Disappearing Church: From Cultural Relevance to Gospel Resilience

by Mark Sayers

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 compartmentalize our faith or drift from it altogether—into a world that’s so alluring. Have you wondered 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…”

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Theology, Church, Faith, Cultural, Christianity

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

Mark Sayers is the senior leader of Red Church and the cofounder of Über Ministries. He is particularly interested in the intersection between Christianity and the culture of the West. Mark lives in Melbourne, Australia, with his wife, Trudi, and their daughter (Grace) and twin boys (Hudson and Billy).

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is full of really good stuff. I learned about Mark Sayers through his excellent podcast “This Cultural Moment.” He is a great interpreter of the culture. So much good insight. His explanation of the draw to be relevant and it’s dangers is really good. I also thought his explanation of the “beautiful life” that we are promised by the culture and thus strive for was really insightful

[Etienne OMNES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disappearing Chuch est un commentaire de l'église évangélique actuelle par Mark Sayers, qui pointe plusieurs failles du modèle d'église "seeker-sensitive" qui est à la base de la missiologie et de l'ecclésiologie évangélique contemporaine, et qui loin de rendre les églises actuelles "pertinentes" les empoisonne à la place. Il propose dans le dernier chapitre une version prototype du pari bénédictin (le livre de Rod Dreher qui sortira un an après ce livre)

Les idées sont très cohérentes, et bien analysées. Il y a beaucoup de charlatans dans le domaine du commentaire culturel, et encore plus dans le commentaire des églises, mais Sayers n'en est pas un: il a lu largement et profondément, il fait des raisonnements bien maîtrisés et pertinents, et ses conclusions sont assez lumineuses.

Le style est clair, bien vulgarisé, et l'écriture fluide. Bien qu'il dénonce, il n'incendie pas, et on n'en as que plus envie de s'engager davantage pour Dieu et pour l'Eglise. Une bonne et agréable surprise.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. The Mark Sayers is a smart man, and that comes across in this book. A thoroughly researched (with references!) treatise, that will/has already had an impact on my thoughts on and engagement with my Christian faith.

However, it is a dense book. And one I felt I had to persevere through at times. It’s a feeling I’ve had before reading Sayers, and if the content wasn’t so good I might not have made it.

[Mark Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of insight into church and culture.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book. Wished the final chapters were a bit more practical. Seems like Sayers had a bit more to say (or could have fleshed it out a bit) but didn't say it. Fascinating cultural commentary and help for the church in the West.

[Ethan Marstella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for all those currently engaged in Christian ministry. How do we love and serve our culture as it shifts to a post-Christian worldview, and remain a creative minority that steadfastly abides in the truth of the cross? Sayers’ cultural analysis and Biblical wisdom bring language to the reality we experience today on the front lines of ministry in Generation Z to point to a deeper, richer, and long term view of ministry that requires trust and reliance on Christ over bright lights and programs.

[Nathan Randel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark Sayers brilliantly reflects on what Christians constantly experience as exiles in a secular/post-Christian society. He provides a high-level summary of some of the ideas that shaped many of the cultural movements that have taken place throughout history. He attempts to answer questions regarding the Church's decline in the West and why Christians shouldn't be discouraged by it while also providing a helpful framework for Gospel-centered living amongst a lost, identity-less, "spiritual" culture.

I highly recommend this for every Christian!

[Jake Smierciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear snap shot of the current culture with Christianity in in the midst of it all. From forrest floors to withdrawing this book allows the reader to understand some complexities of this Christian walk while living in this culture.

[Liz Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this book as a staff team this semester, and it was a really interesting look at postmodern culture and church. If you have interest in sociology and spirituality, I highly recommend this read. It’s difficult to summarize, but if you’re in ministry in western culture, it’s worth your time.

[Parker McGoldrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Mark Comer is right, every Christian in the West should read this. And I’ll go one step further - every former Christian (deconstructionist) needs to read this.

[Beau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, Sayers considers the social and cultural fabric of society at large, through the lens of Jesus, and delivers a tidal wave of observations, critiques, and ideas surrounding movements, churches, institutions, and everything in between. The second half of this book, in particular, warrants a second reading on my behalf as I feel there's a lot more to sift through. But for now I stand validated and challenged, concurrently, in a lot of my own personal reflections in how we're to abide in the Father within our 'beautiful world' with all it's audacious promises and glorious chasms.

