For the entirety of Christian history, faith “deconstruction” has been a common thing. This is not surprising. The pressures and pulls of the world, the flesh, and the Devil are real and constant. Given all the reasons we—sinful people surrounded by temptations—might abandon faith, it’s a miracle of grace that anyone stays with it.

So deconstruction and apostasy are not new. But there are some new dynamics to the deconstruction phenomenon 21st-century Western culture (including, I might note, the rebranding of apostasy as something valorous). TGC’s 2021 book, Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church, attempted to engage some of the new dynamics. And in the article below, Arizona pastor Joshua Ryan Butler examines four common root causes to contemporary deconstruction.

Butler isn’t speaking theoretically about this. He has two decades of pastoral experience walking with deconstructing Christians in cities like (deeply post-Christian) Portland, Oregon, and (college town) Tempe. His pastoral heart comes through beautifully in the article. He doesn’t just mention the four causes; he also points to the gospel’s treatment plan for each. Whether we’re a pastor, parent, mentor, or friend to someone deconstructing, Butler gives us wise and actionable advice—not only in how to properly diagnose the root causes of someone’s faltering faith, but also in what remedies we might lovingly prescribe to bring them back to spiritual health.