Mark Sayers - Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience

One of the most important books of the year: brutally honest, jaw-droopingly perceptive, yet unwaveringly hopeful. Sayers is an evil genius. I literally could not put this book down. A must read for every Christian in the West.

JOHN MARK COMER, pastor for vision and teaching at Bridgetown Church in Portland, OR, author of Loveology

There are very few writers I read with more anticipation and astonishment than Mark Sayers. In this wide-ranging book, he offers the most concise, acute diagnosis Ive seen of the predicament of the church in the third culture of neo-Gnostic post-Christendomand kindles hope that this could still be one of the churchs finest hours.

ANDY CROUCH, executive editor, Christianity Today and author, Culture Making: Recoveringour Creative Calling and Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power

Mark has given us a culturally astute, philosophically keen handbook to navigate challenges facing the Western church. Some passages are so loaded with insight I gladly read and reread them. Required, engaging reading for anyone serious about the faith.

JONATHAN DODSON, lead pastor of City Life Church, author of The Unbelievable Gospel and Raised? Finding Jesus by Doubting the Resurrection

Brilliantly insightful, Sayers takes us beyond the obvious and shows us the deeper devotions of the contemporary self drunk on autonomy and resistant to the Christian faith. Disappearing Church is a prophetic call to gospel resilience, challenging the churchs anemic attempts at relevance while inspiring a new posture in discipleship and mission. This is Sayers at his best.

JR VASSAR, lead pastor, Church at the Cross and author of Glory Hunger: God the Gospeland Our Quest for Something More

Theres not a keener observer of church and culture trends than Mark Sayers. And Disappearing Church comes at the perfect time, just as Western Christians are debating how best to navigate a rapidly secularizing culture. I cant imagine a more timely or important book.

DREW DYCK, senior editor of Leadership Journal and author of Generation Ex-Christian and Yawning at Tigers

Disappearing Church is essential reading for those looking for how to be a compelling and faithful counterculture in these complex and challenging times. Mark has an incredible ability to deconstruct our current moment, but also construct a picture of how the church can bear witness to the way of Jesus and the good news of the gospel in this heavily contested world.

JON TYSON, founding pastor of Trinity Grace Church New York, author of Sacred Roots

When Mark Sayers writes something I want to read it and pay attention. He is one of the rare people who can take deep thinking and insights and make them practical.

DAN KIMBALL, Vintage Faith Church, director of the Regeneration project at Western Seminary, author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church

If you are ready to think rather than be thought to, ready to journey rather than be told, then prepare yourself to see our current reality from the inside out. In Disappearing Church, Mark Sayers helps us understand our current experience as the church in the West by taking us past the soft facades onto the hard truths while getting us back on track to the joy of the kingdom of heaven.

LANCE FORD, author of Revangelical

Disappearing Church is a powerful look at the churchs current state, how we got here, and what it will take to move past relevance into actually impacting the world. It is brilliantly crafted and deep while also being accessible and enjoyable. I always benefit when I read Marks work, and this book is no exception.

BARNABAS PIPER, author and podcaster

Mark Sayers traces how the church has tried to stay relevant in a changing world and nearly lost her soul in the process. With a balanced blend of history, theology, and cultural exegesis Mark proposes a hopeful vision for the church that is less about catering to public opinion and more about learning to live out and preach the gospel with courage and humility as a creative minority.

KEN WYTSMA, lead pastor of Antioch Church and author of Pursuing Justice, The Grand Paradox, and Create vs. Copy

Mark Sayers has done it again with this trenchant expose of the compromised and selfish church that has become so prevalent in our day. At the same time, he manages to paint a compelling vision of a faithful community for our time.

ALAN HIRSCH, author, theologian, missiologist, activist: www.alanhirsch.org

In a time when religion is in decline, few voices are more essential than that of Mark Sayers. For pastors like me trying to navigate a secularizing landscape, and for all Christians looking for ways to leave the world better than they found it, Disappearing Church is a must-read.

SCOTT SAULS, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, author of Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who Are Tired of Taking Sides

In Disappearing Church, Sayers pairs a powerful cultural analysis with pastoral wisdom on what it means to be faithful in this moment. Disappearing Church is a gift to the church, and will provide great encouragement to those seeking to follow Jesus in their daily lives.

MICHAEL WEAR, former White House staffer and founder of Public Square Strategies LLC

2016 by
MARK SAYERS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB, and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Edited by Elizabeth Cody Newenhuyse
Cover design: Simplicated Studio
Interior design: Smartt Guys design

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sayers, Mark.

Title: Disappearing church : from cultural relevance to gospel resilience / Mark Sayers.

Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015039865 | ISBN 9780802413352

Subjects: LCSH: ChristianityForecasting. | Church.

Classification: LCC BR481 .S29 2016 | DDC 270.8/3dc23 LC