[Adam Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

How are we as a church supposed to respond to a radically changing post-Christian culture? Most answers lean towards abandoning the culture to it's fate or kowtowing to its demands and becoming like them. Sayers defines for us the middle way by exposing the folly of trying to be "relevant" in the world's terms but remaining present and engaging nonetheless. It's a precarious balance. But the only way to actually accomplish this is to stay centered on Christ and His Word. Sayers is an insightful cultural voice. He's well read and spiritually grounded. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. If you're worried about the culture around us and want to know what to do, this book will help you work through those issues. I recommend it highly!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

True to its title, this book examines the "cultural exile" of the Christian church, especially in the West. Despite some bold attempts at relevancy and expansion into new ways of presenting and framing the Gospel of Christ, the church is disappearing in a number of ways.

Sayers is a very smart author. I don't know much about him, but it seems he is a reverend of some kind. He explains how culture is matching up with the church so much because the church is changing its values in some places. In order to reach as many people as it can, it is stooping to meet the needs of the people and their culture so with this blend of church and mainline thought, people are taking a far more laidback approach to Christian life. If culture and Christianity are so alike in values, why bother volunteering? Why give time and money? Why do we even need to attend church? It's become a glaring dilemma. In a world where everything is beneficial and permissible, we have refused to draw the line and look evil in the face. Therefore, we are continually spinning downward as we try and preach the broadest and most acceptable version of "the good news" we can.

There were times when this seemed like a politically charged book about religion but it rejects the views of both sides of the aisle and continually brings up Christ and the hits the church has taken in the 21st century. I would say this is a book for God believers.

The book will be discouraging for anyone who doesn't believe in an ultimate truth or any kind of god or afterlife. One of the big messages of the book is one that Christians have always known but it is relentlessly hammered home here. It's the message that nothing is okay. Nothing is right. Nothing is sound. And in today's society with social media, smartphones, and streaming options, we have a myriad of distractions from God that offer us a form of escapism from these jarring statements. With our worlds that we can construct that don't include God or anything related to Him, it's become palatable and worse, reassuring; reassuring that we can be our own gods. It is the most obvious message delivered to us through our screens: "You do you."

There are many many books on Christian life out there that deliver encouraging truths from the Bible and promises that God has given us for life. This book clearly outlines the darker aspects of living in the world as Christians. As I said above, Sayers is smart, lucid, and never gets lost in the complex ideas he unpacks in his pages. His truthful messages perfectly capture the disillusionment we Christians can suffer from in this day and age. The lifespan of a church can be an uncertain thing, whether it's a single congregation or a whole group of believers in a country. If you are a Christian, church goer, or God believer, you may find this book discouraging because it narrates the harsh realities that point to the brokenness of human nature. All the artificial constructs we can surround ourselves with on a daily basis make this brokenness more obvious. I'm looking forward to reading Reappearing Church, Sayers's companion piece.

[Elisha Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and beautiful look at what the western church needs right now. There are so many helpful principles in this book.

Withdraw & Return- God takes us through this process as he has done with all spiritual leaders to mold us into the people we need to be. Withdrawing isn't what we want to do. Satan tempts us to search for a quicker path to "success", but Jesus method is the slow process of investing in a few disciples and teaching them to abide in him.

This isn't necessarily a principle, but Sayers showed how our current culture is a dystopia unlike any other before it. In novels like 1984 or Fahrenheit 451 or even The Hunger Games, the world outside the privileged place is collapsing and falling apart. The promise of beauty begins to fall apart. Our western world is a world built on beauty. Our downtowns are pristine (am I right Murfreesboro?), our homes are comfortable with all the amenities you can imagine, we have electronic devices with endless amounts of entertainment, coffee shops and walking malls that make us feel like our whole world is beautiful. Everything is so put together and we can numb away any feelings of discontent. We have to learn to withdraw from this external sense of everything being beautiful into a truer and more real beauty that is found in abiding in Christ.

Sayers is a brilliant and deep cultural critic. This is my favorite book I've read of his to this point. It's just such a beautiful critique of the modern church. We have tried to make everything comfortable for church attenders. We try to attract all the seekers. But God is the one who is seeking people for Himself. He is the seeker, we are the ones who receive His mercy when his lovingkindness appears (Titus 3:4). The answer for the church isn't to attract in the masses. It's not to connect with the culture. It's to live differently within the culture. It's to learn to withdraw from the culture so that we can come back with a renewed perspective about what is happening in the culture. I long for this personally and for my own church.

[Brannley Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a slower read for me. I found it hard to read more than 5-10 pages at a time, as it is fairly dense despite the short page count.

I think Mark does a great job of outlining the current cultural context we live in while also pointing out the flaws within the modern church’s efforts to become relevant. This is the real meat of the book; which honestly takes him 95% of the book to establish.

