The Deconstructed “Dones”

By johnburton | November 30, 2023
Done with Church

Done with church, done with Christianity?

Christians all over the world, including people I know, and probably others you know as well, are abandoning Christianity. They are fed up with God, or at least the way he’s represented. In reality, their anger–which is often quite explosive–is directed at people, usually church leaders. They are deconstructing and they aren’t hiding it. Many are loud and proud with their new found anti-faith.

Another sizable group wouldn’t admit to full-blown deconstruction. They are, however, equally loud and proud when announcing they have joined the leaderless cult called the “dones.” They are done with church, and just like those who are deconstructing, the prime motive is due to disappointing leadership and unfulfilling church experiences.

All who deconstruct are “dones” but not all “dones” have fully deconstructed. These two movements are uniquely related, however.

PASTORS, LISTEN UP

Being deconstructed or done isn’t an option and I implore those who have done so, or who are considering undergoing this faith-change operation in their lives, to fearfully reconsider. This decision is eternity crushing.

That being said, I absolutely understand some of the reasons people are frustrated enough to abandon the church.

Much of it is due to false expectations. People become jaded and disillusioned when leaders fail, when they feel rejected or when the church experience isn’t what they hoped for. However, we can’t abandon God or his glorious church due to this. I’ve had a front row seat to multiple national leaders dramatically and very publicly falling. It’s heartbreaking, but it cannot negatively affect our zealous love for God or his church. 

While dealing with false expectations is the responsibility of the people, there is a good measure of responsibility that pastors have as well. Both need to do better.

Here are the bullet points from an article I wrote addressing this topic specifically:

Pastors, they are yearning for more. They can’t handle another perfectly crafted, wonderfully produced, humanly orchestrated mess with just a sprinkle of supernatural flavor for good measure. They are done.

Specifically, I believe the remnant is fed up with a few things that should be fixed, like yesterday.

  • Boring preaching
  • Fear of man
  • Tired order of service
  • No revival emphasis
  • The prophetic is minimized
  • Focus on church growth
  • No supernatural activity
  • Restrictive and controlling leadership
  • No legitimate vision
  • Misplaced emphasis on worship

You can read that article in its entirety here.

DECONSTRUCTED OR CORRUPTED?

Let’s start with those who are deconstructing. I’m perplexed by the radical religious shift of friends and acquaintances who were previously burning white hot for Jesus. My brain explodes when considering the possibility that people who were sharply prophetic, invested in fervent and powerful intercession and devoted radically to the truth of Scripture could end up fading away. Yet, it’s happening. Over and over again.

Understand, I’m not talking about typical church goers. I’m referring to people who were transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Their every waking moment was consumed by a passionate love for Jesus. They were continually provoked to awaken the sleepers and sound the alarm. These were end-time messengers who had a powerful anointing and a critical call on their lives. 

Now they are done. Deconstructing. Fading. 

Of course, many would retort that they aren’t done with God. They are deconstructing from what they’ve know as Christianity, and more specifically, the expression of it. 

The danger is very real, however. When we get fed up with the way God’s leaders are leading or the direction the movement is headed, a golden calf is most often the result. While Moses, an imperfect man, was literally meeting with God in one of history’s most critical moments, the people decided they had had enough. They didn’t give up on God, per se, but they had given up on Moses’ version of God.

“When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”” (Exodus 32:1, ESV)

So, what did they do? They deconstructed and redefined God to fit their personal desires.

“When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” (Exodus 32:5–6, ESV)

They decided to focus on self and the experience that’s more authentic, more trustworthy and more sensical to them. They planned a feast to the Lord, but it was the lord of self, the lord of Egypt and the lord of deconstruction. 

Then God said this to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” (Exodus 32:7, ESV)

This is what we are seeing today. Previously liberated people have had enough and, as a result, they have corrupted themselves. 

TRADING “ORGANIZED RELIGION” FOR ORGANIC, RELATIONAL EXPERIENCES

One of the dones was interviewed by churchleaders.com and admitted, “I’m tired of being lectured to. I’m just done with having some guy tell me what to do.”

This is a prevailing complaint among those who have given up on church as we know it. Their idea of a New Testament church gathering looks more like an unmoderated circle of discussion and equalized interaction as opposed to primary leadership flowing through a single individual.

The problem? The church we see in Scripture is clearly led by God through specific individuals. We are supposed to be “lectured to and told what to do.” It’s called preaching. If it’s anointed, we should crave it and hate when it ends!

Five-fold leadership is non-negotiable. The church is less organic than many would like to believe. It’s strategic, militaristic and advancing. Like it or not, there’s rank and order. God calls individuals to gather holy soldiers to penetrate the darkness through intercession and Kingdom advance. 

While there are healthy house churches, and we are sure to see biblically validated small and house churches explode on the scene, there’s a lot of wrong information on what is in fact biblical. 

