Peace Guards Our Hearts
On peace, prayer, and why our generation was culturally programmed to deconstruct
In our last podcast episode for the year, Joel McMaster and I pull together several threads, including: finding peace in our lives, the cultural turn towards deconstruction and Soul Revival Church’s plans for Christmas.
Peace that comes through prayer, not answers
I shared with Joel some reflections from a sermon I preached recently titled “God, Why Can’t I Find Peace?” — preached, unknowingly, just hours before the Bondi attacks.
One significant text that I reflected on towards the end of the sermon was Philippians 4, where Paul speaks about a peace that “surpasses understanding.” What struck me is that Paul doesn’t promise peace after circumstances change, or once prayers are answered. Peace comes through the act of praying itself — through bringing our anxiety into relationship with God.
Isn’t that fantastic! We might presume that peace comes from answered prayer. But that’s not what Paul promises. Peace is not the reward at the end of the process; it’s the gift we receive in the process as we entrust ourselves to God, even if (when!) nothing is resolved. This is the peace that guards our hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, forged through the daily presentation of our requests to God; i.e., the everyday life of discipleship.
Why didn’t our grandparents deconstruct?
From there, the conversation shifted to a post that came across my feed recently by Paul Anleitner titled: “Why Didn’t Your Grandparents Deconstruct?”
The short version: Church hurt isn’t new. Moral failure isn’t new. Bad theology and unanswered questions aren’t new. So why does deconstruction feel so uniquely millennial?
Anleitner answers that the difference isn’t in the pain found in church, but the cultural programming that the millennial generation, in particular, was raised in.
Our grandparents lived inside what sociologists call a hegemonic narrative — a shared story that held society together. Even when they saw cracks in the church, there was no obvious alternative story to step into. You stayed, you endured, you reformed what you could.
However, the generation of younger X-ers and older Millennials (today’s 35-50 year olds) grew up in something very different.
By the 1990s, the dominant story had shifted. Postmodernism taught us that truth is socially constructed, institutions are suspect, every narrative hides a power play, and authenticity is found by pulling inherited stories apart.
And we were catechised in it constantly. It was the dominant narrative of much of the pop culture we shared, such as The Simpsons or South Park.
Adding to Anleitner’s piece, I wonder whether the 1990s were the height of evangelical youth group culture. (Can someone fact-check that for me?) Maybe it’s just the nostalgia speaking, but it felt to me like Veggie Tales, WWJD bracelets, and the rise of alternative Christian bands like MxPx, Norma Jean and Underoath broadened the appeal of church, and therefore the appeal of those who are now deconstructing.
When you combine the zeitgeist of the millennial worldview with a broad awareness of evangelical subcultures, is it any wonder that deconstruction doesn’t feel rebellious, but virtuous?
Why Christmas still matters
Finally, with Christmas approaching (at the time of recording), Joel and I also talked about why Soul Revival treats Christmas and Easter as the two great anchors of the year (alongside Week Away and Planning Days), and why gathering on Christmas Day still matters.
Check out the full conversations in the links below.