Listening to Deconstruction Stories
Perhaps the biggest source of online controversy this year was the appearance of Tim Whitaker in a session titled “Deconstruction, Reconstruction, and the Gospel.”
Whitaker is the creator and facilitator of The New Evangelicals, an online community that seeks to emulate “the ways of Jesus by reclaiming the evangelical tradition and embracing values that build a better way forward.” Whitaker speaks often about his deconstruction process and is LGBTQ+ affirming.
During his presentation, Whitaker shared that his friendship with a gay man, coupled with the way many evangelicals responded to the rise of Donald Trump, Black Lives Matter, and the COVID-19 pandemic launched him on his deconstruction journey.
“I was not a liberal dying to find an excuse to deconstruct,” he said. “In fact, I saw myself as firmly committed to the Jesus of my evangelical tradition, which is why I was so shocked. I was taking what I was taught at face value.”
Given Whitaker’s theological beliefs, many of which align with progressive Christianity, Sprinkle has come under fire for “platforming” him. Of the criticism, Sprinkle said, “I think it just misunderstands the nature of the conference.”
“I would never platform an affirming position in a context where they are trying to convince people of that position,” he continued. “That just was not why I brought Tim in at all. It was to share the story of deconstruction.”
Sprinkle added that “probably three quarters of people in the room have a loved one who is either on that trajectory or will be on that trajectory.”
“And I think in order to prevent people from becoming unorthodox or progressive, we need to hear from people like Tim so that we can understand why he actually deconstructed,” Sprinkle said.
Sprinkle went on to say that in his personal interactions with Whitaker, he found Whitaker to be “open-minded and delightful.” And for his part, Whitaker said that he felt welcomed at the conference, despite his and Sprinkle’s deep disagreements on sexual ethics. He told ChurchLeaders, “I really was not worried about feeling unwelcome in the slightest.”
“I was more concerned for maybe some blowback I might get from people that I respect and admire or Preston getting blowback just because he asked me to speak on deconstruction,” Whitaker added.
In separate podcast episodes reflecting on the conference, both Sprinkle and Whitaker later recounted an evening where the speakers gathered at Sprinkle’s home and engaged in good faith conversations well into the night.
