Böcker av Mark Sayers

How a church disappears . . .For the many Christians sold on proving we can be both holy and cool, cultural pressures are too much. We either compartmentalize our faith, or drift from it altogether--into a world that's so alluring.Why does the Western church look so much like the world?Why are many of my friends leaving the faith?How can we get back to our roots?Disappearing Church will help you with questions like these and guide you in a thoughtful, faithful, and hopeful response. Weaving together art, history, and theology, pastor and cultural observer Mark Sayers reminds us that real growth happens when the church embraces its countercultural witness, not when it blends in.It's like Jesus said long ago, "If the salt loses its saltiness, it is no longer good for anything . . ."

What if what looks like decline in the church is actually the beginning of a spiritual reawakening?For decades, we Westerners set our hopes on technology, politics, and the appearance of peace. We wanted to believe we were headed somewhere better--that progress was happening. But now as our technology ensnares and isolates us, our politics threaten to tear us apart, and mass violence becomes alarmingly normative, people are understandably distressed. But throughout history these periods of decline traditionally precede powerful spiritual renewal--and even revival. What if all the bad news in this world is actually good news for the church? Discover why there's reason to be wildly hopeful and how to prepare yourself and your church to be a part of renewal now and in the future.

There are two styles of leadership at war in the world.On one side, the mechanical leader casts a vision of heroic action aided by pragmatism, reason, technology, and power. On the other side, the organic leader strives to bring forth creativity, defying convention and relishing life in culture's margins. This leadership battle is at the heart of our contemporary culture, but it is also an ancient battle. It is the reinvocation of two great heresies, one rooted in an attempt to reach for the heroic, godlikeness, the other bowing before the sea monster of the chaotic deep. Today's leader must answer many challenging questions including: What does it mean to lead in a cultural storm?How do I battle the darkness in my own heart?Is there such a thing as a perfect leader?Weaving a history of leadership through the Enlightenment, Romanticism, into tumultuous 19th century Paris and eventually World War II, cultural commentator Mark Sayers brings history and theology together to warn of the dangers yet to come, calling us to choose a better way.