Faith and Honest Questions
The Faith That Follows
Interview with Will Bourne
The conversation opens after certainty has stopped doing all the work. Prayer may remain unanswered, an inherited explanation may no longer fit, or disappointment may have lasted long enough that easy language feels dishonest. Faith has not disappeared, but it must learn how to move without pretending every question is settled.
Will Bourne speaks from that unfinished middle. In this written interview, he explores doubt, deconstruction, discipleship, silence, emotion, community, and the difference between abandoning God and releasing an image of God that could not carry the truth of lived experience.
The title is The Faith That Follows. What does it mean for faith to “follow”?
I wanted a title that described movement rather than arrival. We often talk about faith as though its goal is to reach a place where every question is answered and every doubt disappears. But most of life is lived before that kind of resolution arrives, if it ever does. The faith that follows is the faith that keeps responding to Christ when the path is unclear. It listens, questions, repents, trusts, and takes the next faithful step. It is not blind certainty. It is a relationship strong enough to keep moving when certainty reaches its limit.
What question gave birth to this book?
The central question was, “How do we keep trusting God when life does not unfold the way we expected?” Many believers are prepared for the beginning of faith. We know how to talk about conversion, conviction, and hope. Fewer of us are prepared for the middle, where prayers remain unanswered, churches disappoint us, plans collapse, and God seems difficult to understand. I wanted to write for people living in that middle. The book asks what remains when simple formulas no longer explain the life we are actually living.
Who did you picture holding this book?
I pictured the sincere believer who has not stopped loving God but can no longer pretend that faith is simple. That person may be carrying disappointment, doubt, grief, church hurt, or a long season of waiting. They may feel guilty because the answers that once satisfied them no longer do. I also pictured mature believers whose faith is strong but changing. This is not a book written to push people away from faith. It is written for those who want a faith honest enough to survive real life and rooted enough to keep following Christ.
Is this a book about doubt, deconstruction, or discipleship?
It touches all three, but discipleship is the larger frame. Doubt can expose weak assumptions. Deconstruction can help us identify ideas about God that were never worthy of God. But taking something apart is not the final goal. The question is what we are rebuilding around. I want the process to lead toward Jesus, truth, love, humility, and embodied faithfulness. If deconstruction becomes an identity or a permanent posture of suspicion, it can leave a person homeless. Healthy examination should make room for reconstruction around Christ.
What is the most damaging promise Christians sometimes make to one another?
One of the most damaging is the promise that if you trust God correctly, everything will work out in the form you desire. That promise turns faith into a technique for controlling outcomes. When life does not cooperate, the suffering person is left to blame God or blame themselves. The gospel offers something deeper than a favorable script. It offers the presence of Christ, the truth that suffering and death do not have ultimate authority, and a community called to embody love within the pain. Christian hope is real, but it is not a guarantee of immediate explanation or comfort.
What should a believer do when “I don’t know” is the most honest answer?
Say it. “I don’t know” can be a faithful sentence. It releases us from defending God with explanations God has not given. Then we ask what we do know and what love requires now. We may not know why a tragedy occurred, but we can know that a hurting person needs presence rather than a theory. We may not know the outcome of a decision, but we can seek wisdom, examine evidence, and act with integrity. Humility is not the absence of conviction. It is the recognition that we are creatures and do not carry the burden of omniscience.
Does the book define faithfulness by usefulness?
No, and that distinction matters. A person’s worth begins in being loved by God, not in productivity, influence, or service. Disability, illness, aging, or exhaustion may change what someone can do. Receiving care can become part of a faithful life. If we honor people only because they are useful to us, we have not escaped the culture of performance. Faithful action is a response to love, not proof that a life deserves love.
If listeners remember only one thing from this interview, what do you want it to be?
You do not need every answer to keep following Christ. You do not need to pretend that disappointment did not hurt or that every mystery has been resolved. Bring the truth of your life into the relationship. Seek help where help is needed. Take responsibility for what is yours, release what is not, and let others walk with you. Faith may be strong today or barely audible. Its final posture is not mastery. It is still trusting, still walking, still following.
A Closing Invitation
The invitation is to keep moving honestly. Bring the question into prayer, Scripture, wise community, and patient reflection without demanding an artificial deadline for certainty. Following does not mean suppressing doubt or refusing help. It means continuing to turn toward Christ with the truth of where you are.
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