I kissed deconstruction starter pack resource guides goodbye.

Let's talk about the marketization of deconstruction. Deconstruction culture may not be brandable like purity culture relics: There may not be daddy-daughter dances and promise rings for sale. But like anything else, when there is momentum around an idea it's commercialized via conferences, online courses, and influencers.⠀
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Last week, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" author Josh Harris offered a "signature 5-week course" for making peace with your story, including a bonus "deconstruction starter pack" that he quickly took off his website following swift pushback, including scorching commentary in a First Things article: "You can take the boy out of American celebrity evangelicalism, but you cannot take the American celebrity evangelicalism out of the boy.”
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Harris took the course down and apologized, so why talk about this now? Because when you're a public person you have power, and what you say bears influence. Evangelicals and exvangelicals are still paying attention to Harris. ⠀
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So is the world, watching how the church is grappling with our post-Trumpian identity. When Harris announced he was no longer a Christian in 2019, it made global news. A headline in the NY Post: “Christian guru says he’s getting divorced, denounces faith.” Jezebel wrote a headline that sounds more like it should be from CBN: “Purity Culture Icon Joshua Harris Says That Premarital Dating Is Fine, Now That He’s Getting Divorced.” There are many more.⠀
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Deconstruction includes questioning authority. Harris, who has deconstructed, is playing the role of an authority clocked in companionship that can guide us through.⠀
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A lot of us are tired. Tired of folks building platforms and careers on a deficit-based view of leaving the church, let alone trying to capitalize off of it. Again. ⠀
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Many of us are deeply invested in where we go from here, what we rebuild towards. In caring for each other, we want to have those conversations. They're not for sale.⠀