Meet Adam Harris

We recently connected with Adam Harris and have shared our conversation below.

Adam , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

If you’ve been on this planet long enough, you realize that struggle, discomfort, and pain can be the best teacher and path for transformation and insight. I grew up as a bi-racial kid in a small, predominantly white town in Tennessee. I experienced prejudice and hurt, some intentional and some not, from my extended family, school, church, and community. I worked hard to learn and play the social game to “fit in.” Besides my family and friends, I felt the most belonging in my church. It was a conservative Bible-believing community and where I cut my spiritual teeth. I had some spiritually transformative experiences in these spaces and assumed these experiences validated every belief taught in this religious denomination concerning morality, the Bible, other religions, the afterlife, the end of the world, etc.

Fast forward, I began my undergraduate studies at Oral Roberts University, a conservative Charismatic private school. I fell in love with biblical studies and noticed some surprising things about the Bible. I started noticing what seemed to be contradictions, inconsistencies, and very ancient thinking. This season exposed me to biblical higher criticism, which started a bitter-sweet journey of deconstruction before I knew what was happening or what that was. Many of my assumptions about the world were beginning to unravel, and I kept it all to myself. This was an incredibly lonely and emotional time in my life. Then I did the most logical thing and took a job in full-time ministry, which helped me to forget some of the things I had questions about for a time, but the longer I was in the ministry world, the more tension I felt between my head and heart.

I eventually left full-time ministry and studied theology and religion at Vanderbilt. During this time, I engaged with people from all types of religions and worldviews and came across James Fowler’s theory on The Stages of Faith. This concept helped me realize I was likely moving through an age-old process of questioning my inherited beliefs. This meant letting go of certain assumptions about my religion, finding value in other belief systems, listening to “the other” more, and exposing myself to greater diversity. After the “deconstruction” dust settled, I was able to genuinely value my faith more than ever while also acknowledging its limitations and fallibility.

While finishing grad school, I began serving at a church in Hendersonville, TN, about 20 minutes from Nashville. We are one of a few LGBTQ+ fully affirming churches in our area, and it’s been an emotional rollercoaster. Advocating for this group in our area has severed close relationships and community partnerships and brought online firestorms from leaders and community members. The very people I worked so hard to gain approval from as a minority earlier in life are now disappointed with where education has taken me. This is still no comparison to what those in the LGBTQ+ have experienced much of their lives, especially when they come out in certain Christian denominations. Rejection and isolation are something I can relate to growing up in the South as a bi-racial person, so I’ve been able to empathize. It’s a bit of a paradox, but my faith is what most inspires me to advocate for those who have been pushed to the fringes or been hurt, sometimes by religion.

Much of my journey started with education. Education and critical thinking challenged my current understanding of the world. This was not an easy process and even painful to move through certain thresholds. However, the more I learned, the more I realized just how much I did not know, which cultivated enough humility to start listening more than I spoke. This allowed me to grow as a person, not just in knowledge but in humility, curiosity, empathy, compassion, patience, and joy. My need to judge everything and everyone began diminishing, and I could just love. I find tremendous purpose in serving in a faith community that takes both faith and education seriously. I currently teach and incorporate various subjects into our church. Evolutionary psychology, biblical higher criticism, history, anthropology, ethics, perceptual studies, philosophy, etc. What started as a real struggle has become the thing that has given me purpose in life. I’ve realized there are people like me out there who have questions, love education, but also want a community to explore the big questions around faith.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am currently an Executive Pastor at Godwhy Church in Hendersonville, TN. I am finishing my doctoral project, which involves developing courses designed especially for local church communities. Many churches, especially Evangelicals, in our area have never been exposed to the historical-critical method widely taught in seminaries and universities regarding the Bible. I will launch these live in our church and eventually release online content and material at www.faithevolved.com for a wider audience. Individuals or groups can use this to explore faith and its development over time.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The three qualities I would recommend are courage, curiosity, and compassion. All of these qualities are interrelated and need one another. Curiosity moves us into new areas of unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and innovation. Still, courage is required to pass through thresholds of fear and discomfort to explore and try new things or consider fresh ideas. Curiosity also motivates us to ask questions and listen to another person’s worldview, experience, or perspective, which can birth innovation and compassion. I think every leader, parent, and partner could continually improve in compassion. The difficulty in this area is understanding those drastically different from us which we often learn the most from them. The well-known Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Understanding is the foundation of love and compassion. If you cannot understand, you cannot love.”

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

The Stages of Faith by James Fowler has played a huge role in my development as a person. This book maps various stages we can experience as we age, move out of our context, and experience life on our own. Its research is also taken from hundreds of case studies accumulated from people from different religions, denominations, political backgrounds, and upbringings. For example, we can shift from “black and white” (stage 2) thinking to more grey thinking (stage 3) as we experience more of the world and new ideas. However, if we question our inherited belief systems to a high enough degree, we may have a crisis of faith or identity (stage 4). This can happen to atheists, religious individuals, conservatives, liberals, etc. When we read enough books, meet enough different people, or have several experiences that contradict what we thought to be true, it can prompt us to rethink and even disengage from the community or organization we came from originally.

This can lead to cynicism or antagonism toward the group we left. Some may stay at this stage for the remainder of their lives. If we continue to grow as a person we can move into non-dualistic thinking (stage 5) which allows us so to appreciate the “good” and acknowledge the “bad” that exist in all human systems and structures. This was a period when I really started feeling grateful for aspects of my town, my church, and many of my experiences.

This book was able to name what I began experiencing during college. Ultimately, it gave me hope that the emotions and feelings I was having were part of the process of development, and I am still in the process. It also continues to help me identify where others may be in their journeys overall or on certain issues and meet them there with compassion, patience, and understanding. Growth needs to be organic, if we are pushed, rather than nudge, out of our current worldview we can regress into earlier stages of thinking due to overwhelming fear or confusion. Finding a person, book, or story that relates and helps make sense of our own journeys is hopeful. This book showed me that I was not alone. I am trying to do the same for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.godwhy.com
• Other: www.faithevolved.com (This website will be launched in the next year, currently finishing this up for my doctoral project)