Reconstructing Faith with Trevin Wax

In the first episode of this season, we looked at the reconstruction of Notre Dame after the fire, the painstaking work of refashioning and rebuilding a place that took centuries to construct. Rebuilding requires sacrifice... a dogged commitment to seeing the task through. If this is the case for churches, it’s also the case for families of churches, for networks, partnerships, conventions, and denominations. In episode two, we looked at the trend of “dechurching.” People drifting away from the church is one of the biggest stories in religion reporting right now. But the other big story is about the shifting landscape of those who do belong to a church. I’m talking about the decline of most denominations in America, and the rise of non-denominational churches in Protestant Christianity.

On this episode of Reconstructing Faith, join Trevin Wax as he asks how we look beyond our congregation to the health of the evangelical movement as a whole.

Connect with Trevin

• • on Twitter: @TrevinWax
  • on Facebook

Have a question you want to ask Trevin? Send it to [email protected].

The iconic family scenes we see in classic TV are not the norm for most people in American society today. Divorce has disrupted more families than ever before in our history. And the ripple effects go beyond the obvious heartache and loss, affecting even the banalities of annual rituals and traditions. Challenges to family life aren’t new. But the challenges in our day have multiplied. And these problems aren’t unrelated to the difficulties we face as God’s people, especially since we see in the New Testament how the church is to be the family of God. We are in relationship to one another as brothers and sisters, as fathers and mothers in the faith.

On this episode of Reconstructing Faith, join Trevin Wax as he considers the church’s responsibility in the era of family breakdown.

Connect with Trevin

• • on Twitter: @TrevinWax
  • on Facebook

Have a question you want to ask Trevin? Send it to [email protected].

In the latter decades of the 20th century, many churches across the country shifted from a formal style of worship, with traditional and classical music, to a more informal style of worship, with praise choruses and rock-influenced instrumentation. These changes in worship didn’t happen without conflict. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, controversies became so heated in some churches that some observers began calling them “The Worship Wars.” Today, we may be well past the worst of the worship wars, but we’re never going to be in a season where discussions over what we do as gathered members of the body of Christ go away.

On this episode of Reconstructing Faith, join Trevin Wax as he considers the formative influence of how we worship and how that will affect what the future looks like.

Connect with Trevin

• • on Twitter: @TrevinWax
  • on Facebook

Have a question you want to ask Trevin? Send it to [email protected].

For the past few years, sociologists and journalists have been describing millennials as “the burnout generation.” Now, there are reports that burnout and stress are on the rise with Gen Z as well. And then there’s the reality of spiritual burnout, the inability to feel the presence and power of God, a loss of desire for spiritual things. In the Bible, we see examples of spiritual disillusionment, from the frustrations of Moses as he led the children of Israel, to Elijah fleeing into the wilderness, feeling isolated and forgotten. Read the writings of monks in monasteries in medieval times and, even there, you find similar battles with spiritual apathy, a loss of passion and compassion. Burnout isn’t just a pastor problem. It isn’t just a workplace problem. It’s a spiritual problem, and this challenge affects the church.

On this episode of Reconstructing Faith, join Trevin Wax as he asks why burnout is happening and how we can respond.

Connect with Trevin

• on Twitter: @TrevinWax
• on Facebook

Have a question you want to ask Trevin? Send it to [email protected].

More and more commentators speak openly about the social and mental health consequences of porn: the degrading nature of warped expectations, the ever-more transgressive practices, the normalization of violence, and the dark underside of human trafficking. But most of the time, they stop short of pronouncing moral judgment about pornography in general. As people who follow Jesus Christ, we go further. We don’t oppose pornography merely because of bad outcomes. We oppose pornography because we know, deep down, our hearts are to be pointed in a different direction. But we fool ourselves if we think porn is something only out there, in the world. The pervasiveness of pornography affects the church as well—young people and old, men and women.

On this episode of Reconstructing Faith, join Trevin Wax as he discusses how to address this secret catastrophe, the challenge that pornography poses to hearts and minds inside the church, not just out in the world.

Connect with Trevin

• on Twitter: @TrevinWax
• on Facebook

Have a question you want to ask Trevin? Send it to [email protected].