The black sheep of Christian music’s Grammy Award-winning trio DC Talk, Kevin Max, has revealed to his followers and fans on social media over the weekend that he has been deconstructing his faith for decades. The 53-year-old singer called himself an ‘exvangelical,‘ a term used to define someone who has left evangelical Christianity.
The tweet caused some confusion leading some to believe he wasn’t a Christian anymore. To clarify, Max says he’s still a Christian and told people to “read text carefully” then reassured his followers, “I still follow the Universal Christ…I have no idea how many peoples blogs or podcasts are using that announcement for further division, but I’m here for The Grace.”
Max’s post read, “I’ve been deconstructing/Reconstructing/progressing/whatever you wish to call it for decades, I’ve been in the outsider/misfit/seeker club for a long time now…Thank you for welcoming me in, but I’ve always been here.” He later posted, “Hello, my name is Kevin Max & I’m an #exvangelical.”
The ‘Jesus Freak‘ singer seemed to take offense to Christian outlets reporting on his revelation to his followers, saying, “For all those people using my post as plug & play for your own hot take or personal discourse, I offer the lyrics to an upcoming song off of my new band @AstronautsSad album ‘Adult Fears’ titled: ‘it’s okay’…. I’m sorry for being obtuse or difficult but it’s a process…love.”
The lyrics from Kevin’s upcoming song reflect some of his deconstructing journey, which reads:
It’s okay to be estranged from everything you were taught.
And it’s okay to unpack all the hopeless baggage that you bought.
I know the sun, it never shines in the same place twice.
And I know that life is better with a trusted vice.
But you will change when you cave to the universal Christ.
“I don’t think the God that I believe in is just all the sudden Going to ignore me because I don’t believe every single thing that’s written down somewhere.”
He specifically called out The Christian Post for an article about his deconstruction, and responded by plugging his new band Sad Astronauts, which he says lyrically reflects his current faith journey. Max said, “So now that ‘The Christian Post’ decided to write an article on my tweets, I’d thought I’d let you know I’m truly progressing forward & deconstructing rock and roll with my new band @AstronautsSad join us! KM”
“I’ve always felt like this,” Max said, and added his reasoning for telling people he’s been deconstructing was “so certain people can feel comfort.”
Kevin Max Explains Deconstructing His Faith
In December of 2020, Max did an interview with Decent Christian Podcast. In it he was asked what deconstruction looks like in terms of what deconstructionists believe and what the evangelical world believes. Max said he likes “to call it ‘deconstruction reconstruction’ because any person who’s really changing—you’re going to deconstruct or you’re going to reconstruct. So it’s a combination of both of those things.”
Like in his recent Twitter post, he told the podcast hosts he’s been “deconstructing for decades,” and shared he’s “always been progressing…and sometimes I regress.”
“Where I am at right now is, I’ve really just kind of gone on a journey to find out what I truly believe by reading a lot, thinking a lot, and keeping my eyes and ears open. I’ve definitely been pretty vocal about my thoughts online, and it’s met with some people that just don’t agree with me, which is great.”