In the last 5% of the book (final chapter and conclusion) he ends with a theology/argument on how we are to become resilient believers in the modern era. I think the points he raise are powerful and well thought out, but it’s a shame that they were only limited to the final chapter.

[Nathan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The belief is that if we do the stuff of Christianity - read our Bibles, help the poor, worship passionately, move sound equipment without groaning (hits home lol) - we will get a slice of the awesome Christian life that the implicit gospel promises...but our heresy hidden under the surface is our belief that God would not ask Western people to deny themselves.” (Pg 82-3)

Frick.

Best book I’ve read by Sayers by far. From start to finish he delivers a brilliant treatise on how to generate a gospel resilient culture within the modern post-Christian secular society - all the while delivering zingers straight to the heart. Absolutely incredible. Plz read it and talk to me about it :)

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 4.5. Lots of good stuff, and parts of it are what I wish every person in ministry knew about culture.

Sayers is a bit all over the place, and I like it because that’s how my mind works. But this book at times is underdeveloped (what does it mean to be a creative minority? How do we go deep into confesional Christianity at the same time?) and at other times overdeveloped with quotes and ideas that don’t advance the thesis.

But it made me think, helped me make connections, and was enjoyable to read!

[Matt Daq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have listened to a number of marks podcasts and he is a very smart guy. This book is a short tread and covers the newly formed gnostic belief of “self” that is huge in our culture. This view of self and self autonomy has led to a decline in church attendance, faith, relationships and more - this has led to churches disappearing.

He tackles a few ways to get it back on track but in a world of me, myself and I it seems hard to do. The next book reappearing church five insights into how to get it back on track so I’m keen to read that too.

[Steve LaMotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disappearing Church packs a lot into a short read. If you've ever wondered how Gnosticism looks in our modern times, Sayers provides some insights and how it has infiltrated the church. His premise is that the church needs to "disappear" from relevance to the world in order to abide in the way and life of Jesus. This, along with his podcast "This Cultural Moment," is essential reading for our time.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short insightful cultural analysis of the church's role and challenge in these unusual times. A set of themes unpacking the "gospel of self" that has often replaced the real thing. Then a set of specific, hopeful and well grounded application points so as not be lured into the cult of relevance. His withdraw/return process is very much something I want to enter into as i seek to address cultural gnostic realities in the local church setting.

[Chip Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. The book talks a lot about our culture which is helpful but more important was the reminder on the last page that “our task is to teach whom God has placed in our charge to abide in Him.” The key is the same that John Calvin discovered: “Calvin’s abiding relationship with Christ and his drenching himself in God’s Word enabled him to point those around him to their true hope.” (P. 158). Are we drenching ourselves in God’s Word?

[alex howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disappearing Church is an important read for Christians as Mark Sayers brings to light the complex issues within our culture that we face daily. His pastoral heart, biblical knowledge, and sociological understanding of the issues in our present moment give his readers a clear understanding of the issue and the biblical response to the issue. I would consider this an important read for those wishing to better understand culture and how to navigate it.

[Taylor Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sobering yet hopeful observation of the state of the Church in the West. Sayers' thesis is based in an idea that the Church's ministry is done best when accepting that they are a "creative minority and countercultural witness", as opposed to seeking to blend in at the expense of compromised dogma or tradition. Some great insights, but a bit repetitive.

[L-T Hopper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful reflection on the culture and the churches response to be relevant. The 'creative minority' is the proposed way forward and is a helpful of believers viewing themselves. I would have liked more discussion on what it means for the church to live as a 'creative minority.'

[claire r · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the book Sayers talks about how so many churches have made the conclusion that relevance to the modern world is what will keep people coming through the doors. However he explains that this approach just doesn’t work, and instead we need to work on remaining committed, responsible, and dedicated in our faith. We need to be willing to go deep before we go wide, and as Sayers puts it, to place value in the church acting as a “creative minority”

[Victoria Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers really great insights and history as to how the western church’s ideologies have been shaped over generations and how our culture is experiencing a revised form of Gnosticism.

The church grows when it embraces sticking out from the world rather than trying to blend in.

[Aaron Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. More introductory in nature to get you thinking about what it means to be a true church and true disciple in a Post-Christian society, and not so practical in that sense. Still, every church leader immersed in westernism should consider this book.

[Sophie Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

v interesting book examining our culture and christianity’s place in culture. found it to be quite dense so 3.5 stars

[Keith Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started this a few times and don’t know why I never finished it. Lots of great cultural commentary and what it means for the church today.

[Dylana · Rating 5 out of 5]

“‘A must-read for every Christian in the West.’- John Mark Comer
-Dylana Cummings
(but really though)”