconstruction, at least in a biblical sense, I can’t help but think of Jesus. When I imagine the value of critique and analyzation of things we believe to be true about God, I think of the Jewish man from Nazareth. In fact, I don’t think we can even bring up the concept of deconstruction without mentioning the One in whom all things exist. You see, all throughout the ministry of the Son of man, we have instances where, time and time again, Jesus challenged many preconceived notions. You could say he was deconstructing old mindsets, and re-constructing new ones. Allow me to list just a few:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:12 (NASB)
And again in verses 31 and 32:
“It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Oh yeah, there’s more in verses 38 and 39:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
Do you see how Jesus pushed the envelope of preconceived notions? Do you see how, in his zeal to realign the human heart with the way of Love (the Father), he used contrast of what the people had been taught and what was actually true. In fact, if you go on to read all of Matthew 5 (or the entire Sermon on the Mount for that matter), you will find many more instances where Christ is adjusting (critiquing and analyzing) what they’d been taught and, for many, grown up believing. I encourage you to look into other passages where Jesus and the early apostles challenged the way we perceive God, ourselves, and others. I don’t think you’ll be hard-pressed to find them.
And what about this one (it’s my favorite)—it seems to speak to the heart of what we call deconstruction and re-construction:
“So the Jews said to him, What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” John 2:18-21 (ESV)
In light of these above-mentioned passages (and I could list many others), I am convinced that Jesus sought to deconstruct and re-construct our vision of God. In other words, it’s quite clear that, time and time again, he had to adjust the listeners concepts and ideologies to what he was revealing about the One he called “Abba.”
You could say that he was out to uproot and plant a transforming vision of his Father.
UPROOTING AND PLANTING
When I think of the concept of uprooting and planting, I’m reminded of the prophet Jeremiah, whose ministry was to uproot and to plant (see Jeremiah 1:10). In other words, he was called to challenge the status quo and introduce fresh concepts according to the mind and heart of the Father. For example, in chapter 19 Jeremiah challenges the notion that God ever wanted child-sacrifice, saying, you “…have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind.” We see this sort of critique all throughout his ministry.
However, as we move on into the gospels, we see that Jesus somehow exemplifies the ministry of Jeremiah. Perhaps this explains why the people thought he was Jeremiah reincarnated (see Matthew 16:14). However, I would go on to say that Christ is the greater Jeremiah (he’s actually the greater of any good iconic old testament figure).
Christ is the great apostle and prophet who uproots and plants, and instructs us in the way of both aspects.
When one understands the prophetic gifting and office, it’s clear to see that it focuses on uprooting. This is why many of the prophets in the scriptures were often calling out sins and wrong paradigms, for they focused on what was hindering the development of the people of God. On the other hand, when I think of the apostolic, I most definitely think of planting. It was the apostle Paul who planted the gospel throughout much of the known world. He also planted churches and community that functioned as heralds of the good news. For these reasons, it’s important to understand that the prophetic represents uprooting and the apostolic represents planting. Both are vital to the growth of the house, and explains why you can’t have a whole house without the prophetic and the apostolic—they actually work in tandem to equip and enable the body to see, know and think like the Father (Ephesians 4:11-13). They are crucial to our growth and development. In other words, as Abba is building his house of sons and daughters who image forth his nature, he has chosen the apostolic and prophetic to function as foundation elements (2:20).
And here’s the good news: The mandate of uprooting and planting doesn’t revolve on our own charisma and gifting—it revolves around Christ. In other words, Jesus Christ is the great Apostle and Prophet—the fullness of all the gifts and callings—who now lives within us. Therefore, as Christ lives within us, he is continually instructing us in the way of fullness and maturity. This means he must do as Jeremiah did—he must uproot and plant.
THE WORK OF WHOLENESS
To me, nothing speaks to the value of uprooting and planting (deconstruction and reconstruction) more than this: The Father desires that each of us experience and manifest wholeness in our lives. In other words, I think the reason de- and re-construction happens to most believers is because the Father desires to shape and mold our image of him and ourselves into something more and more beautiful. He so desires that each of us step into a knowing (of the Father and ourselves) that far exceeds our own understanding and preconceived ideas (see Proverbs 3:5).
