Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience

If you were raised in the church any time after the 1950's then this is a must read. It doesn't matter if your experience was good or bad or if you're still in the church, it will be illuminating. If you want a historical, sociological, and theological understanding of how the church has gotten to where it is today then you have to read this book.My one critique was that it was more descriptive than prescriptive, meaning that it dealt more with the past than what to do today, but now that he has come out with the follow up "reappearing church" I can see why he decided to split the two subjects out.

Summary: It is a deep look at our culture and how Christianity fits into it. Sayers is gospel guy, calling the church back to its faithful orthodoxy, the Bible and courageous creative response in light of the new cultural landscape.The Good: Sayers uses illustrations very effectively. Thy have wide range from islands traditions changing how they reacted to the Tsunami (134ff), movies (Safe 53 and Her 89), to Al-Qaeda versus Islamic state comparisons(109ff).Sayers talks of Christianity's "soft power (p. 10)" and the page before quotes another claiming Christianity is full of "thousands of quiet kindnesses.”Chapter 2 draws out an interesting history of how the north American church (and apparently the author homeland of Australia as well) is obsessed with “relevance.” It was fairly insightful.Chapter 3 is very good. It starts out with the often-cited Chinese sociologist given credit to the rise of the west no to guns, political structure, or but in sum, “we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity (41).”The real gem in chapter 3 is the first, second and third culture explanation. First cultures “believe in many gods(43).” Second cultures “are rooted in the Judeo-Christin ethic (43).” Third cultures “define themselves against second cultures ($45).”This insight into modern religious culture is tremendously astute. A partial solution offered here in the narrative is given in the words of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, “to become a creativity minority…is not easy, because it involves maintaining strong links with the outside world while staying true to your faith, seeking not merely to keep the sacred flame burning but also to transform the larger society of which you are a part (page 50).”Chapter 4 lost me for a little. The talk about Gnosticism didn’t match up with what my seminary and undergrad profs talk about Gnostic teaching. But Sayers is using this is a similar way to many others currently. Sayer’s new Gnosticism seems combo of Zen Buddhism/Mindfulness, New Age thought, Secular Humanism and self-help movement, and the Prosperity Gospel. It seems Sayer’s is labeling a combo of all the threats to Christianity currently in one title. But I now found out there is a fairly large focus to this new label.Here is a solid quote from Chapter 4. “Gnosticism is an attempt to retain the fruits of Christianity and the solace of faith while maximizing the individual’s authority. It is the post-Christian impulse par excellence (59).”Part 2 (chapters 5 +) follows this outline:New Cultural Landscape (A) + Faithful Orthodoxy (B) + Courageous Creative Response (C) = Revitalization of the church and culture (D)He does a fairly accurate job to present solutions that aren’t simplistic and actually seem like they could work in the real world.Chapter 9 has a stand out idea. “Institutions are our beliefs and ethics enfleshed. They bring ideas down from the ether and ensure that they are operating within actual life of a community (132).” Sayers solution to helping the church rise and through it the gospel is strengthening the institutions that purport ideas. For the gospel to flourish churches need to flourish. He quotes Andy Crouch, “Institutions are the way the teeming abundance of human creativity and culture are handed on to future generations (135).”Sayers ends the book with a call to abide in Christ. “To do this (abiding and making an impact) … we must again learn to abide in the Father (167).”

This book is a great, succinct, and accessible analysis of our cultural moment. Sayers identifies a lot of issues that might otherwise be difficult to name. This book points out the problems, but you'll be disappointed if you're looking for solutions.For those, you have to get his *Reappearing Church* but I didn't find it quite as insightful as this volume.

His thesis:This book will argue that we cannot solely rely on the contemporary, Western church’s favored strategy of cultural relevance, in which Christianity and the church is made “relevant” to secular Western culture. Instead we need to rediscover gospel resilience. To walk the countercultural narrow path in which we die to self and re-throne God in our lives as the supreme authority. In our culture of radical individualism, with its Gnostic hue, no other approach will suffice.

Mark Sayers, with sharp perception and magical dexterity, disects our cultural place in time. He names the things about our moment that have, from history, put the church in the place we occupy today. A place influenced by hedonism, a mistaken missiology and a resurgent Gnosticism: the idolotry of self. He is not wallowing in cynicism but he brings it all back around to what he calls “gospel resilience” and the reestablishment of communities with strong ties.I have found myself unmistakably changed by this book. A single look outside the window at our world and it’s easy to feel that so much is bent out of shape and the resulting head fog leaves many Christians uncertain how to navigate our post-Christian culture. With clarity and insight Mark Sayers diffuses the fog and helps us to realize our calling and purpose as a Jesus following creative minority in the caustic, secular world.

What a refreshing analysis of the state of the church today. I'm so tired of hearing about culture wars and how the secular left is what ails America. This book details the decline of "Christianity" in the western world and it's implications for the church. It highlights how individualism has shaped our culture, Christian and non Christian alike! This book offers not only a message of hope but also a path forward for the church.

There is so much in every chapter that requires us to sit down with different sets of the contemporary church and have a genuine scripture values discussion concerning what we would see the church becoming.On a global perspective, this book I feel fails to accommodate the the movement over what is happening in the wider church that is two-third centric and ignores the reverse influence of this expression of Christianity... maybe I need to read the reappearing church to engage this conversation more.. so here we go,

Sayers is a fantastic cultural commentator who gives an excellent analysis of the current state of our secular world. He offers hope and encouragement for the church and individuals. It is full of hope. Highly recommended

I found the begging of the book a bit slow. But later it picked up powerfully. I found the gnostic chapter rather interesring.It's a great essay about today's post-christian culture. Very relevant

This is a short book with a simple message, although rooted in a strong cogent mind. He unpacks the almost ubiquitous influence of modern Gnosticism and encourages us not to get downhearted but crack on building a beautiful subversive church that will glorify Christ and outlive this tide of secularism.

The effectiveness and witness of the church can melt like snow if it is not true to its calling. What is left is a popularity contest and self deception.This book highlights that perfectly.

awesome book

This book is so good. It’s a bit of a challenging read as Sayers is brilliant and thinks at such a deep level but this book is important for church leaders to read and understand.