2019 Issue 5 Sep/Oct - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

faith+spirituality
DECONSTRUCTION:
CHANGE OF HEART, CHANGE OF MIND
by Selena Haynes | photos courtesy of Tony Woodall
Tony Woodall grew up like many in the South, attending
church on Sundays with a very conservative, far-right view of
life in a very fear-based type of religious setting. You know
the type where every move you make outside of the staunch will of
the church will send you to hell? Yeah, that type of fear.
He carried these views,
somewhat, and led others
who believed the same for
20 years. The first 10 years
of his ministry were in the
Church of Christ and the
next 10 years shifted to nondenominational
churches.
But Tony, even in
childhood, always had a
hard time believing that God
would ever reject a child.
He said it would break his
heart when he would hear
the preacher talk about God
sending anyone to hell.
“Of course, someone
would say God is not
sending them. People are
choosing to go themselves
by their sinful behavior. But
I couldn’t buy that either
because they would also
say that you stand before
God and He will judge you
innocent or guilty,” said Tony.
Regardless of these
questions, Tony went into
the ministry with these
teachings ingrained. But
after 20 years of pastoring,
he left the ministry.
Deconstructing
a lifetime of beliefs
“Since the first 20 years
ended, I kinda started going
through my own personal
deconstruction from what
my life beliefs were. I found
extremely kind and loving
people where they weren’t
supposed to be and living
lives they weren’t supposed
to be living. I didn’t know
what to do with that. It
was very conflicting. I had
this system I had grown up
[with] in which I was told
what God was like [but]
then I had these people I
was meeting who looked
more like Jesus so I couldn’t
figure out why God and
Jesus didn’t look the same.
Jesus was supposed to be
the very essence of God
so that started a journey of
deconstructing my beliefs,”
said Tony.
Page 12 / focusmidtenn.com / SEP+OCT 2019 / SUCCESS