Reappearing Church: The Hope for Renewal in the Rise of Our Post-Christian Culture
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
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.
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- Explores how personal renewal leads to corporate change
- Prepares individuals and the church to be a part of renewal now and in the future
- Seeks to inspire believers who will pray and contend for God to move with power through His world
- Introduction: Creating a Renewal Cell
- The Secularist Renewal Myth
- The Renewal Pattern
- Crisis—The Gateway to Renewal
- From Dissatisfaction to Holy Discontent
- Renewal in an Anxious Culture
- Secularism vs. the Presence
- Renewal to the Ends of the Earth
- Why the Church Needs Renewal
- Preparing for Renewal
- From Consuming to Contending
- Repatterning for Renewal
- Remnants—The Cells of Renewal1
- When Renewal Goes Viral
- Appendix: Weekly Group Framework—Building a Remnant
In my eyes, Mark’s understanding of the church and culture today is unmatched. While this book could be yet another voice lamenting how culture negatively affects the church, Mark takes a different approach—showing how our changing times can actually impact the church for the better, if we’re willing to fight for a renewal. Mark’s solution? Groups of people meeting together who are hungry to move away from “things as they’ve always been” to reach more people with the good news of Jesus. This is an important book, not only for pastors and church leaders, but also for anyone searching for hope in the church’s continued ability to change the world.
—Adam Weber, Lead Pastor of Embrace Church and author of Talking with God
Mark’s new book seized me and shook me as I was slipping into a ministry malaise—deep and disappointed—and said ‘wake up old preacher, God is not dead, Jesus has not left His church or His world, His Spirit is with us, prepare for revival’.
—Simon Ponsonby, Teaching Pastor, St. Aldates Oxford
Mark Sayers counters the fragility and failure of secularism with God’s renewal pattern arising from living in peaceful presence as we become living temples of His presence. He lays out an eminently livable proposal for partnering with God in renewal by fostering His presence in corporate renewal leading to revival. Don't just read this book. Live it in remnant groups.
—Gerry Breshears, Professor of Theology, Western Seminary, Portland, OR, USA