— Books
A non-anxious presence: How a Changing and Complex World will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders
Crisis always proceeds renewal
For much of recent history individuals and institutions could plan, execute, and flourish with their visions of a better world. Volatile, complex forces could be addressed and confronted with planning and management. But crisis is a great revealer. It knocks us off our thrones. It uncovers the weaknesses in our strategies and brings to light our myths and idols. Our past strategies run aground, smashed by unpredictable and chaotic waves. Yet in the midst of the chaos of a crisis comes opportunity. The history of the church tells us that crisis always precedes renewal, and the framework of renewal offers us new ways forward. A Non-Anxious Presence shows how that renewal happens and offers churches and leaders strategic ways to awaken the Church and see our culture changed for Christ.
Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture
What if the rise of secularism is good news for the church?
For decades, we 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 our cultural decline continues to accelerate, 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.
Strange Days: Life in the Spirit in a Time of Upheaval
What in the world is going on?
These days the world has everyone spinning. Weekly terrorist attacks. The refugee crisis. Transgender bathrooms. Academic safe spaces. Tensions with Russia. A perpetually uncertain economy. The list goes on. It’s enough to make us crazy… or want to put our heads in the sand. But we can’t, because these are our times, and we must face them. So what many Christians are looking for is someone to communicate a way forward—someone who both understands culture and trusts the Bible. Strange Days will help Christians slow down, get their bearings, and follow God with wisdom and tact in this wild world. “Take heart, for I have overcome the world,” Jesus said nearly 2,000 years ago. And that’s the message of Strange Days, the message the church needs today.
Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience
When church and culture look the same...
For the many Christians eager to prove we can be both holy and cool, cultural pressures are too much. We either compartmentalise our faith or drift from it altogether—into a world that’s so alluring. Have you wondered lately:- Why does the Western church look so much like the world?- Why are so many of my friends leaving the faith?- How can we get back to our roots? Disappearing Church will help you sort through concerns like these, guiding 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…”
Facing Leviathan: Leadership, Influence, and Creating in a Cultural Storm
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.
The Road Trip that Changed the World: The Unlikely Theory that will Change How You View Culture, the Church, and, Most Importantly, Yourself
There’s no shortage of prescriptions for restlessness out there: Seek adventure. Live your life. Don’t hold back.
Sound familiar?
The Road Trip that Changed the World is a book challenging the contemporary conviction that personal freedom and self-fulfillment are the highest good. Like the characters in a Jack Kerouac novel, we’ve dirtied the dream of white picket fences with exhaust fumes. The new dream is the open road—and freedom. Yet we still desire the solace of faith. We like the concept of the sacred, but unwittingly subscribe to secularized, westernized spirituality. We’re convinced that there is a deeper plot to this thing called life, yet watered-down, therapeutic forms of religion are all we choose to swallow, and our personal story trumps any larger narrative. This is the non-committal culture of the road. Though driving on freely, we have forgotten where we’re headed. Jesus said His road is narrow. He wasn’t some aimless nomad. He had more than just a half tank of gas—He had passion, objectives, and a destination. Do you?
The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession
Welcome to the 21st century where you can now purchase and exchange personalities, depending on mood and circumstance; where you are told that you can be anyone you want to be, and identity is no longer based in a sense of self but rather in the imagery you choose at that moment.
Welcome to the 21st century where you can now purchase and exchange personalities, depending on mood and circumstance; where you are told that you can be anyone you want to be, and identity is no longer based in a sense of self but rather in the imagery you choose at that moment.
The Trouble With Paris: Following Jesus in a World of Plastic Promises
What if you're living in the wrong reality?
Doesn't everyone want the good life these days Our shopping mall world offers us a never-ending array of pleasures to explore. Consumerism promises us a vision of heaven on earth-a reality that's hyper-real. We've all experienced hyperreality: a candy so 'grape-ey' it doesn't taste like grapes any more; a model's photo so manipulated that it doesn't even look like her; a theme park version of life that tells us we can have something better than the real thing. But what if this reality is not all that it's cracked up to be Admit it, we've been ripped off by our culture and its version of reality that leaves us lonely, bored, and trapped. But what's the alternative In The Trouble With Paris, pastor Mark Sayers shows us how the lifestyles of most young adults (19-35) actually work against a life of meaning and happiness to sabotage their faith. Sayers shows how a fresh understanding of God's intention for our world is the true path to happiness, fulfillment, and meaning.