How do we help people who are wrestling with doubts in their faith? Can we create a safe space for them to question and voice their doubts without being judged for their questions? How do we help give them this space, while also still pointing them gently back to the truth that God is real and present even when He does not feel near?
These questions came to mind after I read an article on “The Evolving Faith of Lisa Gungor” by Tyler Huckabee in Relevant Magazine and also after watching a Buzzfeed video called, “I Stopped Believing in God after Pastoring a Megachurch” where she promotes her new book, The Most Beautiful Thing I’ve Seen. In her book, she shares about her story of growing up in a Christian church where she was not allowed to ask questions or raise doubts about her faith. As she and her husband, Michael Gungor, became worship leaders at a megachurch, and then gained popularity as a worship band while facing difficult life situations and the struggle with the realities of evil in the world, their doubts about God grew. As they wrestled with these doubts, Michael had to step down from leading worship at a megachurch, since he did not believe in what he was singing anymore, and ultimately said that he did not believe in God. Lisa shares about the difficulty of coming to terms with her husband’s loss of faith and also shares her struggles and doubts. She also writes about how these difficult situations, such as having a child with down syndrome has taught her more about the beauty and complexities of life, and how this has led to a deeper faith for her. While she does not want to call herself a Christian, she still says in the Relevant article, “My perspective is I’m trying to live in the way of love and the way of Jesus the best I know how. I know I don’t have it all right, but I love the way of Jesus. I don’t have a definition for that.”
While I’m not quite sure where she currently falls in her faith, it seems that she still seeks to follow Jesus and has some sort of faith. It saddens me that she has moved away from wanting to be called a Christian, due to the seemingly negative associations it brings. Yet, I am hopeful that she can find Christ and the reality of God’s love as she seeks to still follow Him. As I read her story, I’m struck by the ways in which it seems that she and her husband struggled on their own with their fears and doubts, and it did not seem like their Christian community provided the space for them to question and raise these concerns. I wonder what it would have been like for them if in their doubts and struggles, they were embraced by their faith community instead of ostracized by it. I wonder what it would have been like if they felt the freedom to be honest with God in their doubts. I wonder if it would have given them a tangible taste of the reality of God’s love, so that even in their doubts, they would see that God is real through His people. What would it be like for us to embrace people who are questioning to show them God’s love and grace in the midst of their doubts?
Gungor’s music has been influential in my life, as some of their past worship albums and songs such as “Beautiful Things” brought so much hope and healing during my times of doubt and questioning. While I may not agree with them with their current unorthodox views of Christianity, I am still grateful for the hope they have brought to many through their music and hope that they also see the beautiful things of God’s truth in the midst of life’s challenges.
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