Reconstruct Reconstruct

To wrap up season 2, we get to hear a conversation with one of our hosts, Keithen Schwahn. He is a Pastor at Church of the City New York, building a movement of young people following Jesus in Manhattan. Keithen's story takes us from rural Wyoming, to the Pacific Northwest, and then to New York City. He walks us through his experiences of many common things that lead a person to deconstruct faith, yet how he came out of those experiences more connected to Jesus than before. Many young people experience an "Oregon Trail" experience with their faith, leaving behind Christianity in search of a life of progress and freedom. Keithen shows us a path leading forward where true freedom is found in a posture known as "generous orthodoxy". Truth, beauty, grace, love, forgiveness, and hope. 

Michelle Jones is a Pastor, Writer, Speaker from Portland, Oregon. She is one of our spiritual mothers, and a spiritual mother of the city. After years in the entertainment industry, Michelle became a Pastor at Imago Dei Church in Portland. In the wake of so many young people disillusioned with the church, Michelle offers a much more communal and family alternative to deconstruction. Rather than doubt and deconstruction as pushing away from the people of God, maybe hard questions are more like pulling up chair at the family table working through hard things together. 

We've been looking forward to this one for quite some time. Jarin Oda is a good friend of ours who has has walked a long journey in relationship with Jesus. Today he is the Pastor of Youth at Bridgetown Church in Portland Oregon. On this episode, Jarin tells us his story of growing up in a faith tradition, yet finding this faith insufficient to face the confrontational questions of his professors at university. Jarin walks us through why he lost his faith in college, and how he found it again on the other side. A shallow version of faith needed to be swapped for something more. Jarin found a God who holds our doubt and questions in the context of committed relationship.  

Why are so many young people walking away from faith? Jason Ballard has given his life to answering that question and creating a fresh expression of the church in his home city of Vancouver, BC. Before planting a church in Vancouver, Jason was one of the pioneers of the Alpha Youth Series, opening conversations about Jesus with countless young people across the globe. Jason has been a guide to us over the years and one of the most formative voices into our vision for the future of the church. We ask him about his own process of deconstruction, reconstruction, and hope for the future of God's people. Good stuff. 

This week we sit down for a conversation about Christian Nationalism. On the heels of one of the most divisive and contested elections in American history, Gen Z has found the church just as hateful and divided as the wider culture. In this episode, Tom walks us through his own deconstruction of Christian Nationalism, yet holding on to his faith in Jesus through the process. 

"I have no faith in Gen Z, but I have full faith that God will do what he's always done to set us free". Gaby Odom - McCullough is one of the foremost young leaders in the country, seeking to reach college students at Baylor University. At 20 years old, her passion to see God move among her generation gripped us. We ask her about the future of the church, where is she finding hope, and what it looks like to follow like Jesus when so many walk away. 



You can follow along with Gabby and all she's up to at the links below:

https://www.instagram.com/helloitsbrie/

https://gabrielleodom.com/