Many complain about the “institutional church” as restrictive. They expect to have a role in the service, as if that’s the ultimate platform for the expression of ministry. It’s not. Most minister outside of the church. A few minister within.

SHOULD EVERYONE BE ALLOWED TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE AS THEY DESIRE IN A CHURCH SERVICE?

Many bring up 1 Corinthians 14 as proof that everyone should be doing everything and churches that don’t allow it are out of order. The opposite is actually true.
 
No, everyone should not have a lesson, a hymn, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.
 
“What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation…” (1 Corinthians 14:26, ESV)
 
The rallying cry for many in the house church movement is 1 Cor 14:26. Many believe it’s the picture of the perfect Christian gathering. 
 
It doesn’t take much study to see the problem with this.
 
This verse is smack in the middle of a lengthy passage about restrictions and prohibitions in church services. It’s not the mantra of freedom or body ministry that many would presume it is.
 
The verse starts by saying, “What then, brothers?”
 
Another way we could say it is, “Say what, brothers?” 
 
There’s some shock that they are doing what is not appropriate. “Say what? Are you really allowing everyone to have a tongue? Everyone is teaching? That’s not allowed according to Scripture.”
 
In fact the inappropriate flow of the gathering is addressed specifically if you keep reading.
 
“…If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God.” (1 Corinthians 14:26–28, ESV)
 
Verse 26 reveals that everyone had a tongue, but verse 27 reveals that only two or three should have a tongue…and then, only if there’s someone to interpret. Otherwise, the instruction is to keep silent. Don’t give a message in tongues.
 
Verse 26 highlights everyone having a revelation, but verse 27 allows only two or three.
 
Then, verse 33 brings it all together:
 
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace…” (1 Corinthians 14:33, ESV)
 
Additionally, the Bible makes it clear that not all are to teach. Everyone bringing a lesson as addressed in 1 Cor 14:26 is inappropriate.
 
“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1, ESV)
 
When operating biblically, house churches can be a healthy segment of the city church. However, it’s easy to forsake some of the key purposes of church gatherings.
 
The church isn’t supposed to be perpetual “family gatherings” where we focus mainly on relationships. Small groups can offer opportunities to connect relationally, but that is not the foundation nor the primary goal of the greater city church.
 
The Ekklesia is not a local body. It’s the greater church in the city. It’s a gathering under apostolic leadership. It’s a governmental organization with a military level mission to accomplish. Simple prayer, worship and “Holy Spirit” small group gatherings are great, but nothing more than a small part of the greater picture.
 
Five-fold leadership is key in the city church. Not everybody has been selected to lead in this fashion. In fact, very few are. It’s imperative that we understand rank, order, governmental roles and regional leadership if we hope to see the Kingdom advance.

A LEADERLESS MOVEMENT IS NOT BIBLICAL

Lastly, those who promote house churches as the only necessary expression of church fail to understand something else. God raises up leaders and he will call people to run specifically with them. 
 
What happens when the group becomes too big to fit in a house? Most would say they split into two houses. The problem? They lose their alliance with the five-fold leader God has called them to run with. They lose their pastor. They lose their apostle. 
 
On a practical level, if I’m serving an anointed man or woman of God, if I’m growing under their anointing and leadership, the last thing I’d want is to have that relationship severed. 
 
Simply, God raises up people and then raises up others to follow them. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” 
 
The idea that we’d have to leave that body and start again elsewhere with someone who may or may not carry the same weighty anointing just doesn’t make sense.
 
In fact, I’ve been in some house church meetings and small groups where I wanted to run away screaming. Some people just don’t have the gift of leadership. Their teaching is weak and boring. It’s critical that we have seasoned people giving leadership to the church. This is fully biblical.
 
The concept of organic ministry sounds appealing, but I can’t see how it’s supported in Scripture. God calls a person, gives them a mission, reveals a vision, anoints them and mandates they gather people to get equipped to labor for the cause.
 
The church is a military, not a family reunion. 
 
So, yes, when done right, house churches have a role. But, they are simply a small department of the greater church and never meant to be an entity unto themselves.

THE RIGHT RESPONSE

Simply, we need to passionately fall in love with Jesus again, radically commit to a vibrant, Spirit-filled, imperfect and often irritating local church and let go of inappropriate expectations. Extend grace. Love people, especially when they struggle and fail. Promote truth. Go low. Live, pray and burn night and day in the Spirit.
 
You’ll never find a biblical church or movement that’s devoid of bold, authoritative, anointed leadership. We shouldn’t want to. 
 
And one final exhortation: to those who are deconstructing, you are in eternal danger. To those who are done, I understand the pain and frustration, but abandoning the church isn’t the answer. (No, you aren’t functioning as the church all by yourself or with a group of friends.) 
 
By definition, the Ekklesia requires governmental leadership, a regular gathering, apostolic instruction and intercession. We can’t abandon the church. Not in this end-time hour.

 

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