The modern church often misdiagnoses its condition. Leaders scan attendance charts, budget lines, and volunteer pipelines, then conclude that decline is the crisis. But numbers are not the real problem. Formation is. And so fragile Christians are being produced.

The deeper issue is that many churches are producing Christians who are fragile—easily shaken by social pressure, conflict, or the cost of obedience. These believers may remain present in pews or small groups, but they lack the moral and spiritual resilience required to endure discipleship.

A fragile Christian fears the cost of following Christ. When obedience threatens comfort, reputation, or social belonging, they fold. The pressure may come from family, friends, social media, or the workplace, but the result is the same: conviction gives way to accommodation.

These believers will still affirm Scripture as “authoritative” in theory. They will quote it selectively and speak of it respectfully. Yet in practice, Scripture functions more as a general guide than as God’s binding word that directs how one ought to live. The reason is not intellectual confusion. It is moral hesitation.

Many sense—rightly—that if Scripture is truly authoritative, it will demand uncomfortable decisions. It will require sacrifice. It will expose compromises. And so, remaining vague about authority becomes a strategy for remaining comfortable. Ignorance is not always accidental; sometimes it is chosen.

Deconstruction as a Crisis of Trust

Much of what is labeled “deconstruction” today is not primarily an intellectual exercise. It is moral and emotional. At its core, it is a crisis of trust.

When God is no longer trusted—when His word is treated as unreliable, outdated, or optional—individuals place themselves in the role of final authority. Meaning, morality, and identity are now self-assigned. No external word can command obedience. No authority can say, “You ought.”

This shift is often framed as courage or honesty. In reality, it is the burden of autonomy. When authority is rejected, the self must carry the full weight of moral decision-making. Morals then hinge on personal ideals, preferences, and feelings. What feels right becomes what is right.

This explains the growing tendency—even among mature Christians and church leaders—to justify questionable or controversial behaviors with statements like, “I feel like God would want me to…” Scripture becomes secondary to internal impressions.

But Christian maturity has never been defined by the strength of one’s feelings. It is defined by trust—trust in God and submission to His word. Scripture, not sentiment, is the primary authority for Christian life. Feelings may respond to truth, but they do not determine it.

An Uncomfortable Observation

Here is an observation rarely stated publicly, because leaders do not like to hear it: many churches are not forming people to become like Jesus. They are forming consumers of a worship service.

This fragility is often blamed entirely on pastors and leaders—and they do bear responsibility. Yet congregants are not without fault. Many want a church that affirms faith without demanding transformation. They will speak of trusting God, but resist exploring what God actually requires, knowing it may cost them comfort, habits, or status.

Church leaders, for their part, face their own pressure. If too much is required—not in terms of serving programs, interestingly, but in terms of how Christians ought to live—attendance may drop. And so expectations are lowered, sermons are softened, and formation is replaced with attraction.

This is not usually the result of bad intent. Most leaders do not aim to keep people shallow. But many have overlooked how their preaching, programs, and metrics are failing to move people deeper. When Scripture is not taught as formative, and when church life is built around appeal rather than obedience, fragility should not surprise us.

A Call to Reflection

The question before the church is not how to draw a crowd, but how to form a people. Not how to retain attenders, but how to shape disciples who trust God enough to obey Him.

Leaders must ask whether their ministry is producing resilient Christians or merely satisfied consumers. Congregants must ask whether they are truly submitted to the authority of Scripture, or quietly reserving the right to decide which commands they will follow.

The church does not need less demand. It needs clearer authority. And it needs the courage—on both sides of the pulpit—to face what formation actually requires.