Quite frankly, he longs to let us in on what he knows to be true about us!
For this reason, the process of uprooting and planting could also be looked at as the Fathers way of pruning—where our faithful Gardener prunes old branches (mindsets and paradigms) in order to produce greater fruit. In this sense, pruning isn’t a way of communicating that the old branches are useless, but that they must give way for new ones to bud forth and blossom.
You see, the work of manifest wholeness is where Abba, by his Spirit, uproots (or prunes) any toxic mindsets concerning who he is and who we are. It’s where he arises within our hearts and mind, to challenge the ways in which we think and perceive him to be.
However, he doesn’t stop there nor does he leave the branches un-pruned. But as the good Gardener who longs for us to produce greater and greater fruit, he goes on to plant in us his mind, one that is capable of receiving the higher truth of who he is and who we are (as fully loved and fully embraced in the Father). As we take on his faith—what he sees and knows—we are transformed. At this point, we begin displaying the reality of “As He is, so are we in this world.”
In Psalm 24, David said “The earth is the Lords and fullness thereof.” Although I know David is speaking of the physical earth as Gods dwelling place, I also believe there’s a deeper truth: We are the earth; we are his garden, the place of his dwelling—we belong to the Father. However, we just forget sometimes (see Deuteronomy 32:18 KJV).
For this reason, Abba, by his Spirit, moves through his earth, his body—the temple of his dwelling—to unveil himself to and through us. We often forget who formed us, who dances and spins over us in delight. But I have good news: the Potter hasn’t lost touch. We are spinning on the Father’s wheel and we are in his care. For this reason, I tend to think that the potters wheel is as much about the spin as it is about his care. Perhaps seeing and experiencing the spin—how he dances and delights over us—is what awakens our hearts to the knowledge of God (what Father, Son and Spirit know and see to be true).
Therefore, the work of manifest wholeness is accomplished through uprooting and planting. I know I’ve been personally experiencing this for the last several years, where the Father has been uprooting toxic mindsets that produced fear, timidity and pull back in my heart. However, the soon-followed planting is where he, by way of intimacy and relationship, has been filling that space with a healthy, life-giving perspective of his nature—the one that Jesus Christ knows. This is giving me permission and freedom to be who I was created to be.
A PLANTING FOLLOWS
When Abba, by his Spirit, begins to uproot wrong ideas concerning his nature, we must allow and expect a planting to follow. If not, our condition, as Jesus states, becomes worse than before (see Matthew 12:43-45). If we try to plant on anything other than the truth of what Christ sees and knows, the house falls—simply because it’s not established on the Rock. For this reason, we don’t have to choose which one to embrace; we need both—we need uprooting and planting (what has modernly been referred to as “deconstruction and reconstruction”). Jesus illustrates this concept in Matthew 12:
“When a demon is cast out of a person, it roams around a dry region, looking for a place to rest, but never finds it. Then it says, ‘I’ll return to the house I moved out of,’ and so it goes back, only to find that the house is vacant, warm, and ready for it to move back in. So it goes looking for seven other demons more evil than itself, and they all enter together to live there. Then the person’s condition becomes much worse than it was in the beginning. This describes what will also happen to the people of this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43-45 (TPT)
You may be asking: What does this passage have to do with uprooting and planting? Well, when Jesus spoke of driving out demons in this passage, I believe he was speaking of the driving out of wrong perceptions and ideas about his Father—what Paul would call a “doctrine of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). In other words, just as demons come to oppress hearts and minds concerning the nature of God and our identity, so we too have suffered wrong teachings (doctrines) that gave birth to wrong paradigms and perspectives of the Father. We can point fingers at this or that leader or church, but we must see that it is truly a doctrine (teaching) of demons—one that is absolutely contrary to the way Jesus sees, knows and identifies with the Father. This has always been the fallen mindset since the beginning.
But praise God, the great Apostle and Prophet (heavens perfect Gift coming down from the Father above) now resides in us. We are not alone, but are accompanied and empowered by the great Gardener, Christ himself. If it means that he has to uproot and plant, then so be it—he will have a house full of mature sons and daughters. This is his commitment to the Father!
Enjoy the journey!
-RA
